Recipient of the 2026 Arts Council Korea Literature Fellowship
"I wanted to find an answer. But it turns out there aren't any right answers to life." —From "Emotion Subscribers" in I'm Still Here, (Changbi, 2026)
Using fantasy and SF, Jun Sung-hyun portrays the human nature and choices of protagonists in technologically advanced worlds struck by disaster, asking what it means to be human.
1. Life
Jun Sung-hyun was born in Seoul in 1972. Early bible lessons at church contributed to her understanding of the world and orderly way of thinking, which became her basis as an author from which she expanded her worldview to the universe and science fiction. She majored in design at university and became enthralled with the possibilities of writing while studying children's illustration, prompting her to study literature at graduate school.
She made her literary debut in 2009 when her children's story "Yeah, It Was You" won the children's category of the Chosun Ilbo New Writer’s Contest, and established herself as an author when The Lost Diary won Grand Prize at the 15th Changbi “Good Books for Children” Competition in 2011. Besides being a writer, Jun is interested in combining literature with different sorts of art. She plans a lecture series pairing art with movement, as well as expanding her literary horizons to an art archive complex using narrative as a medium.
2. Writing
Jun Sung-hyun's debut work "Yeah, It Was You" and first book The Lost Diary use communication as an approach to the various cares and concerns of the young protagonists. Since then, Jun has built up a sci-fi-based backlist from Siren, set in a dystopian society where no one has to wonder about their future, as everything is decided by the government; Two Moons, in which the protagonist finds himself in a parallel universe taken over by a virus; and Noah, the Secret Planet, which takes on the issue of nuclear energy through an asteroid disaster.
Jun's science fiction is set in the future, but always starts from contemporary issues. As can be seen in "Sinkhole," which begins with a social disaster due to haphazard development, and Road View, One Year Ago, which opens with the natural disaster of an earthquake, Jun's work is propelled by fractures in reality. At its heart is the viewpoint of children faced with disaster.
The author's YA short story collections Deathtimer and I'm Still Here take this theme further, exploring war, nature, and humanity while raising philosophical questions. The worldview and characters driving the narratives may be different, but are all concerned with the "tomorrow" of adolescents who have arrived in the future.
As this narrative trajectory shows, Jun is a writer who transforms contemporary issues through futuristic imagination. Her work has made meaningful contributions to YA science fiction, with every reason to watch how it may evolve in the future.
Reference
Children's Fiction
The Lost Diary 잃어버린 일기장 (Changbi Publishers, Inc. 창비, 2011)
Siren 사이렌 (Moonji Publishing co., Ltd. 문학과지성사, 2014)
Two Moons 두 개의 달 (Moonji Publishing co., Ltd. 문학과지성사, 2018)
One Day, Disappeared 어느 날, 사라진 (Changbi Publishers, Inc. 창비, 2018)
Kong, Psychic Detective 3 귀신 보는 추리 탐정, 콩3 (Danbi Children's 단비어린이, 2021)
Road View, One Year Ago 일 년 전 로드뷰 (Byeolsoop 별숲, 2021)
Noah, the Secret Planet 비밀의 행성 노아 (Moonji Publishing co., Ltd. 문학과지성사, 2023)
(Co-author) Really Really (공저) 진짜 가짜 (Hyunbooks 현북스, 2013)
(Co-author) Eunjae the Just (공저) 정의로운 은재 (Sakyejul Publishing Ltd 사계절, 2021)
(Co-author) The Mystery Club (공저) 미스터리 클럽 (Danbi Children's 단비어린이, 2022)
(Co-author) Crash Landing on Earth (공저) 지구 불시착 외계인 보고서 (marubebooks 마루비, 2022)
(Co-author) Jump Jump Sky Kick! (공저) 점프 점프 하늘 킥! (marubebooks 마루비, 2024)
YA Fiction
Deathtimer 데스타이머 (Sakyejul Publishing Ltd 사계절, 2022)
The Breakup Museum 이별 박물관 (Changbi Publishers, Inc. 창비, 2025)
I'm Still Here 아직 여기에 있어 (Changbi Publishers, Inc. 창비, 2026)
Academic Papers
"The Dissolution and Restoration of Family as Seen Through the Bildungsroman: With a Focus On My Sister, Mongsil and Who Ate Up All the Shinga?" (Dongguk University Graduate School of Culture & Arts, 2010) 성장소설의 관점에서 본 가족의 해체와 복원 : 『몽실언니』와 『그 많던 싱아는 누가 다 먹었을까』를 중심으로 (동국대학교 문화예술대학원, 2010)
Reference
김지은, <저마다 다른 삶의 의미와 가능성에 대해>, 기획회의, 375호
Profile information provided by the Arts Council Korea (ARKO)
LTI Korea 
DLKL 
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