Eun, Mihee (Korean: 은미희; born on September 20, 1960) is a South Korean novelist, writer, columnist, and a college lecturer.[1] She was born in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province in southern South Korea and moved to Gwangju at 3 years old and grew up there. She was a radio actress at Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation in Gwangju in her early 20s and became a journalist at Jeonnam Maeil newspaper later. While working as a journalist, she realized that she really wanted to be a novelist. She started her work as a novelist and she won first prize the Jeonnam Ilbo Literature Award for the short novel What Kind of Silkworm's Dream in Cocoon in 1996. After that, she won the Munhwa Ilbo Literature Award in 1999 for another short novel: Bird Fly Again.

Mihee Eun (Eun, Mihee)
Mihee Eun in 2008; photograph by Il Chun Lee.
Mihee Eun in 2008; photograph by Il Chun Lee.
Born (1960-09-20) 20 September 1960 (age 64)
Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, South Korea
OccupationNovelist, essayist, college lecturer, columnist
NationalitySouth Korean
Alma materGwangju University
Notable worksPeople in Columbarium
Minority's Love
Song of the Wind
Ten Thousand and Two Brewing Women
The First Experience at 18
Flutter, Flutter, Butterfly
SpouseSingle
Korean name
Hangul
은미희
Hanja
殷美姬
Revised RomanizationEun Mihui
McCune–ReischauerŬn Mihŭi

She received the Samsung Literature Award in 2001 for People in Columbarium, which is a novel of poor peoples' lives at an inn in a small town.[2] Her novel Minority's Love received a good review. It depicted the unique and serious introspection about life in the shadow of the past as dealing with the dark side of love and life such as love between relatives and the same sex, which were contradicted, and not allowed socially. When she released the Song of the Wind based on interviews with strolling candy-selling entertainers that can be called as modern strolling-actors, she received sincere attention from the media about her literary skill — revealing the people's characters while describing the joys and sorrows of their lives.

Her first collection of short stories, Ten Thousand and Two Brewing Women, received compliments because she expressed the nobility of life in detail through people lead lonely daily lives. Her other her novels are The First Experience at 18, Wind Man Tree Woman, John Paul II, etc.[3]

Early life

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Eun was born in a small town as the fourth child and the third daughter of five. Her father was an art teacher at a high school who had three individual exhibitions and several group exhibitions as a member of Hwangto-Group. Mihee had a talent in painting like her father and received awards during elementary and middle school. However, she gave up her dream to be a painter because her father did not want her to be an artist.[4]

She started to develop her writing skill when she was in high school and received an award in a national writing contest. She got admission to Seokang Technology Institute but needed to drop out. Her oldest sister attended a graduate school and her older sister studied at an art college, so her family was not able to support her financially. In May 1980, she experienced serious panic condition when watching the Gwangju Democratization People's Uprising.[5] Many innocent people's deaths and violence done by soldiers made her look at life as vain.[6]

Career

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Eun enrolled at Korea National Open University. She got a job at Gwangju Munhwa Broadcasting Co. the following year, but she was not satisfied with it. At the age of 30, she decided to concentrate on writing a novel. Six years later, she received the Jeonnam Ilbo Literature Award for her short novel, What Kind of Silkworm's Dream in Cocoon, in 1996[7] and the ‘Munhwa Ilbo Literature Award in 1999 for another short novel, Bird Fly Again.[8] She turned into a professional novelist.[9] However, she destroyed her award plaques in 2000 and said,

“Plaque is just a souvenir to acknowledge of the birth of a writer. It might sound like presumptuous, but I badly hate the literature and art convert to the score. The writers should filter the stories that the readers can empathy through infinite imagination and experience. The writers should not stay in some limited fence like the stagnant water could be easily rot. Whenever I see the award plaque, it made me lazy since I recognized me as a ‘debut writer.’ Therefore, I destroyed all the plaques to have a mind of a beginner before debut.[10]

Her debut as a novelist was later than compared to her peer writers. She recalled that her family had a hard time due to her brother's constant business failures. Nevertheless, she mentioned that watching the Gwangju Uprising, experiencing financially hard times, and not receiving enough education gave her nourishment for life. When she decided to continue her study, she enrolled at Gwangju University in 1999 and got a master's degree from the school in 2010. After that, she started a Ph.D. course at Korean Teacher Department at Dongshin University in 2016. She has pursued her degree and has taught creative writing at Saengoji University[11] and screenwriting at the department of Broadcasting Entertainment at Dongshin University.

