Korean Choi In-ho (1945-2013) is not new for those who love Korean films and TV dramas as well as novels. Passing away at the age of 68, the writer is known as a leader of the youth culture of the 1970s.
He initially began his literary career in 1963 when he was a second-grade high-schooler by becoming the youngest writer to win at an annual literary contest held by the Hankook Ilbo, with a short novel titled Into the Hall of the Wall, which took the Korean literary circle by surprise. Later, he wrote vigorously and produced many novels.
Choi won the Rookie of the Year Award with his novel Another Man's Room in 1972. A year later, his novel The Stars Heavenly Home sold more than 1 million copies for the first time in the history of Korean literature, which made him a best-seller writer. This novel was later made into a film and also became a box office hit. In another novel written in the same year, The March of Fools, he wrote about the dreams and loves of Korean college students in the face of social pressures, which created a big sensation among Korean youths at that time. It was also filmed under the same title and became commercially successful, symbolizing an icon of romance in the 1970s.
Polish translation of Masquerade (left), French version of Deep Blue Night (images courtesy of Literature Translation Institute of Korea)
Other popular books of his such as Deep Blue Night, Whale Hunting, and Wanderer in Winter all won popularity among the Korean public and were adapted as films, all of which became box office hits. His novels were also made in TV dramas which won high ratings from Korean viewers. Among his works, The Merchant of Joseon (Sangdo in Korean) and Emperor of the Sea (also known as Haeshin in Korean) were dramatized and aired by MBC and KBS in 2001 and 2004, respectively, which won popularity not only among Koreans but also viewers across the globe, including India, Europe, and the Middle East.
Japanese versions of Another Man's Room (left) and Dream Journey to the Peach Blossom Land (images courtesy of Literature Translation Institute of Korea)
His novels which were translated into English, Japanese, Polish, and French include Deep Blue Night, Another Man's Room, Tower of Ants, Dream Journey to the Peach Blossom Land, and Masquerade.
On September 27, the Korean government awarded Choi the Eungwan Order of Culture Merit, the second highest artistic recognition, for his contribution to Korean literature and Korean popular culture.
source:korea.net
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