Son Sohui

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Son Sohui
Sosohuinovelist.jpeg
Born
Korean: 손소희)

(1917-09-12)September 12, 1917
North Hamgyong Province
DiedJanuary 7, 1987(1987-01-07) (aged 69)
EducationNihon University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
Spouse(s)Kim Tong-ni

Son Sohui (September 12, 1917 – January 7, 1987; Korean: 손소희) was a South Korean writer of novels and short stories. A leading woman writer in the colonial and postwar periods, she is considered one of the first Korean authors to address women's psychological struggles in fiction.

Early life and education[]

Son Sohui was born in 1917 in North Hamgyong Province's Eorang township,Kyongsong County, in what is now North Korea.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

After graduating from a girls' school in Hamhung in 1936, she traveled to study English at Japan's Nihon University, but she dropped out of the program after a short period.[5] She would later study English at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, graduating in 1961.[5]

Career[]

Over her 40-year career, Son wrote around 100 short stories and 11 novels.[3] Her career began in 1939, when she was working as a journalist for the  [ko] in Manchuria, and she began publishing poetry.[5][8] Her literary efforts grew after returning to Korea following independence in 1945, and she began publishing poetry in the influential monthly magazine Sinsedae, then quickly expanded into short story writing.[5] Her first short story collection, Riragi (梨羅記), was published in 1948.[5]

She also continued her work as a journalist in this period, serving as editor in chief of the magazine Hyeseong from 1949 until the start of the Korean War, and shepherding the growth of the magazine Hankuk Munhak, through which she helped offer young writers the chance to be published for the first time.[5]

Later in her career, Son primarily focused on writing novels, starting with Taeyangui Gyegok (태양의 계곡, "The Valley of the Sun") in 1959.[5] She also worked as an academic, teaching at Sorabol College, Hongik University, and Chung-Ang University in 1965, 1968, and 1978, respectively.[5]

Son is thought to be one of the first Korean writers to focus on women's struggles.[3] Her work frequently incorporated themes of madness and suicide in portraying women's responses to an oppressive society, employing a psychological realist style.[3][9] She also addressed ethnic issues during the Japanese occupation, becoming a leading female novelist of the Japanese colonial period.[5][10] In 1961, she was the recipient of both the Seoul Culture Award and the May Literary Award.[5]

Her 1963 novel Nampung (남풍) was translated into English in 1988, as The Wind From the South.[5][11][12] In the 1980s and '90s, her work was also included in translation in the anthologies Modern Korean Short Stories and Modern Korean Literature: An Anthology, 1908-65.[13]

Personal life, death, and legacy[]

Son was the second wife of fellow writer Kim Tong-ni, whom she married in 1953 and also collaborated with.[3][5][14]

She died in 1987.[5][15] In 2012, she was featured in the YoungIn Museum of Literature's exhibit "Korean Women’s Literature 30 Years."[2]

References[]

  1. ^ "손소희". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture.
  2. ^ a b Lee, Claire (2012-11-06). "Archiving memories of writers". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  3. ^ a b c d e Kim, Hyung-eun (2017-04-21). "Honoring Korea's literary greats: Celebrating the significant cultural contributions of writers". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  4. ^ "Son, So-hŭi, 1917-". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Son So-Hui(손소희)". Digital Library of Korean Literature. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  6. ^ Lee, Peter H. (2003-12-18). A History of Korean Literature. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-44086-8.
  7. ^ 最新國文學資料論文集 (續篇): 1982-1989 (in Korean). 大提閣. 1900.
  8. ^ Seo, Seung-hui (August 2018). "Son So-hui and The Liberation -Novel Writing of Female Returnees in Liberation Period and Meaning of the Nation Discourse". Gubo Hakbo-The Journal of Korean Modern Literature (19): 149–177. doi:10.35153/GUBOKR.2018..19.004.
  9. ^ Questioning Minds: Short Stories by Modern Korean Women Writers. University of Hawaii Press. 2009-10-15. ISBN 978-0-8248-3395-4.
  10. ^ "Hwang Sun-won: one of the great Korean authors of the 21th century". Korea.net. 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  11. ^ "Son, So-hŭi 1917-". WorldCat. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  12. ^ West, Philip; Levine, Steven I.; Hiltz, Jackie (2015-06-03). United States and Asia at War: A Cultural Approach: A Cultural Approach. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-45292-8.
  13. ^ "Son, So hui, The afternoon of mellow persimmons". Korean Bibliographies Online Catalog. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  14. ^ Ryu, Youngju (2015-11-30). Writers of the Winter Republic: Literature and Resistance in Park Chung Hee's Korea. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-5684-7.
  15. ^ 손보미 (2010). 손 소희 작품집 (in Korean). 지식 을 만드는 지식. ISBN 978-89-6406-315-6.
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