Written works

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  • 1996, short story What Kind of Silkworm's Dream in Cocoon: 누에는 고치 속에서 무슨 꿈을 꾸는가 Jeonnam Ilbo Literature Award[12]
  • 1999, short story Bird Fly Again: 다시 나는 새 Munwha Ilbo Literature Award[13]
  • 2001, novel People in Columbarium: 비둘기집사람들[14]
  • 2002, novel Minority's Love: 소수의 사랑[15]
  • 2005, novel Song of the Wind: 바람의 노래,[16][17]
  • 2005, biography Chosun Genius Painter Seungeop Jang: 조선의 천재 화가 장승업
  • 2006, short story book Ten thousand and two brewing Women: 만두 빚는 여자,[18][19]
  • 2006, collaborated Audio book: Snack
  • 2006, novel The First Experience at 18: 18세, 첫경험,[20][21]
  • 2006, short story I lost myself: 나를 잃다 (Munjang Webzine January 2007)[22]
  • 2007, novel Wind male tree woman: 바람남자 나무여자,[23][24]
  • 2007, biography Goddess of Creation and Destruction — Camille Claudel: 창조와 파괴의 여신 카미유 클로델[25]
  • 2008, short story A Landscape with a Blue Mold: 푸른 곰팡이가 있는 풍경 (Writer open tomorrow 52, winter)
  • 2008, collaborated 2 and 1/2: 2와 2분의 1[26]
  • 2008, picture book Shimchung Fell in Indangsu: 인당수에 빠진 심청[27]
  • 2009, novel Butterfly, Butterfly: 나비야 나비야[28]
  • 2010, picture book Introducing my Friend Butterfly: 내 친구 나비를 소개합니다
  • 2010, collaborated Thank You, Family: 가족, 당신이 고맙습니다
  • 2010, collaborated Class: All This Makes the Lost Memories
  • 2011, novel The First Experience at 18: Chinease version 18岁的初体验,[29]
  • 2011, novel Black Skirt Sadako (Jeongja Bae): 흑치마 사다코(배정자)[30][31]
  • 2012, collaborated Giddy Chatters of Eves: 이브들의 아찔한 수다[32]
  • 2012, biography Pope John Paul II – The Light of the Human Race: 인류의 빛 교황 요한 바오로 2세[33]
  • 2017, novel Flutter, Flutter, Butterfly: Age 15. Abused by thousands of soldiers – Based on a True Story[34]

Broadcasting works

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  • Narration: SBS 5.18 28 Anniversary Special 2-part series – <Destiny - 80518>(18 May 2008),[35][36][37][38]
  • Guest: SBS Field report- people world 230 – <Gwangju Diary of the Yellow Rose> (18 May 2005)[39]
  • Host: Park JongSam Production – <1. How I Started Writing “Flutter Flutter Butterfly”> (Oct 1, 2016)[40]
  • Host: Park JongSam Production – <2. The Recurrent Questions I Had Writing the Book> (Sep 30, 2016)[41]
  • Host: Park JongSam Production – <3. The Main Contents and Plot of the Book> (Sep 30, 2016)[42]
  • Host: Park JongSam Production – <4. The Lives of the Victimized Women: After the Lives as “Comfort Women”> (Sep 30, 2016)[43]
  • Host: Park JongSam Production – <5. The Things We Have to Keep on Dreaming About”> (Sep 30, 2016)[44]

