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Yi Mun-yol

Yi Mun-yol was born in Seoul in 1948, but his father defected to North Korea during the Korean War, leaving his family in the South, where they had to endure years of suspicion and stigma. After much torment, struggle and poverty, he was able to enter Seoul National University. He made his literary debut in 1979 when his novella Saehagok was one of the winners of the New Spring Literary Contest sponsored by the Dong-a Ilbo newspaper. A prolific author, Yi Mun-yol has published a number of outstanding novels including Son of Man (the first chapter of which appears above), The PoetFor the Emperor, and the novellas Garuda and Our Twisted Hero. Since 1999 he has served as the head of the Buak Literary Center, a residential program for budding writers.



Articles Available Online


Son of Man

fiction

January 2014

Yi Mun-yol

TR. Brother Anthony of Taizé

fiction

January 2014

Rain falling onto thick layers of accumulated dust had left the windows of the criminal investigations office so mottled that they were virtually opaque....

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poetry

Issue No. 2

Letter to Jim Jarmusch [Broken Flowers]

Jon Thompson

poetry

Issue No. 2

What they’ll know of us in future years: the large interiors of our suburban homes were designed by others...

Art

Issue No. 12

After After

Johanna Drucker

Art

Issue No. 12

So many things are ‘over’ now that all the post- and neo- prefixes are themselves suffering from fatigue. Even...

Interview

Issue No. 17

Interview with George Saunders

Aidan Ryan

Interview

Issue No. 17

The American short story writer George Saunders has the kind of reputation that makes one hesitate before typing his...

 

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