Shin Sang-Ung (1938 ~) is a Korean novelist. He is one of the most representative writers of so-called the “April Revolution Generation” and has been perceived as a pioneer in literary fields dealing with the tragic division of the country. He made himself known with his novella Hipokeurateseu hyungsang (히포크라테스 흉상 A Bust of Hippocrates) (1968), and his novel Simyaui jeongdam (심야의 정담 Three Voices at Midnight) (1972) is his most widely-read book.
1. Life
Shin was born in Kyoto, Japan in 1938. He came back to Korea after Korea was liberated from the Japanese occupation in 1945 and was raised in Uiseong-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do.[1] He showed great talent in writing since middle school. He studied English Literature at Chung-Ang University while workingas a journalist for the university newspaper. After graduating from the university in 1963, he had worked as an editing staff at a publishing house for two years before he was drafted into the army for his military service obligations. [2] He obtained a doctoral degree at the Graduate School of Chung-Ang University in Korean Literature [3] and took up professorship and taught at theCreative Writing department of the school.
He made a debut when his novella Hipokeurateseu hyungsang (1968) won the Sedae Literature Award for New Writers (세대신인문학상). He worked at the Korean Centre of PEN International for about 10 years after 1968. [4] In 1972, the Centre dispatched Jung Eulbyung, Hong Kisam and Shin Sang-Ung to Bangladesh, a then newly independent country, to write stories regarding the calamity of the Indo-Pakistani wars. Before coming back to the country, they traveled eight other countries, including India, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Japan.[5] Shin won the Korea Creative Literature Award in 1973 with his novel Three Voices at Midnight (1972).
Shin is regarded as one of the critical intellectuals who participated in the anti-dictatorship democracy movement since the late 1970s. [8] He engaged in Jayusilcheonmuninhyeobuihoe (자유실천문인협의회 Progressive Writers’ Society) in the mid-1970s, and signed a writers’ declaration against the Yushin Constitution in 1979.[9] In 1980s, he devoted himself to teaching at the department of Creative Writing at Chung-Aang University, fostering many great writers, including Bang Hyun-Seok, Park Cheong-Ho, Park Min-Kyu and Jeon Seong-Tae. He also participated in establishing Sawolhyeongmyeongyeonguso (사월혁명연구소 April Revolution Society) [10] as well as Hangeulmunhwayeonguhoe (한글문화연구회 Society of Hangul Culture Research) in 1988 [11]. A complete collection of his works was published in 2003, and he retired from his position at Chung-Ang University in 2004.
2. Writing
Shin is one of the most representative writers of the so-called “April Revolution Generation” who pioneered in the field of Bundanmunhak (literary works on the division of the Korean peninsula) in the era of industrialization.[12] With his sharp observations and solid sentences, he wrote many good stories, especially against the backdrop of military services.[3] All of his major works, including Hipokeurateseu hyungsang (1968), Byeongsaui hyuga (병사의 휴가 Vacation of a Soldier) (1968), Bunnoui ilgi (분노의 일기 Journal of Wrath) (1972) and Three Voices at Midnight (1972), are inspired by military systems, though his works also explored our society during the military dictatorship from a critical perspective.[14] Hipokeurateseu hyungsang (1968), his first work that brought him fame, describes the process of a soldier with sudden abdominal pain being transferred back and forth because of the rigid system and bureaucracy of the military that eventually led to death of the soldier. This work was acclaimed as it exposes the structural inhumanity of modern society while, at the same time, presenting affirmation for humanity.[15] Bunnoui ilgi (1972) is a novel describing the history of colonization of the country against the backdrop of the US Forces in Korea through the frustration of a young officer. [16]
Three Voices at Midnight (1972), one of Shin's most representative works, embodies the problem of division between South and North Korea and the agony of the young generation living through the modern history of Korea, stretching from the Korean War to the Vietnam War.[17] The three young men in the novel lose their faiths and struggle in the divided country tainted with opposing ideologies and interests, but the author describes their uncompromising will to confront their fate and to embrace the future. This piece is considered to set a milestone in Bundanmunhak and National Literature in Korea.[18]
Bultaneun dosi (불타는 도시 A Burning City) (1970) is about the April Revolution, describing anxiety and hope of young people who rose against injustice during the tragic event of the country.[19] Doraon uriui chingu (돌아온 우리의 친구 Our Friend’s Homecoming) (1980) takes a different perspective on the ‘marvelous’ Korean modernization in the 1970s which led to fast and high growth of the country, by shedding light on its shadow through a life of a worker who was encouraged by the government to go to the Middle East to make money but ended up with a sad death.[20]
Reference
1) Wikipedia
https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%8B%A0%EC%83%81%EC%9B%85
2) Gu Jung-Suh, Kkumkkuneun rieolliseuteu-sinsangungui munhaksegye (A Dreaming Realist: The Literary World of Shin Sang-Ung), edited by Minjongmunhagyeonguhoe, Bumwoosa, 1998
3) Lim Yeon-Chul, “Growing Numbers of Ph.Ds from Cultural Sector”, Dong-A Ilbo, February 5, 1987.
