Kim Insuk (born 1963) is a South Korean writer.
1. Life
Kim Insuk was born in 1963 in Seoul. Her father died when she was five years old, and her mother took in boarders to make ends meet. She graduated from Yonsei University with a degree in journalism.
Kim made her literary debut at the age of 20, in 1983, winning the Chosun Ilbo New Writer's Contest with her short story "Sangsirui gyejeol" (상실의 계절 Season of Loss). Kim, along with Shin Kyung-Sook and Gong Ji-Young, is one of the prominent new wave of female writers from the 386 generation (term for those who were in their 30s in the 1990s, attended university in the 1980s and were born in the 1960s).
Kim has won all three of Korea's major literary awards, the Yi Sang Literary Award, Dong-in Literary Award, and Daesan Literary Award, among others. Since 2019, she has been part of the permanent panel of judges for the Dong-in Literary Award. A prolific writer, Kim has published over 30 books throughout a literary career spanning nearly four decades. Her latest works include the novel Beotkkochui uju (벚꽃의 우주 Galaxy of Cherry Blossoms) and the short story collection Dan haruui yeongwonhan bam (단 하루의 영원한 밤 One Eternal Night).
2. Writing
Kim Insuk's early works are based on her experience of the democratization movement in Korea during the 1980s, such as "Hamkke geonneun gil" (함께 걷는 길 The Road Travelled Together), "Gakkaun bulbit" (가까운 불빛 The Light Nearby), and 79'~80 gyeoureseo bom sai (79'~80 겨울에서 봄 사이 Between Winter and Spring '79-80). After 1990, Korean society underwent abrupt changes in the midst of the shifts in the world order brought on by the end of the Cold War. Kim devoted herself to scrutinizing the problems of compromise, fatigue, depression, and lethargy that began to appear in Korean society as it internalized the new capitalist order. "Kallalgwa sarang" (칼날과 사랑 Blade and Love) and "Han yeoja iyagi" (한 여자 이야기 Story of a Woman) are some of her works from this period.
Kim has created stories that take place beyond the borders of Korea. Starting in 1993, Kim resided in Sydney, Australia, for one and a half years; at the beginning of the 2000s she stayed for three and a half years in Dalian, China. Kim's works Meon gil (먼 길 The Long Road), Sideuni geu pureun badae seoda (시드니 그 푸른 바다에 서다 Sydney, Standing at the Blue Ocean), and "Badawa nabi" (바다와 나비 Ocean and Butterfly) are based on those experiences. Michil su itgenni (미칠 수 있겠니 To Be Insane), set in an unnamed island hit by an earthquake and tsunami, was written in Bali over a period of four months. By coincidence, Japan was struck by a tsunami when Kim had finished writing the book, and she requested that its release be delayed out of respect for the victims.
From the beginning of her writing career, Kim Insuk has persistently produced works that deal with the problems of the present time and that offer introspection into human existence, without losing sight of the currents of changes in reality.
