Cho Seon-jak (born 1940) is a South Korean writer.
1. Life
Cho Seon-jak was born in Daejeon, South Korea. He graduated from Daejeon Teachers' School and made his debut publishing the short story "Jisachong" (지사총 The Tomb of the Patriots) in the magazine Sedae. "The Tomb of the Patriots" won Sedae's top writing prize in 1971 and was also adapted as a TV drama in South Korea by MBC.
2. Writing
Cho's works illuminate the injustice inherent in social structure, often focusing on social outcasts. His "Yeongjaui Jeonseongsidae" (영자의 전성시대 Yeong-ja's Heydays) features prostitutes and other social outcasts as central characters to investigate social injustice, while "Goapseon" (고압선 The High-Tension Wires) indirectly probes into the hidden forces threatening the everyday life of common men. "Yeong-ja's Heydays" was also made into a feature film, which is collected in the Korean Film Archive's "100 Korean Movies."
Cho Seon-jak's work depicts without bias the wretchedness of lives victimized by industrialization and rapid economic growth of the 1970s. Despite the gravity of the subject matter, Cho is able to incorporate witty, entertaining expressions into the narrative. "Yeong-ja's Heydays" features prostitutes and other social outcasts as central characters to investigate social injustice and "The High-Tension Wires" indirectly probes into the hidden forces threatening the everyday life of common men.
Some praised Cho for his honesty, while others attacked him as a sensationalist. In the introduction to The Preview and Other Stories, a collection of Cho's work in English, the editors note that the latter response seem to have come largely from those members of society that Cho portrayed as callously ignoring the suffering of the marginalized.[1]
Reference
[1] The Preview and Other Stories, Asian Humanities Press, 2003. vii
