Jo Jeong-rae (; born August 17, 1943) is a
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...
from
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, best known as the author of the best-selling novels ''Taebaek Mountain Range'', ''Arirang'', and ''Han River
["Jo Jung-Rae" biographical PDF available at LTI Korea Library or online at: http://klti.or.kr/ke_04_03_011.do# ]'
Biography
Jo Jeong-rae was born in
Suncheon
Suncheon (; ) is the largest city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea, with a population of 280,719 as of 2022. It is located in the southeast of the province and is a scenic agricultural and industrial city, known for tourist attractions, suc ...
,
Jeollanam-do
South Jeolla Province (), formerly South Chŏlla Province, also known as Jeonnam (), is a province in the Honam region, South Korea, and the southernmost province in mainland Korea. South Jeolla borders the provinces of North Jeolla to the nor ...
, in 1943 in the Sonamsa Temple.
When the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
broke out, Jo Jeong-rae and his family evacuated to the
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
, where he was unpopular with the local children and frequently fought with them, fights he generally lost. He was interested in literature from early in life, and won competitions in elementary school.
He majored in
Korean literature
Korean literature is the body of literature produced by Koreans, mostly in the Korean language and sometimes in Classical Chinese. For much of Korea's 1,500 years of literary history, it was written in Hanja. It is commonly divided into classi ...
at
Dongguk University
Dongguk University () is a private university in Jung District, Seoul, South Korea. A top-tier university acknowledged locally in Korea. It is one of the few Buddhist-affiliated universities in the world, and is a member of the International Asso ...
, and worked as a high school teacher for several years after graduation. His literary debut was in 1970 when he published the short story "A False Charge" (), after which he decided to devote his entire life to literature.
Career
Jo Jeong-rae's popular multi-volume novels ''Taebaek Mountain Range'' (, 1983-1989) and ''Arirang'' (, 1995), both of which have come to be considered modern classics since their publication in the 1980s, are widely considered to be the epitome of his talent. With the publication of his novel ''Han River'' (, 2002), Jo Jeong-rae finally completed his trilogy of works dedicated to modern Korean history. Sales of the series reached record-breaking numbers in South Korea, selling over 10 million copies.
The epic historical trilogy, begun in 1983 and eventually completed in 2002, comprises Jo Jeong-rae's three most well-known novels: ''Taebaek Mountain Range'', ''Arirang'', and ''Han River''. Each novel is over ten volumes in length, and each deals with different aspects of the turbulent history of Korea in the modern era. The first novel, ''Taebaek Mountain Range'', examines the five-year period between the liberation of Korea from
Japanese colonial rule in 1945 to the outbreak of the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
in 1950, with detailed flashbacks and backstory contextualizing the deep ideological conflict that culminated in violence and the
division of Korea
The division of Korea began at the end of World War II on 2 September 1945, with the establishment of a Soviet occupation zone and a US occupation zone. These zones developed into separate governments, named the Democratic People's Republic of ...
. The second novel, ''Arirang'', is technically a prequel to ''Taebaek Mountain Range'', and covers the Japanese colonial period of Korean history.
One of the primary themes in Jo Jeong-rae's work, concern regarding the socio-economic roots of the division of Korea and the search for
Korean reunification
Korean reunification is the hypothetical unification of North Korea and South Korea into a singular Korean sovereign state. The process towards reunification of the peninsula while still maintaining two opposing regimes was started by the Ju ...
, is also present in his other, shorter works of fiction, particularly his later works, such as "Sorrow, That Shaded Place" (), "Land of Exile" (), "Human Stairs" (), and "The Soul of a Barren Land" (). Many of his earlier works, however, such as "A Woman from Cheongsan" (), "The Violent Instructor" (), "The Shaded Slope" (), "The Age of Geocentrism" (), and "Foreign Land" (), tend to reconstruct stories of traditional rustic life, targeting and satirizing the various absurdities of life in a much more general fashion.
Works
Works in Translation
* ''The Human Jungle'' (Chin Music Press, 2016), translated by
Bruce Fulton
Bruce Fulton is an American professor of Korean Literature and a noted translator of contemporary Korean fiction with an extensive list of publications. He has lived in the United States, Canada, and South Korea, and is married to fellow translat ...
and Ju-Chan Fulton
* ''The Land of the Banished'' (
ASIA Publishers, 2012), translated by Chun Kyung-Ja
* ''How in Heaven's Name'' (MerwinAsia, 2012), translated by Bruce Fulton and Ju-Chan Fulton
* ''Playing with Fire'' (
Cornell University Press
The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University, an Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. It is currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, maki ...
, 2010), translated by Chun Kyung-Ja
Works in Korean (partial)
Novels
* ''≪ Taebaek Mountain Range (, 1983-1989)≫''
* ''≪Arirang'' (, 1995)''≫''
* ''≪Han River'' (, 2002)''≫''
* ''≪Human Jungle'' (, 2013)''≫''
Short stories
* ''≪''"Sorrow, That Shaded Place" (, 1977)''≫''
* ''≪''"The Land of the Banished" (, 1981)''≫''
* ''≪''"Human Stairs" (, 1982)''≫''
* ''≪''"Soul of a Barren Land" (, 1983)''≫''
* ''≪''"A Woman from Cheongsan" (, 1972)''≫''
* ''≪''"The Violent Instructor" (, 1971)''≫''
* ''≪''"Shaded Slope" (, 1973)''≫''
* ''≪''"Age of Geocentrism" (, 1974)''≫''
* ''≪''"Foreign Land" (, 1975)''≫''
* ''≪''"Oh Almighty" ()''≫''
* ''≪''"Fireworks" ()''≫''
Awards
* Contemporary Literature Prize (1981)
* Republic of Korea Literature Prize (1982)
* Seongok Literature Prize (1988)
* Dongguk Literature Prize (1989)
* City of Kwangju Arts Award (2001)
*
Manhae Prize (2003)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jo, Jeong-rae
1943 births
Jeong-rae
Living people
South Korean novelists
People from Suncheon
Dongguk University alumni