“Thirty-two. I have nothing to my name and nothing to show for myself. There is no one who loves me desperately, and there is no one I love desperately. Is it the melancholy of freedom, or the freedom of melancholy?” (Dalkomhan naui dosi (달콤한 나의 도시 My Sweet Seoul), Moonji, 2006)
Jeong Yi Hyun is a fiction writer who depicts the lives of urban women with a cool, unsentimental gaze.
1. Life
Jeong Yi Hyun was born in Seoul in 1972. Her birth name is Hong Jong-hyeon, and Jeong Yi Hyun is her pen name. She graduated with a degree in political science and international relations from Sungshin Women's University and completed graduate coursework in women’s studies at the same university. She made her literary debut in 2002 when “Nangmanjeong saranggwa sahoe” won the inaugural New Writer's Award from Literature and Society. In 2004, she received the 5th Lee Hyoseok Literary Award for “Tainui godok” (타인의 고독 The Loneliness of Others), and in 2006 she won the 51st Hyundae Munhak Literary Award for “Sampung baekhwajeom.” Her best-known novel Dalkomhan naui dosi enjoyed considerable popular success and was adapted into a television series in 2008. She has continued to write steadily, and since 2021 has been serializing the novel Polaroid (폴라로이드) on Changbi Switch.
2. Writing
Jeong Yi Hyun first drew attention for her bold and subversive imagination, which challenged the solemnity and seriousness of literary fiction. Particularly in her early works, including “Nangmanjeong saranggwa sahoe” (낭만적 사랑과 사회 Romantic Love and Society), “Sonyeo sidae” (소녀시대 Girls’ Generation), “Mugunghwa” (무궁화 The Rose of Sharon), “Sinsik kichin” (신식 키친 New-Style Kitchen), and “Isipsegi modan geol shin Kim Yeonsil jeon” (이십세기 모단 걸_신 김연실전 The New Tale of Kim Yeonsil, a Twentieth-Century Modern Girl), she primarily portrayed the lives of urban men and women, often against the backdrop of Seoul’s Gangnam district. Her fiction captures the diverse values, lifestyles, sensibilities, and cultural codes of young urbanites with remarkable precision, weaving them naturally into her narratives. Her first novel, Dalkomhan naui dosi (달콤한 나의 도시 My Sweet Seoul), became especially popular for its vivid portrayal of the everyday lives of young people living in the city. Women in Jeong’s works do not conceal their desires, and are sometimes misconstrued as “bad women.” These reactions underscore the extent to which Jeong exposes the desires at the heart of contemporary society. In the autobiographical novel “Sampung baekhwajeom” (삼풍백화점 Sampoong Department Store), Jeong turns a cold, detached gaze on the protagonist and observes her growth. Her characteristic detachment continues to appear in her later works. In Sangnyanghan pongnyeogui sidae (상냥한 폭력의 시대 The Age of Civilized Violence), for instance, she reveals personal suffering obscured by larger historical narratives through the stories of women disillusioned with love. In Alji mothaneun modeun sindeurege (알지 못하는 모든 신들에게 To All the Unknown Gods), she examines people who live with indifference toward others and a strong sense of self-interest. Across these works, social issues emerge through the inner lives of individual characters.
Reference
Fiction
《낭만적 사랑과 사회》(문학과지성사, 2003) / Nangmanjeong saranggwa sahoe (Romantic Love and Society), Moonji, 2003
《달콤한 나의 도시》, 문학과지성사, 2006 / Dalkomhan naui dosi (My Sweet Seoul), Moonji, 2006
《오늘의 거짓말》, 문학과지성사, 2007 / Oneurui geojitmal (Lies for Today), Moonji, 2007
《너는 모른다》, 문학동네, 2009 / Neoneun moreunda (You Don’t Know), Munhakdongne, 2009
《사랑의 기초 : 연인들》, 톨, 2012 / Sarangui gicho: yeonindeul (Foundation of Love: A Couple's Story), Tol, 2012
