Pak Kyongni

▪ 2009

Park Kyung-ni 

      South Korean poet and novelist

born Oct. 28, 1926, Tongyeong, Korea

died May 5, 2008, Seoul, S.Kor

garnered international acclaim for the 21-volume epic novel T'oji (1969–94; Land), in which she chronicled Korea's tumultuous history from 1897 to 1945. The novel, widely regarded as a masterpiece of Korean literature, took Pak more than 25 years to complete and won numerous honours, including the Woltan Literature Award. Pak published two early short stories, “Gyesan” (1955; “Calculations”) and “Heuk heuk baek baek” (1956; “Black Is Black, White Is White”), but she first captured public attention with the novel Kim yakkuk ui ttal tul (1962; “Daughters of Pharmacist Kim”). Many of Pak's works, including Pulshin shidae (1957; “Age of Distrust”) and Shijang kwa chonjang (1964; “The Marketplace and the Battlefield), feature a female character widowed by the Korean War, a situation that mirrored Pak's own experience. She composed several poems about the importance of protecting the environment and in 1999 established the Toji Cultural Centre in Wonju, S.Kor., which nurtured young writers and encouraged environmental awareness. In 2003 Pak began the novel Nabiya cheongsam-gaja, which she intended to be a continuation of T'oji; owing to poor health, however, she was unable to complete it. Pak was posthumously awarded the Order of Culture Merit Geumgwan, the highest honour for South Korean writers and artists.

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