Recipient of the 2026 Arts Council Korea Literature Fellowship

"This is a present for you. When your courage fails, this flower will give it back to you. It'll give you strength. No matter what happens to you, no matter what you see or hear, it'll always be on your side." —From Cheonsam’s Rebirth Project (Changbi, 2023)

Oh Sieun is a children's and YA writer who is equally at home with children's books, YA novels, and picture books, writing stories that organically embrace reality and imagination, individuals and community.

1. Life

Oh Sieun was born in 1972 in Seoul and grew up in the district of Geumcheon-gu. In a neighborhood equally marked by the traces of industrialization and the fervor of labor activism, she recalls her visceral reaction to woodblock posters and flyers which became the basis for the social consciousness that runs through her works. She was inspired to write for children after reading Michael Ende's Neverending Story, which fascinated her with the depth of its storytelling. This work convinced Oh that children's writing was the equal to any literature in terms of intellectual potential.

Around the time that she began writing, she was also working as an editor for the recently reissued children's magazine, Children and Literature, combining her own writing with criticism and producing. This experience proved to be vital in deepening her theoretical and practical knowledge of children's writing. From 2017 to 2019, she served as the magazine's editor-in-chief, which afforded her a first-row seat to the latest trends in contemporary children's fiction while honing her critical views and formal recognition. Since 2023, she serves on the masthead of the YA magazine Blank issued by the Museum of Korean Modern Literature while continuing to write.

2. Writing

The main themes of Oh Sieun's work are relationships, history, and social issues. In Oh's narratives, children are the architects of their destiny. Her 2004 work I am Kim Lee Park Hyeonhu exposes the inherent violence of the patrilineal hoju family register system from a child's point of view, meticulously pointing out the inconsistencies of the law and its effect on family narratives. The Night the Ghost Bird Cried, which established her as an author, uses the fantastical experience of seeing ghosts as a medium for exploring the psychology of wounded children as they form relationships with others. In this case, ghosts function not as an object of fear, but a metaphor for suppressed emotions. In Hun and Seok, the author uses play and wordplay as the mainstay of a narrative hailed as a light-hearted take on the resilience of childhood.

Oh's YA novel The Secret of the Ring fuses fantasy and SF in a tale of redemption moving through space and time, winning the YA Literature Award voted by young adult readers, while Hello, My Universe paints a sensitive picture of the mourning process after the loss of family, exploring the journey of acquiring the language to talk about grief.

The author is also interested in how children view and experience contemporary social issues. Cheonsam’s Rebirth Project borrows from Korean mythology and the idea of reincarnation to tackle gender stereotypes with humor and irony, told in the form of a fairy tale. When Yongyong Took Over the School introduces the alien presence of a dragon into the institutional environment of a school, taking a critical look at the built-in unfairness and politics of power.

In 2024, Oh created a historical work memorializing the Jeju April 3^rd massacre, the picture book Here Is Goneul-dong. The book faithfully reproduces local sentiment while paying tribute to this historical tragedy in reserved language, reminding us that we all owe it to ourselves to keep remembering.

On the whole, Oh draws upon mythology, folk tales, fantasy, and SF as narrative devices to comment on real issues in an indirect way. This imagination is not merely fantasy, but functions as a medium summoning up unspoken history and emotions. Beginning from the individual's private thoughts that expand to collective memory, Oh's work is all about constantly questioning what it means for us to live together.

Reference

Children's Fiction

Bokryong Rises Above the Stream 개천에서 복룡이 날다 (Ssideubug 씨드북, 2025)

When Yongyong Took Over the School 용용의 학교 점령기 (Barambooks 바람의아이들, 2024)

Cheonsam’s Rebirth Project 천삼이의 환생 작전 (Changbi Publishers, Inc. 창비, 2023)

Eunha Maeul Patrol’s Urban Engineering Dreams 은하 마을 수비대의 꿈꾸는 도시 연구소 (Gimmyoung Junior 주니어김영사, 2021)

There’s a Cat Living in Our Bathroom 우리 집 화장실에 고양이가 살아요 (Greenbook Publishing 그린북, 2021)

It’s Best to Be Me 예쁘기보다 멋지게 (Miseghy 미세기, 2018)

Dr. Tangtang Goes to Space 우주로 간 탕탕박사 (Gimmyoung Junior 주니어김영사, 2016)

From Me, To You 내가 너에게 (Barambooks 바람의아이들, 2015)

Caterpillar, I Got You 애벌레 너 딱 걸렸어 (Kkdotori 키큰도토리, 2013)

Hun and Seok 훈이 석이 (Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. 문학동네, 2010)

Be Humbled and Rejoice 나를 낮추면 다 즐거워 (Urikyoyuk, co. Ltd. 우리교육, 2010)

The Night the Ghost Bird Cried 귀신 새 우는 밤 (Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. 문학동네, 2008)

I am Kim Lee Park Hyeonhu 나는 김이박 현후 (proonibook 푸른책들, 2004)

(Co-author) My Supergirl (공저) 나의 슈퍼걸 (Pubnori 출판놀이, 2019)

(Co-author) The Sewol Ferry (공저) 세월호 이야기 (Byeolsoop 별숲, 2014)

(Co-author) How the First Person Was Born (공저) 맨 처음 사람이 생겨난 이야기 (Miseghy 미세기, 2014)

(Co-author) White Face (공저) 하얀 얼굴 (Changbi Publishers, Inc. 창비, 2010)

(Co-author) Kim Hongdo: Painting the Clowns (공저) 김홍도, 무동을 그리다 (proonibook 푸른책들, 2003)

Young Adult Fiction

Hello, My Universe 안녕, 나의 우주 (Barambooks 바람의아이들, 2021)

The Secret of the Ring 고리의 비밀 (Barambooks 바람의아이들, 2016)

(Co-author) Mr. Ri’s Daily Life (공저) 리 씨의 하루하루 (Incheon Writers' Association Anthology, 2024)

(Co-author) The Stars Whisper Your Story (공저) 별들이 네 얘기를 속삭여 (Incheon Writers' Association Anthology, 2023)

(Co-author) Just When You Need Magic (공저) 마술이 필요한 순간 (Incheon Writers' Association Anthology, 2022)

Picture Books

Here Is Goneul-dong 곤을동이 있어요 (Barambooks 바람의아이들, 2024)

Where Are You Going, Dong-su? 동수야, 어디 가니? (Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. 문학동네, 2010)

Essays and Biographies

(Co-author) You Call Me an Outsider (공저) 당신은 나를 이방인이라 부르네 (Humanitas 후마니타스., 2023)

(Co-author) Profiles of Danwon High School, April 16^th (공저) 짧은, 그리고 영원한-416 단원고 약전 (Good Plus Book 굿플러스북, 2016)

Reference

송수연, <미래를 앞당기는 동화>, 계간 창비어린이, 2024

최원오, <옛이야기의 절묘한 환생>. 계간 어린이와문학, 2024

오세란, <너도나도 행복할 수 있는 비밀>, 기획회의, 2023

엄혜숙, <그림책으로 보는 제주 4.3>, 작가들, 2024

Profile information provided by the Arts Council Korea (ARKO)