Lee Soon-won

Lee Sun-won (born 1957) (Hangul: 이순원) is a modern South Korean writer who writes about diverse topics.^[1]

Life

Lee Soon-won (1957~ ) was born in Gangneung on the coast of the Sea of Japan (East Sea). While in high school, Lee decided to become a farmer. In a dramatic display of his new determination, he burned his school uniform on the beach and moved to a mountainous region in Gwangwon Province where he devoted himself to vegetable farming for two years. Failing health and desire for more education, however, compelled him to return to school and he entered college as an economics major with special interest in advertising. .^[2]

Work

Lee Soon-won's work is populated with characters who lead a life of consumption outside of the limitations of established society or traditional order. These characters serve as the canvas upon which the values and lifestyle of the new popular consumer society are sketched. By showing the ultimate emptiness and meaninglessness of such lives, Lee assesses the new world pessimistically.^[3]

Lee’s literary world is as diverse and hard to categorize as his background. He has lived in both urban and rural areas, deep in the mountains and in the seaside towns and has developed a wide range of interests from the tradition of Confucian culture to advertising. Consequently, his works exhibit a great spectrum of literary concerns. In There is No Exit in Apgujeong District, Lee explores the radical idea of terrorism as a possible response to the corruption in capitalist culture. Face is a short story about the May 19th Democratic Uprising and Nineteen is an autobiographical novel that belongs to the genre of Bildungsroman. Innocence is a serial novel that depicts the lives of women scarred by either direct or indirect acts of violence.^[4]

Though diverse in subject matter, Lee’s works share the underlying concern with growing insensitivity to violence and change in modern society and our indifference to the suffering of others. Over the years, however, the sharply critical tone of his works has grown relatively mild. The Color of Water, the Pattern of That Shade published in 1996 marks a point of change in the author’s perspective from cold and analytical to warm and compassionate. The Color of Water, the Pattern of That Shade is a moving story of family hardships and maternal love which also explores the negative side-effects of rapid industrialization.^[5]

Works in Translation

• SUSAEK (수색-그 물빛무늬)

Works in Korean (Partial)

Short Story Collections

• Face (Eolgol, 1993)
• Susaek, the Pattern of That Shade (Susaek, geu Mulbit Munui, 1996)
• In Search of a Horse (Mal-eul Chajaseo, 1997)

Novellas

• Eunbiryeong (1997)
• Meditation on Jellyfish (Haepari-e gwanhan Myeongsang, 1998)
• Innocence (Sunsu, (2000)
• Twenty-Three and Forty-Six (Seumulset, geurigo Maheunyeoseot, 2004)
• Model (2004)

Awards

• Dong-in Literary Award (1996)

References