Life
Choi Eunmi was born in 1978 in Inje County, Gangwon Province, South Korea. She studied history at Dongguk University. She made her literary debut in 2008 when her short story "''Ulgo ganda''" (울고 간다 I Cry and Go) won the Hyundae Literary Award for New Writers. From her early twenties, she took undergraduate classes in novel writing and theory, and began practicing to write. After graduating university she worked for a publisher and for the Jogye Order Buddhist Studies Institute as a researcher. During her time at the institute, Choi recounts reading ''banghamrok'', which are records of zen meditations performed by various monks, and being fascinated by the footnotes and scribbles that gave her insight into the monks’ lives. She also interviewed eminent monks while compiling records on contemporary and modern Buddhist history. Choi stated in an interview that a dominant theme in her novels is ''avidya'', a Buddhist term describing the conditions that restrict and agonize a person's life, and that she wants to write about people who suffer and love because of ''avidya''.Writing
Choi's novels may be seen as tragedies in the Aristotelian sense, or as depictions of hell in the Buddhist sense. Either way, what should be noted is how she portrays the world as a place of suffering. In the afterword to Choi's first short story collection ''Neomu areumdaun kkum'' (너무 아름다운 꿈 A Dream Too Beautiful), literary critic Gwon Hui-cheol discusses tragedy: "Choi Eunmi's novels deserve to be hailed as superb works of tragedy. But one must not misunderstand the term 'tragedy' . . . Tragedy is not an art of resignation for the weak. It explores the subjects of sadness, pain, or adversity only to see if they can be repeated or made positive. By turning those subjects into something positive, can life be enriched? Can life's treasure box finally be opened? Tragedy is an art that tests one’s will or drive to ask such questions . . . Choi Eunmi's novels initially seem like they were written in the belief that life is equivalent to receiving a guilty verdict. But the stories eventually lead to finding ‘a dream too beautiful’ and uncovering life's innocence and joys, which is precisely what makes them successful tragedies. Perhaps Choi's novels prove that reading tragedy is an attempt to turn moments of sadness and languor steeped in nihilism into joy and vigor—that is, to live life fully. We read tragedy to keep on living." Critic Kim Hyeong-jung, who wrote the afterword to Choi's second short story collection, points out two characteristics of her novels. First, Kim observes that she often employs old literary forms such as myths, legends, or fairy tales. Her forte, according to Kim, is to "borrow from traditional genres like folklore or fairy tales, introduce changes to them, and in doing so, make their conventions, narrative forms, ideologies, etc. feel unconventional." Second, Kim argues that Choi's fictional universe is hellish: "Ultimately, the hell that Choi Eunmi has built does not seem to have any exits. It has been predetermined on several levels—structurally, biologically, and psychologically. And that world resembles ''Works
* 『목련정전』, 문학과지성사, 2015년, * 『너무 아름다운 꿈』, 문학동네, 2013년,Awards
* 2017: Munhakdongne Young Writers' Award for "''Nuneuro mandeun saram''" (눈으로 만든 사람 A Person Made from Snow) * 2015: Munhakdongne Young Writers' Award for "''Chang neomo gyeoul''" (창 너머 겨울 Winter Beyond the Window) * 2014: Munhakdongne Young Writers' Award for "''Geunlin''" (근린 Vicinity) * 2008: Hyundae Literary Award for New Writers for "''Ulgo ganda''" (울고 간다 I Cry and Go)Further reading
* 양경언, 오혜진, 윤재민, 이재경, ｢리뷰 좌담_그때 저도 거기에 있었어요!-2014년 겨울의 한국소설｣, 『문학동네』, 2015년 봄호. * �References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Eunmi 1978 births Living people Dongguk University alumni People from Inje County South Korean writers South Korean women writers