Kwon Jeong-hyun made his literary debut in 2002, winning both the Chungcheong Ilbo New Writer’s Award and the Chosun Ilbo New Writer’s Contest. His work is characterized by restrained prose that steers away from showiness without ever sacrificing narrative coherence.
2. Writing
Kwon's penchant for taking historical subjects or figures as a starting block is evident from his first novel, Dalpaengiui ppul (달팽이의 뿔 The Snail's Horns). Historical figures and artworks feature in Kwon's work sometimes as subject matter, sometimes as direct inspiration. For instance, Kwon's Mimisang (미미상 Mimisang), a story of overcoming loss, was inspired by the Ten Bulls paintings of meditation practice the author witnessed at Sangwonsa Temple. His works such as Mongyudowon (몽유도원 Dream Journey to the Peach Blossom Land) or the Honbul Award-winning Kalgwa hyeo (칼과 혀 Knife and Tongue), too, take their inspiration from historical figures, reimagined by the author as three-dimensional characters. By preference, Kwon's narratives unfold from the point of view of minor rather than major figures in history.
Kwon's interest in characters outside of society's mainstream is evident in his non-historical novels as well. His first collection of short stories, Gutbai! myeongwangseong (굿바이! 명왕성 Goodbye! Pluto) features a cast of characters whose predilections place them firmly outside the boundaries of mainstream society, inviting the reader to ponder on the reasons that alienate them from friends and family. Through Kwon's capable hands, the reader is given a glimpse of reality from the point of view of such characters belonging to the minority. Revealing how there are more versions of reality than we may have imagined, this knowledge in turn provides the catalyst for characters to resolve their dilemmas.
In Kwon's Kalgwa hyeo, set in the eve of the fall of Manchukuo, characters representing Korea, China, and Japan heighten the narrative tension while at the same time seeking to move past historical conflict to reach a state of peaceful coexistence. The author's signature blending of historical fact and fiction sometimes manifests in the blurring of time and space, notably in his short stories. An attribute which, as Kwon says, reveals the author's attempt to reach ever closer to "truth and justice, time and history, sorrow and happiness, chance encounters and life itself."
LTI Korea 
DLKL 
SIWF 