Nam Jin-Woo (Hangul 남진우; born 1960) is a South Korean poet, literary critic, and professor.
1. Life
Nam Jin-Woo was born in Jeonju, South Korea in 1960. He studied creative writing at Chung-Ang University, where he also received his master’s and doctoral degrees. His literary career began when he won the Dong-a Ilbo New Writer's Contest for poetry in 1981 and the Chosun Ilbo New Writer’s Contest for literary criticism in 1983. He was an editor at the quarterly journal Munhakdongne and the monthly journal Hyeondaesihak. Since 2004, he has been teaching creative writing at Myongji University.
In the 1980s, he was a member of the literary society Siundong (“poetry movement”) alongside poets Ha Jae-bong, Lee Moon-jae, and Park Deok-kyu. In 1999, he married the novelist Shin Kyung-sook. As a poet and critic, he played a major role in turning Munhakdongne into a quarterly magazine that introduced the latest Korean literature in the 1990s. In 1992, he accused writer Lee In-hwa for plagiarizing his debut novel Naega nuguinji malhal su itneun janeun nuguinga (내가 누구인지 말할 수 있는 자는 누구인가 Who Is It That Can Tell Me Who I Am) from other sources, and has since participated in other plagiarism debates. In the early 2000s, he actively voiced his opinion on the controversy over whether Munhakdongne, along with several other literary journals, was exercising too much power in the South Korean literary scene. In 2015, he became involved in a plagiarism debate once again, this time surrounding his wife and novelist Shin Kyung-sook. As the debate intensified, Nam resigned from the Munhakdongne editing committee.
Nam has earned critical and popular acclaim for his literary criticism and poetry. He won the 8th Dongsuh Literary Award for best criticism in 1995, the 9th Kim Daljin Literature Prize for best poetry in 1998, the 11th Socheon Lee Heon-gu Literary Criticism Award in 1999, the 46th Hyundae Literary Award for best criticism in 2001, the 13th Palbong Literary Criticism Award in 2002, the 15th Daesan Literary Award for best poetry in 2007, and the 22nd Daesan Literary Award for best criticism in 2014.
2. Writing
Nam Jin-Woo is sometimes referred to as a “pilgrim who does not stop pursuing what is sacred or mysterious.” Since his first poetry collection Gipeun gose geumureul deuriura (깊은 곳에 그물을 드리우라 Cast the Net into Deep Waters), he has primarily been concerned with the transcendental sacred. He attempts to “reach the sacred by writing about the impossibility of sacredness in this unfortunate era.”
Nam uses imagery such as flames, sand dunes, unexpected visits by animals, the deep hue of death, and distant sounds. Nam’s work has strong religious and fatalist themes. He believes that his task as a poet is to persistently seek salvation even if it proves impossible.
