An Boyun
An Boyun (born 1981) is a South Korean Writer. She was born in Incheon. She graduated Myongji University in history, and also earned a master's degree in creative writing from the same university. She began her literary career by winning the Munhakdongne Writer Award in 2005 with her novel Akeottaega nawatda (악어떼가 나왔다 A Swarm of Crocodiles Came Out). In 2009, she won the Jaeum & Moeum Literature Prize for her novel Ozeuwa dakteo (오즈와 닥터 Oz and the Doctor).
Life[edit]
An Boyun studied history in university. It was a major she chose in order to become a history teacher. However, when she entered university, it didn't fit with her, leaving her to wander. At that time, her mother mentioned writer Park Bum-shin, saying that if she doesn't like history, perhaps she should take one of his classes. The class that she took by her mother's suggestion was so enjoyable that she started writing fiction. However, she had grown up too ordinarily to write fiction. One time, writer Park Bum-shin, who had taught her during her 20s, asked her what her dream was, and she answered “get into a small company, save up for 3 years, and marry a man after 2 years of dating”. During a fiction writing class, her first story that she had submitted as an assignment received a harsh criticism that said, "you have lived far too comfortably, and have resided in such comfort, and it seems that you are simply doing average writing without any sense of challenging yourself and doing something new". Because of that, she continued writing out of refusing to yield.[1]
Writing[edit]
An's works are full of violent fantasies. She calmly reveals the pathological elements of Korean society. The characters in her fiction are always second class citizens who are unable to belong anywhere, and are always helplessly exposed to violence. In her debut work, Akeottaega nawatda (악어떼가 나왔다 A Swarm of Crocodiles Came Out), one of the protagonists, a woman with C-cup breasts, makes into the finals of a model audition, but she gets eliminated due to her legs not being pretty enough. She begins to hate her legs, and she smashes her legs using a wooden bar with rusty nails, which causes her legs to start rotting, and leads to the amputation of her legs.[2] In Sasohan munjedeul (사소한 문제들 Petty Issues), there are kids who dominate the playground and don't go to school. At the playground, high school boys order a middle school boy Hwang Sun-gu to rape a middle school girl, and watch it happening while laughing. Hwang Sun-gu discovers an elementary school girl Kwon A-yeong, who is called Shrek because she is ugly and fat, and repeats the violence that he has received on her.[3]
As her works are filled with such violence, An has been asked from early in her career why she depicts such unreal violence. However, she instead retorts by asking whether such violence is actually unreal. Because in today's reality, stories that are more fiction than fiction grace the headlines of newspapers everyday, and such brutal and tragic events actually, and certainly exist in this society.[4] Therefore, in An's works, her protagonists don't have a future. They are in a state where the possibility of being able to change their lives is taken from them, and all they can do is simply endure their hopeless lives. An Boyun shows such uncomfortable truth in the form of an ironic theater of cruelty.
Works[edit]
- Hotel Peurinseu (호텔 프린스 Hotel Prince), 2017.
- Almaui sup (알마의 숲 Alma's Forest), 2015.
- Bikyojeok annyeonghan dangsinui haru (비교적 안녕한 당신의 하루 Your Relatively Peaceful Day), 2014.
- Moreuneun cheok (모르는 척 Pretending to Not Know), 2013.
- Useonmeomchum (우선멈춤 Stopping First), 2012.
- Sasohan munjedeul (사소한 문제들 Petty Issues), 2011.
- Ozeuwa dakteo (오즈와 닥터 Oz and the Doctor), 2009.
- Akeottaega nawatda (악어떼가 나왔다 A Swarm of Crocodiles Came Out), 2005.
Awards[edit]
- Jaeum & Moeum Literature Prize, 2009.
- Munhakdongne Writer Award, 2005.
References[edit]
- ↑ Youth Writer Special 2, Special Stories Made From Violent Fantasies – Writer An Boyun, Channel Yes, accessed July 28th, 2017.
- ↑ Munhakdongne Website Archived 2017-09-18 at the Wayback Machine, accessed July 28th, 2017.
- ↑ Munhakdongne Website Archived 2017-09-18 at the Wayback Machine, accessed July 28th 2017.
- ↑ Munhakdongne Website Archived 2017-09-18 at the Wayback Machine, accessed July 28th, 2017.
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