Soyeon "Jay" Jeong (, born February 25, 1983) is a South Korean

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

writer, educator, translator, and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

. She is the founding member of the Science Fiction Writers Union of the Republic of Korea, and has been the head of the union since December 19, 2017.

Life and career

Jeong was born in 1983 in

Masan Masan () is an administrative region of Changwon, a city of South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It was formerly an independent city from 1949 until 30 June 2010, when it was absorbed to Changwon along with Jinhae District, Jinhae. Masan was ...

South Gyeongsang Province South Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World Heritage Site Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple tha ...

, South Korea. She attended the

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the SKY (universities), SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities. The university's main c ...

, where she majored in

social welfare Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance p ...

and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. She earned her JD from Yonsei Law School, Seoul, and currently resides in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. Deeply engaged in the South Korean science fiction fandom community since her late teens, she is considered an important figure in the field. She began her career as a science fiction author in 2004, and she was one of the founding members of Webzine Mirror. She mostly translated modern American science fiction, including ''

The Speed of Dark ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

'', '' Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang'', ''

The Martian Child "The Martian Child" is a novelette by American writer David Gerrold, originally published in ''Fantasy & Science Fiction''. It won the 1995 Hugo Award for Best Novelette, Locus Award and HOMer Award and the 1994 Nebula Award for Best Novelet ...

'', and ''

Beggars in Spain ''Beggars in Spain'' is a 1993 science fiction novel by American writer Nancy Kress. It was originally published as a novella with the same title in ''Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine'' and as a limited edition paperback by Axolotl Press ...

''. As a writer, she is best known for her award-winning short story Cosmic Go. The comics version of this short story was released for free and went viral. Her short story collection ''Yeonghee Next Door'' was published in 2015. As a lawyer, she is mostly known for her advocacy activities. She is an active member of

Minbyun Minbyun (; full name ) is a progressive South Korean social organization of lawyers. The organization aims to resolve social inequality in South Korean society through judicial and legislative means. Minbyun is headquartered in Seocho District, ...

(Lawyers for a Democratic Society). Lately she is known to have begun her own scholarship foundation, Boda Initiative, which supports tertiary education for less privileged girls in Asia. Jeong taught science fiction writing at Munji Culture Center from 2009 to 2011. She is currently a lecturer at Changbi Academy.

Awards

* 2005 Science and Technology Creative Award (''Cosmic Go)'' * 2006 Seoul National University Literary Award * 2017 Seoul Bar Association Commendation

Works(partial)

Works in Korean

*''Cosmic Go'' (short story, 2005) * ''Yeonghui Next Door'' (Changbi, 2015; YA Book of the Year 2015)

Works in translation

* ''Cosmic Go'' : in Readymade Bodhisattva,

Kaya Press Kaya Press is an independent non-profit publisher of writers of the Asian and Pacific Islander diaspora. Founded in 1994 by the postmodern Korean writer Soo Kyung Kim, Kaya Press is housed in the Department of American Studies and Ethnicity at the ...

*
Home
' :

Guernica Guernica (, ), officially Gernika () in Basque, is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the municipality of Gernika-Lumo ...

*
The Flowering
' :

Clarkesworld Magazine ''Clarkesworld Magazine'' is an American online fantasy and science fiction magazine edited by Neil Clarke. It released its first issue October 1, 2006, and has maintained a regular monthly schedule since, publishing fiction by authors such as ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeong, Soyeon 21st-century South Korean women writers 21st-century South Korean writers 1983 births Living people People from South Gyeongsang Province Seoul National University alumni Yonsei University alumni 21st-century South Korean lawyers South Korean science fiction writers Women science fiction and fantasy writers South Korean translators English–Korean translators 21st-century translators 21st-century South Korean women lawyers