“O traces of summer, crystallized fruits of labor forged in beads of sweat beneath the scorching sun, creations kneaded through a burning body in the sunlight and shaped through tension, farewell.” (Honghap [Mussels]. Hankyoreh, 1998)

Han Changhoon is a novelist who depicts the labor and lives of ordinary people in farming and fishing villages, as well as small towns, through honest, passionate language.

1. Life

Han Changhoon was born in Geomundo, South Jeolla Province in 1963 and spent his childhood there. He moved to Yeosu at the age of ten, where he attended elementary and middle school before going on to high school in Gwangju. He graduated from Hannam University in Daejeon with a degree in Regional Development. He began his literary career in 1992 after winning the Daejeon Ilbo New Year’s Literary Contest with his short story “Dat” (“Anchor”). Prior to becoming a full-time writer, he worked various jobs, including truck driving, construction site labor, running a tent bar, and working as a sailor, and these experiences are drawn on in his works. In 2003, he served as director of the Association of Writers for National Literature. In addition to fiction, he also published essays and children’s books.

2. Writing

Han began his literary career in 1992 after winning the Daejeon Ilbo New Year’s Literary Contest with his short story “Dat” (“Anchor”). He mostly writes short stories, and even his novels are close to being composite novels. His stories are considered fast-paced, and he engages readers with delicate language, a tightly knit structure, humor, and intricate details. Many writers born in the 1960s who debuted in the 1990s, like Han, tend to produce works in which narratives are driven by conflicts with major social and political realities or existential reflections on life. However, Han takes a slightly different path. Rather than favoring topical themes, he turns his attention to the immediate surroundings of the individual. He then develops stories centered on the urgent issues that individuals face in front of them. Han can be described as a novelist who believes that truth in life is not distant.

There are many similarities between Han’s fictional world and his personal background. For example, characters in his works speak in Jeolla or Chungcheong dialect. This reflects his upbringing in Yeosu, a port city in Jeolla Province, and his university years in Daejeon. Furthermore, most of his narratives are set against the sea and island villages. The sea is not merely a device used to evoke beauty in his fiction. In these coastal settings, workers such as mussel factory laborers and fishermen who go out in boats to catch fish are present. Sometimes, one of them suffers a tragic accident in the rough waves and does not return. The workers left behind in a place of clear decline express both joy and sorrow in raw form. This place is not a “rural area” viewed from an urban perspective, but a lived environment where concrete labor takes place. Han draws on the time and places he has personally experienced in his works, achieving both realism and originality.

Reference

Short Story Collections

Gadeon Sae Bonda (Watching a Passing Bird). Changjakgwa Bipyeongsa, 1998

Sesangui Kkeuteuro Gan Saram (The Person Who Went to the End of the World). Munhakdongne Publishing Corp., 2001

Cheongchungareul Bulleoyo (Sing the Song of Youth). Hankyoreh, 2006

Hengbogiraneun Mari Eomneun Nara (A Land Where the Word “Joy” Does Not Exist). Hankyoreh, 2016

Geudaeege Kkocheul (Flowers for You). Sigongsa, 2003 (multiple authors)

20segi Iryeokseo (Twentieth Century Resume). Gangbook, 2010 (multiple authors)

Byeoldeuri Chajihan Haneureun Hanada (The Sky Filled with Stars Is One). HANA T&MEDIA, 2010 (multiple authors)

Oneurui Unse (Today’s Fortune). ASIA Publishers, 2014 (multiple authors)

Geu Gil Kkeute Dasi (Once Again at the End of That Path). Baram, 2014

Mellangkolli Haepiending (A Melancholy Happy Ending). Jakka Publishing Co., Ltd., 2019 (multiple authors)

Award-Winning Anthologies

'99 Choegojakga Danpyeonseon (The Best Short Stories of 1999). JoongAng M&B, 1999 (multiple authors)

(2000 Hyeondaemunhaksang Susangjakpumjip) Gaegyoginyeomil Oe (Hyundae Munhak Award Anthology 2000: School Anniversary and Other Works), Hyundae Munhak Publishing Co., Ltd., 2000 (multiple authors)

