Kim Seong-joong


Kim Seong Joong is a South Korean writer. She studied creative writing at Myongji University and began her literary career in 2008 when “Nae euijareul dolyeojusaeyo” won the JoongAng New Writer's Award. Her short story collections include Gaegeuman and Gukgyeongsijang.

Life

Kim made her literary debut at the age of 33. After graduating university, she drifted between jobs including reporting for several magazines that are now out of print, ghostwriting autobiographies, and game writing, until her short story “Nae euijareul dolyeojusaeyo” won the JoongAng New Writer's Award in 2008. Despite her relatively late debut, Kim's work quickly drew the attention of literary circles. In 2010, she received the inaugural Moonji Literary Award, and went on to win the Munhakdongne Young Writers' Award for a record-breaking three consecutive years from 2010 to 2012. Her first short story collection Gaegeuman, published in 2011, earned critical acclaim. Literary critic Wu Chan Je compared it to “a kaleidoscope in midair” and Seo Hui Won noted that “the writer’s imagination switches gears as fast as a chameleon darts across a blooming flower field.” Her second short story collection Gukgyeongsijang was published in 2015.

Writing

Kim works with various subjects and multiple genres. This is why, rather than applying any one label to her such as a “realist” or “modernist,” she is better understood as a writer who experiments with different styles that suit the imaginative background of each story. The work that put Kim on the literary map is Gaegeuman, her first collection of short stories including: “Heogong-eui aideul”, which depicts a boy and a girl growing up in an apocalyptic world reminiscent of Hayao Miyazaki’s Castle in the Sky; and “Gebal seoninjang”, a story dealing with a religious cult that has one leader, one follower, and one apostate. Kim’s imaginative style is also apparent in her second short story collection Gukgyeongsijang, which includes the titular “Border Market” and “Kumun”.

Works

1. 『개그맨』, 문학과지성사, 2011.
Comedian. Moonji, 2011.
2. 『국경시장』, 문학동네, 2015.
Border Market. Munhakdongne, 2015.

Works in translation{{Cite web|url=http://library.klti.or.kr/node/17054|title=김성중 Digital Library of Korean Literature (LTI Korea)|website=library.klti.or.kr|language=en|access-date=2017-12-09}}

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Awards

2008: 9th JoongAng New Writer's Award
2010: 1st Munhakdongne Young Writers’ Award
2010: 1st Moonji Literary Award
2011: 2nd Munhakdongne Young Writers’ Award
2012: 3rd Munhakdongne Young Writers’ Award