Park Kyung-ni

Pak Kyongni or Bak Kyoungli (; December 2, 1926 – May 5, 2008) was a South Korean novelist.

Bak Kyoungli was born in Tōei, Korea, Empire of Japan (today Tongyeong, South Korea); later she lived in Wonju, Gangwon Province. Bak made her literary debut in 1955, with ''Gyesan'' (, Calculations). She is, however, most well known for her 20-volume story '' Toji'' (, The Land), an epic saga set on the turbulent history of Korea during 19th and 20th century. It was later adapted into a movie, a television series and an opera. Toji is regarded as one of the greatest contributions to Korean literature.Pak Kyongni: South Korean novelist – Author whose epic novel, Toji, is regarded as one of the greatest contributions to Korean literature
– ''The Times (June 8, 2008)'' (Retrieved on July 10, 2008) South Korea-based international literary award Park Kyong-ni Prize, one of the  richest literary prizes in the world, was named after her in 2011.

Bak Kyoungli died from lung cancer at the age of 81 on May 5, 2008 and many literary writers recollected her as a guide for their literary works and life as a writer. She was posthumously awarded the country's top medal by the newly created Culture Ministry of South Korea for her promoting South Korean arts."Park Kyung-ni Dies at 82"
– ''The Korea Times (05-05-2008)'' (Retrieved on May 12, 2008)

Biography

Bak Kyoungli was born as the first daughter to a middle-class family in 1926 in Tōei, Korea, Empire of Japan. Her birth name was Bak Geum-i (). Her parents married when her mother was eighteen and her father, Bak Soo-young (), fourteen. The relationship between her parents did not go well, which deeply affected her life. Her problems started when her father left her mother immediately after her birth. Later, she said that she had both sympathy and contempt toward her mother, but hatred against her father. Her response was to isolate herself in an imaginary world centered around her books.

In 1946, one year after her graduation from (), she married Gim Hangdo (), a clerk of the Office of Monopoly (전매부, now the Korea Tobacco & Ginseng Corporation). However, her problems did not end with her marriage. Her husband was accused of being a communist, then went missing during the Korean War and eventually died in Seodaemun Prison. She lost her 3 year-old baby son in the same year. As a widow, she provided the sole financial support for her daughter and mother.

She began her career as a professional writer in 1955 after a recommendation by the novelist and poet, Kim Tong-ni (). She underwent surgery for breast cancer in the 1960s and had to raise her grandson, Wonbo, after her son-in-law and poet, Kim Ji-ha () was arrested for allegedly being a communist in the 1970s. She later suffered from lung cancer.

Work

When she debuted, she said "If I had been happy, I would have not begun writing." She also said later, "I live with my mother and daughter and had to support them financially by myself. I began writing since I had hope to get away from my adversity."
Her difficult personal life surely influenced her works, where she emphasized human dignity.

She started her career as a writer with the novel, ''Calculations'' (계산, Gyesan) and her early work was heavily influenced by her personal circumstances. The narrators in her novels like ''Time of Distrust'' (불신 시대, Boolsin Sidae) and ''Time of Darkness'' (암흑 시대, Amheuk Sidae) are often women living with their mothers who lost a husband and son, reflecting her own life. In her later work, ''The Daughters of Pharmacist Kim'' (김 약국의 딸들, Kimyakgukui Ddaldeul), she emphasizes characters who overcome their difficulties. Later, her point of view became more objective in that her fictional setting moved from the Korean War period to everyday life; employing more varied styles and topics.

''Toji'' (The Land)

'' Toji'' (The Land) is the most famous of her novels. This epic novel was started as a serial publication in the September 1969 issue of ' (현대 문학, Hyundae Munhak).Chung Ah-young: Life, Literature of Pak Kyongni
– ''The Korea Times (05-05-2008)'' (Retrieved on July 10, 2008) It took her 25 years to write. Its theme is the turbulence at the turn of the 20th century when the Korean people were struggling against Japanese imperialism and has hundreds of characters from across the Korean peninsula; following them from the late 19th century to the early 20th century through Japan's colonial rule to the division of the peninsula. "Kim Gilsang" () and "Choi Seohee" (), the main protagonists of the novel, like those in her other novels, struggle to save their own dignity in the most turbulent period of Korean history. It employs native folk language and diverse character portrayals, depicting Korea's modern history through the love of a vast "Mother Earth".

It has been made into a TV series, a movie, and an opera. It has also been translated into several languages including English, German, French and Japanese as well as being included in the UNESCO Collection of Representative Works.Yoon Sojung: Life and works of veteran novelist
– ''Korea.net'' (Retrieved on July 9, 2008)
– ''Korean Studies Review 1998, no. 3'' (Retrieved on July 10, 2008)

She opened the "Toji Cultural Center" on the site of her original home in Wonju, Gangwon Province, in 1999, to help nurture new writers. She also served as a chairperson of the board of trustees of the "", which was established in 1996.

Works

In Korean

* 1955 ''Calculation'' (계산, ''Gyesan'')
* 1956 ''Black and Black and White and White'' (흑흑백백, ''Heukheuk baekbaek'')
* 1957 ''Period of Distrust'' (불신 시대, ''Boolsin Sidae'')
* 1957 ''Missions''
* 1958 ''Love Song'' (연가, ''Yeonga'' )
* 1958 ''Byeokji'' ()
* 1958 ''Time of Darkness'' (암흑 시대, ''Amheuk Sidae'')
* 1959 ''Pyoryudo'' ()
* 1962 ''The Daughters of Pharmacist Kim'' (김 약국의 딸들, ''Kim Yakgukui Ttaldeul'')
* 1963 ''Pasi'' ()
* 1965 ''The Market and War field (시장과 전장, ''Sijang gwa Jeonjang'')
* 1965 ''Green Zone'' (Nokjidae, 녹지대)
* 1969–1994 '' Toji'' (토지 The Land)
* ''My Mind is Lake'' ()
* ''Blue Galaxy'' ()

In translation

* Land 1 ()
* Land 2 ()
* Land 3 ()
* Land 4 ()
* Markt und Krieg ()
* Дочери аптекаря Кима ()
* The Curse of Kim's Daughters ()
* 土地 第一部 第二卷 (토지 1)
* 土地 第一部 第二卷 (토지 2)
* 土地 第一部 第三卷 (토지 3)
* 金药局家的女儿们 (김 약국의 딸들)
* La Terre ()
* Les filles du Pharmacien Kim ()

Awards

*The Woltan Literature Award (for ''Land'').
* Contemporary Literature (Hyundae Munhak) Award (1958)
* Inchon Award
*Korean Women's Literature Award
*The ''Bogwan'' Order of Cultural Merit (awarded 1992).
* Order of Cultural Merit, Geum-gwan Medal (Gold Crown) 금관장 (awarded posthumously).

Legacy

On June 20, 2018, the first monument to her outside of South Korea was erected in Saint Petersburg.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pak, Kyongni
1926 births
2008 deaths
People from Tongyeong
South Korean Roman Catholics
South Korean novelists
20th-century South Korean poets
Deaths from lung cancer
Recipients of the Ho-Am Prize in the Arts
Recipients of the Order of Cultural Merit (South Korea)
South Korean women poets
20th-century Korean novelists
20th-century South Korean women writers