An Sugil (1911–1977) was a Korean novelist and journalist.
1. Life
An Sugil was born in Hamhung, South Hamgyong Province. His family relocated to Manchuria when he was eleven and returned to their hometown after he finished middle school. In 1927, An withdrew from Hamheung High School after leading a student protest, and transferred to Kyungshin School in Seoul. He was arrested and eventually expelled for his involvement with the Gwangju Student Movement. In 1931, he enrolled in the Teachers' College of Waseda University in Tokyo in the 1930s, but soon withdrew and returned to Korea. An made his literary debut in 1935, publishing the short story Jeoksipja byeongwonjang (적십자병원장 Director of the Red Cross Hospital) and the sketch Bulgeun mokdori (붉은 목도리 Red Scarf) in Joseon Mundan. He went on to publish about 20 novels and 60 short stories and novellas. From 1932 to 1945 An taught school in Jiandao, Manchuria, and worked as a reporter for the Gando Ilbo and the Manseon Ilbo. He left for South Korea in 1948, where he worked for the Kyunghyang Shinmun. An taught at Yongsan High School, Seorabeol University of Arts, and Ewha Womans University. He was a member of PEN Korea and the Korean Writers Association, and won the Asia Freedom Literary Award, the Seoul City Cultural Award, and the March 1st Cultural Award.
2. Writing
First introduced in his novella Byeo (벼 Rice Plant), Manchuria represents the frontier in An Sugil's literary world, where the Korean peasants, ruthlessly driven out of their homeland by the Japanese colonial policies, must once again face poverty and inequality in addition to new challenges posed by the hostile natives and unfamiliar surroundings. Their plight, however, is dignified by the pioneer spirit, the love of land and labor as well as intense nationalism rooted in the longing for the lost fatherland. These qualities distinguish An Sugil's work from other immigrant tales set in Manchuria, such as Choi Seo-hae's Hongyeom (홍염 Red Flame)”) and Yi Tae-jun's Nonggun (농군 The Farmer). In An's first collection of short stories, Bugwon (북원 Northern Plains), problems relating to the establishment of a Korean school overshadows the conflict with the natives as the main source of strife in immigrant life. Manchuria is also the setting for his best-known work, Bukgando (북간도 North Jiandao), a family saga in five volumes that spans some eighty years from the end of Joseon dynasty to the end of the Japanese occupation period. A product of the author's penetrating historical consciousness, the novel realistically chronicles the plight of an immigrant family, which in turn mirrors the experience of the Korean people in general in the early modern period. It is regarded as a landmark in the genre of roman-fleuve. With the publication of Jesam inganhyeong (제삼인간형 A Third Type of Man), which includes the titular short story as well as Yeosu (여수 A Traveler’s Loneliness), Chwiguk (취국 Green Chrysanthemum), An Sugil moved away from stories of immigrants to investigate the deterioration of social and individual morality during and after the Korean War. Choyeon pildam (초연필담 Written Conversation on First Love), examines the reality of urban working-class.
