Seo Hajin (born 1960) is a South Korean writer.
1. Life
Seo Hajin was born Seo Deok-sun in Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province. She studied Korean literature at Kyung Hee University, earning her Ph.D in 1991. Seo's father was a key figure during the military regime of the 1980s as director general of the National Security Agency. Although she rejected her father's extreme right-wing ideological leanings, Seo remained outwardly docile, finding refuge in her aunt's books, which ultimately formed her desire to become a writer. Seo made her literary debut in 1994 publishing the short story "Geurimja oechul" (그림자 외출 Shadow Outing) in Hyundae Munhak. Her published works include the short story collections Chaek ilgeojuneun namja (책 읽어주는 남자 The Man Who Read Out Loud), Rabendeo hyanggi (라벤더 향기 The Scent of Lavender), and the novel Dasi saranghanda malhalkka (다시 사랑한다 말할까 Should I Say I Love You Again). She is currently a professor of Korean literature at Kyung Hee University.
2. Writing
Seo has attempted to explain feminine desire and challenge the patriarchal nature of Korean society and its customs. After debut in 1994, she began to receive more widespread attention in 1995 with the publication of her story "Jebudo" (제부도 Tidal Path), which has as its backdrop a mysterious island connected to land by a path that disappears and reappears with the changing of the tide. This story, which deals with the tragic outcome of an adulterous affair, was shortlisted for the Yi Sang Literary Award, ultimately drawing more attention than the winning entry, and is still considered to be one of Seo's representative works.
As in the case of “Tidal Path,” many of Seo's early works, such as "Geurimja oechul," "Geurimja yeohaeng" (그림자 여행 Shadow Journey), and "Seurimja dangsin" (그림자 당신 Shadow You) are linked to the “shadow” theme and deal with the subjects of marital conflict and extramarital affairs. Her story "Hong Gildong" (홍길동 Hong Gildong) is a modern retelling of the classic Korean novel of the same name. Although the stories may explore conventional subject matter, Seo's writing features subtle psychological descriptions and a spare literary style.
More recently, Seo has gone beyond the subject of marital problems in order to tackle the meaning of the modern family. Her work portrays not the restored or disintegrated family, but instead an ordinary community that we all belong to, just as every person is a parent, child, or sibling. Chakan gajok (착한 가족 A Good Family), published in English translation in 2015, represents the author’s attempt to document and understand the conflicts, resentments, hatreds, and anxieties of contemporary family life. The title story depicts a mother’s busy day playing numerous roles—ashamed, fearless, or humble— depending on which member of her family she is tending to. In "Appaui sasaenghwal" (아빠의 사생활 The Privacy of My Father), a daughter tracks her father to Hong Kong in order to spy on what she believes is an illicit affair. All in all, the author says, family means deception—but these masks are not so easily removed.
