Park Yeonghan
Park Yeonghan was a South Korean writer.
Life
Park Yeonghan was born September 14, 1947, in Busan, Korea. Park graduated with a degree in Korean Literature from Yonsei University in Seoul.Park applied to the Law School of Korea University, but was refused and then spent three years traveling the Korean countryside working a laborer and living with prostitutes, petty thieves, vagabonds, and other social misfits. Park was admitted to Yonsei University, but two days after entering, volunteered to serve in the Vietnam War. When he returned to Korea, Park wrote The Distant Ssongba River based on his experience in the war. He was awarded the second Today's Writer Prize, the novel sold over 100,000 copies and made Park an instant celebrity.
Park died on August 23, 2006.
Work
The Korea Literature Translation Institute summarizes Parks' contributions to Korean Literature:Park is known for his 'honest' writing style, eschewing experimentation, and less interested in plot than experience.
Works in Korean (Partial)
Short Stories- A Single Room Above Ground
- A Season Spent in Hell
- Human Daybreak
- In the Open Air ; A Lonely Freeman
- Nineteen Wings
- Arabesque
Awards
- Yonsei Literature Prize
- Prize for Today's Writers
- Dong-in Literary Award
- Yonam Literary Award