(2003 Hyeondaemunhaksang Susangjakpumjip) Dangsinui Namu Oe (Hyundae Munhak Award Anthology 2003: Your Tree and Other Works), Hyundae Munhak Publishing Co., Ltd., 2003 (multiple authors)

Oneurui Soseol (Fiction of the Day). Jakga, 2004 (multiple authors)

Ihyoseongmunhaksang Susangjakpumjip (Yi Hyoseok Literary Award Anthology). Haeto, 2004 (multiple authors)

Oneurui Soseol (Fiction of the Day). Jakga, 2006 (multiple authors)

Gongseonok Gimsojin Oe (Gong Seon-ok, Kim So-jin, and Other Writers). Changbi Publishers, Inc., 2006 (multiple authors)

(2007 Isangmunhaksang Jakpumjip) Cheonsaneun Yeogi Meomunda Oe 7pyeon (Yi Sang Literary Award Anthology: An Angel Remains Here and Seven Other Works). Literature & Thought, 2007 (multiple authors)

Kkeutkkaji Ireollae?: Hangyeoremunhaksang Susangjakga Jakpumjip (Seriously Still?: Hankyoreh Literary Award Anthology). Hankyoreh, 2010 (multiple authors)

Hwangseongnyeongui Hanguk Myeongdanpyeon 101 (101 Masterpiece Korean Short Stories Selected by Hwang Sok-Yong). Munhakdongne Publishing Corp., 2015 (multiple authors)

Novels

Honghap (Mussels). Hankyoreh, 1998

Seom, Naneun Sesang Kkeuteul Sanda (Island, I Live at the End of the World). Changjakgwa Bipyeongsa, 2003

Naneun Yeogiga Jota (I Like It Here). Munhakdongne Publishing Corp., 2009

Kkochui Nara (Land of Flowers). Munhakdongne Publishing Corp., 2011

Geu Namjaui Yeonaesa (The Man’s Love Life). Munhakdongne Publishing Corp., 2013

Sunjeong (Unforgettable). Chaekbang, 2016

Essays

Hanchanghunui Hyangyeon (Han Changhoon’s Feast). Joongang Books, 2009

Insaengi Heogijil Ttae Badaro Gara (When Life Turns Hungry, Go to the Sea). Munhakdongne Publishing Corp., 2010

Nae Sulsang Wiui Jasaneobo (Jasaneobo on My Table of Drinks and Snacks). Munhakdongne Publishing Corp., 2014

Hanchanghunui Naneun Wae Sseuneunga (On Why Han Changhoon Writes). Gyoyu Books, 2015

Gongbuneun Ijjeumeseo Machineun Georo Handa (We Will Call It a Day for Studying). Hankyoreh, 2017

Chaegui Yuhok (The Temptation of Books). Haneul Yeonmot, 2012 (multiple authors)

Soulpeulleiseu (A Place for the Soul). Chungeoram Media, 2013 (multiple authors)

Hanguk Jakgaga Ilgeun Segyemunhak (World Literature as Read by Korean Writers), Munhakdongne Publishing Corp., 2013 (multiple authors)

Geuraeyo Munjaein (Yes, Moon Jae-in). EunHaeng NaMu Publishing Co., Ltd, 2017 (multiple authors)

Badareul Matboda (A Taste of the Sea). National Maritime Museum of Korea, 2018 (multiple authors)

Hanguk Jakgaga Ilgeun Segyemunhak (World Literature as Read by Korean Writers), Munhakdongne Publishing Corp., 2018 (multiple authors)

Reference

Seo, Young-Chae. “Rujeoui Yulli: Hanchanghun Seosaui Woncheongwa Uimie Daehayeo” (“The Ethics of the Loser: On the Origins and Meaning of Han Changhoon’s Narrative”). Munhakdongne, vol. 16, no. 2. Munhakdongne Publishing Corp., 2009