Seonu Hwi

Seonu Hwi (January 3, 1922 – June 12, 1986) was a South Korean author and novelist.

Life
Seonu Hwi was born on January 3, 1922, in Chongju, Heianhoku-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan (now North Pyongan Province, North Korea). A writer poet, journalist, soldier and philosopher he also fought in the Korean War from 1950 to 1952. poet, journalist, soldier and philosopher. He was a famous realist and anticommunist writer and journalist. Seonu Hwi graduated from Gyeongseong Teachers School in 1944. He worked as a reporter for Chosun Ilbo before enlisting in the army in 1949 as an information and education officer. He made his literary debut in 1955 with the publication of his story "Ghost" (Gwisin).

Work
The Korea Literature Translation Institute summarized Seonu Hwi's work:


 * Behavioral humanism, or the expression of an active will in dire situations, characterizes Sunwoo Hwi’s literary world. “Flowers of Fire” (Bulkkot), for which he first gained recognition, features a man who overcomes his escapist mentality to embrace the spirit of resistance. As revealed in “Flowers of Fire” as well as in the novels Flagman Without a Flag (Gitbal eomneun gisu) and The Finale of the Chase (Chujeogui pinalle), the will to act is rooted in respect for mankind and desire to oppose dehumanization. For Sunwoo Hwi, the responsibility of intellectuals includes active participation in the affairs of the society and resistance to dehumanization caused by ideological conflicts and social ills. The humanistic approach, however, is overemphasized in works such as Myth of Bush-Clover Village (Ssaritgorui sinhwa), giving the work the feel of an imaginary world removed from contemporary reality. After 1965, Sunwoo Hwi began to evince a more conservative attitude towards the establishment. “Golgotha Without Cross” (Sipjaga eomneun golgoda), “A Thirteen-Year-Old Boy” (Yeol sesarui sonyeon) and “A Funny Story About Funny People” focus on nostalgia for lost childhood homes, and The Jackpot (Nodaji), serialized in Chosun Weekly from 1979 to 1981, is a family chronicle.

Works in translation

 * The Mirror

Works in Korean (partial)

 * Seonu Hwi munhakjunjip (1987)
 * Ghost
 * Fired
 * Manghyang
 * Legend of Saritkgo

Awards

 * Dong-in Literary Award (1957)