4) “PEN International Korea Reshuffled with 11 More Directors Appointed”, Dong-A Ilbo, November 29, 1974.
5) “Hong Kisam and Two Other Literary Figures Attempted to Enter Bangladesh to No Avail”, Dong-A Ilbo, March 6, 1972
6) “Novelist Shin Sang-Ung said Publishing a Complete Collection of My Works Marks a New Beginning of My Literary Career.”, Chosun Ilbo, September 21, 2003
http://m.chosun.com/svc/article.html?sname=news&contid=2003092170282#Redyho
7) “Culture & Art: A Complete Collection of Shin Sang-Ung Presents His Literary World of Critical Realism”, Dong-A Ilbo, September 26, 2003
https://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=103&oid=020&aid=0000207089
8) Oh Kwang-Soo, “Shin Sang-Ung, Representing the ‘April Revolution’ Generation, is Pioneer in the Bundanmunhak, Literature Dealing With the Division of Korea”, Kyunghyang Shinmun, January 12, 1999
9) Jeon Seong-Tae, “In Search of Paths – The 1979 Writers’ Declaration Against the Yusin Constitution is Testimony to End of Yusin Era”, Hankyoreh, February 15, 2015
http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/culture/culture_general/678573.html
10) “April Revolution Society Established by the April Revolution Generation,” Dong-A Ilbo, Jun 16, 1988
11) “Korean Poet Park Yong-Su Founded Hangeulmunhwayeonguhoe (A Society of Hangul Culture Research) with Shin Sang-Ung, Park Tae-Sun, Lee Cheol, Park Seok-Mu and others”, Hankyoreh, January 9, 1991
12) Oh Kwang-Soo, “Shin Sang-Ung, Representing the ‘April Revolution’ Generation, is Pioneer in the Bundanmunhak, Literature Dealing With the Division of Korea”, Kyunghyang Shinmun, January 12, 1999
13) Korean Language and Literature Encyclopedia, Online edition
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=689517&cid=60533&categoryId=60533
14) “Novelist Shin Sang-Ung Released Complete Collection After 20 Years Since He Announced to End the Writing Career”, Hankyoreh, September 21, 2003
http://legacy.www.hani.co.kr/section-009000000/2003/09/009000000200309212315090.html
15) The Encyclopedia of Modern Korean Literature edited by Kwon Yeong-Min, Online edition
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=335042&cid=41708&categoryId=41737
16) Yoo Yoon-Jong, “A Complete Collection of Shin Sang-Ung Presents His Literary World of Critical Realism”, Dong-A Ilbo, September 26, 2003
https://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=103&oid=020&aid=0000207089
17) “Culture & Art: A Complete Collection of Shin Sang-Ung Presents His Literary World of Critical Realism”, Dong-A Ilbo, September 26, 2003
https://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=103&oid=020&aid=0000207089
18) “Novelist Shin Sang-Ung said Publishing a Complete Collection of My Works Marks a New Beginning of My Literary Career”, Chosun Ilbo, September 21, 2003
http://m.chosun.com/svc/article.html?sname=news&contid=2003092170282#Redyho
19) Lim Heon-yong, “Individuals in Novels during 30 years of Korean history: Bultaneun dosi by Shin Sang-Ung”, the 10th series, Dong-A Ilbo, September 23, 1978
20) Book introduction page at Yes24.com
http://www.yes24.com/Product/Goods/7354846?scode=032&OzSrank=1