《안녕, 내 모든 것》, 창비, 2013 / Annyeong, nae modeun geot (Goodbye, My Everything), Changbi, 2013
《말하자면 좋은 사람》, 마음산책, 2014 / Malhajamyeon joeun saram (A Good Person, So to Speak), Maumsanchaek, 2014
《상냥한 폭력의 시대》, 문학과지성사, 2016 / Sangnyanghan pongnyeogui sidae (The Age of Civilized Violence), Moonji, 2016
《알지 못하는 모든 신들에게》, 현대문학, 2018 / Alji motaneun modeun sindeurege (To All the Unknown Gods), Hyundae Munhak, 2018
(co-authored) 《2003 현장비평가가 뽑은 올해의 좋은 소설》, 현대문학, 2003 / 2003 Hyeonjang bipyeongaga ppobeun olhaeui joeun soseol (Good Fiction of the Year as Selected by Working Critics, 2003), Hyundae Munhak, 2003
(co-authored) 《타인의 고독 외 : 2004년 제5회 이효석문학상 수상작품집》, 해토, 2004 / Tainui godok oe: 2004-nyeon Je 5-hoe Lee Hyoseok munhaksang susang jakpumjip (The Loneliness of Others and Other Stories: 5th Lee Hyoseok Literary Award Anthology, 2004), Haeto, 2004
(co-authored) 《2005 '작가'가 선정한 오늘의 소설》, 작가, 2005 / 2005 'Jakga'-ga seonjeonghan oneurui soseol (Today's Fiction as Selected by 'Jakga', 2005), Jakga, 2005
(co-authored) 《2005 현장비평가가 뽑은 올해의 좋은 소설》, 현대문학, 2005 / 2005 Hyeonjang bipyeongaga ppobeun olhae-ui joeun soseol (Good Fiction of the Year as Selected by Working Critics, 2005), Hyundae Munhak, 2005
(co-authored) 《삼풍백화점 : 2006년 제51회 현대문학상 수상소설집》, 현대문학, 2005 / Sampung baekhwajeom: 2006-nyeon Je 51-hoe hyeondae munhaksang susang soseoljip (Sampoong Department Store: 51st Hyundae Literary Award Fiction Anthology, 2006), Hyundae Munhak, 2005
(co-authored) 《2006 '작가'가 선정한 오늘의 소설》, 작가, 2006 / 2006 'Jakga'-ga seonjeonghan oneurui soseol (Today's Fiction as Selected by 'Jakga', 2006), Jakga, 2006
(co-authored) 《현대문학상 수상 작품집 1997–2007》, 현대문학, 2008 / Hyeondae munhaksang susang jakpumjip 1997–2007 (Hyundae Munhak Literary Award Anthology 1997–2007), Hyundae Munhak, 2008
(co-authored) 《자전소설 1》, 강, 2010 / Jajeon soseol 1 (Autobiographical Fiction 1), Gangbook, 2010
(co-authored) 《젊은 도시, 오래된 성》, 자음과모음(이룸), 2011 / Jeolmeun dosi, oraedoen seong (Young City, Ancient Castle), Jaeum & Moeum (Irum), 2011
(co-authored) 《금성녀》, 문예중앙, 2014 / Geumseongnyeo (Venus Woman), Munye Joongang, 2014
(co-authored) 《더 클로짓 노블》, 문학과지성사, 2014 / Deo Keullojit nobeul (The Closet Novel), Moonji, 2014
(co-authored) 《작별》, 은행나무, 2018 / Jakbyeol (Farewell), EunHaeng NaMu, 2018
(co-authored) 《사랑, 이별, 죽음에 관한 짧은 소설》, 시간의흐름, 2023 / Sarang, ibyeol, jugeume gwanhan jjalbeun soseol (Short Fiction on Love, Farewell, and Death), Siganui Heureum, 2023
(co-authored) 《스무 낮 읽고 스무 밤 느끼다》, 마음산책, 2024 / Seumu nat ikgo seumu bam neukkida (Read Twenty Days, Feel Twenty Nights), Maumsanchaek, 2024
(co-authored) 《소설, 한국을 말하다》, 은행나무, 2024 / Soseol, Hangugeul malhada (Fiction Speaks of Korea), EunHaeng NaMu, 2024
Essays
《풍선》, 마음산책, 2007 / Pungseon (Balloon), Maumsanchaek, 2007
《작별》, 마음산책, 2007 / Jakbyeol (Farewell), Maumsanchaek, 2007
《우리가 녹는 온도》, 달, 2017 / Uriga nongneun ondo (The Temperature at Which We Melt), Dal, 2017
(co-authored) 《습지의 숨.쉼,》, 시공미디어, 2013 / Seupjiui sum.shim (The Breath and Rest of the Wetland), Sigong Media, 2013
(co-authored) 《라면이 없었더라면》, 로도스, 2013 / Ramyeoni eopseotdeoramyeon (If There Had Been No Ramyeon), Rhodos, 2013
(co-authored) 《나를 울리는 소리》, 도마뱀출판사, 2021 / Nareul ullineun sori (The Sound That Makes Me Cry), Domabaem Books, 2021
Miscellaneous works
(co-authored) 《우리가 참 아끼던 사람》(달, 2016) / Uriga cham akkideun saram (The Person We Truly Cherished), Dal, 2016
Reference
Kwon Young-min, Encyclopedia of Modern Korean Literature, Seoul National University Press, 2004.
Arts Council Korea, Culture and Art, May Issue, Arts Council Korea, 2006.
LTI Korea 
DLKL 
SIWF 