Columns

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  • Accompanied with Mihee Eun (2017년~ ), column in Segye Ilbo[45]
  • Window of mind (2016~ ), column in Kunsulkyunggae Sinmun[46]
  • Live and think (2 January 2015 ~ 26 June 2015), column in Munwha Ilbo[47]
  • Blue square (30 June 2006 ~ 7 June 2012), column in Munwha Ilbo[48]
  • Mihee Eun's go out (2009 ~ 2011), column in Koomin Ilbo
  • Front essay in Lady Kyunghyang, June 2009[49]
  • Columnist in Jeonnam Ilbo
  • Mihee Eun's Gwangju Walk, column in Gwangju Sibo

Awards

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  • 1995, Korea Women's Literature Award
  • 1996, Gwangnam Literature Award[50]
  • 2001, Samsung Literature Award[51]

References

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  1. ^ "은미희 | Digital Library of Korean Literature (LTI Korea)". library.klti.or.kr. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  2. ^ "[문학]삼성문학상 수상자 3명 선정". 동아닷컴 (in Korean). 20 August 2001. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Amazon.co.uk: Eun Mihee: Books". www.amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  4. ^ 작가소개 은미희
  5. ^ 우리는 역사에서 무엇을 배울 것인가_은미희
  6. ^ 은미희 장편소설 ‘바람의 노래’
  7. ^ 문화도시 예술의별-소설가 은 미 희
  8. ^ 은미희
  9. ^ '비둘기집 사람들'로 문학상 탄 은미희씨 인터뷰
  10. ^ 광주.전남 젊은 주역 50인 - 여류소설가 은미희씨
  11. ^ "Open 'Saengoji University' at Gwangju". Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  12. ^ "문화도시 예술의별-소설가 은 미 희". jndn.com (in Korean). Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  13. ^ "은미희 | 작가 & 작품 - 인터넷교보문고". www.kyobobook.co.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  14. ^ "올 삼성문학상 수상자 선정". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 28 August 2001. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  15. ^ "퀴어문학리스트_국내 - 소수의 사랑 / 은미희" (in Korean). 12 May 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  16. ^ "은미희 장편소설 '바람의 노래'" (in Korean). Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  17. ^ Mihee, Eun (2005). Song of the wind. Seoul: unknown. ISBN 9788974562755.
  18. ^ "가슴 한켠에 맴도는 쓸쓸한 노래‥은미희씨 '만두 빚는 여자' 출간". The Korea Economic Daily (in Korean). 18 January 2006. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  19. ^ Mihee, Eun (2006). Ten thousand and two brewing Women. 서울시: Lee Rum. ISBN 9788957071953.
  20. ^ "'철없는 부모'보다 먼저 '철든' 18세 소녀" (in Korean). 22 June 2006. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  21. ^ "18岁的初体验". Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  22. ^ "나를 잃다 – 사이버문학광장 문장 웹진" (in Korean). Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  23. ^ "[새로나온 책] 바람남자 나무여자 외" (in Korean). Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  24. ^ Mihee, Eun (2007). Wind male tree woman. 서울시: unknown. ISBN 9788925507651.
  25. ^ "창조와 파괴의 여신 카미유클로델 리뷰". Jinn's Inside. 4 April 2013. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  26. ^ 차, 현숙 (2008). 2 와 2분 의 1 (in Korean). 문학 의 문학. ISBN 9788943103507.
  27. ^ 은, 미희 (15 September 2008). 인당수에 빠진 심청(교과서에서 쏙쏙 뽑은 우리고전 8) (in Korean). 생각의나무. ISBN 9788984988835.
  28. ^ "조선의 여류 시인 '옥봉' 사랑과 시 둘다 가질 수 있다면" (in Korean). Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  29. ^ "중국어로 번역 출간된 은미희씨의 소설 '18세, 첫 경험' 18岁的初体验". Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  30. ^ "이토히로부미 양녀, 조선인이면서 조선을 증오의 땅으로 여겼던 역적 - ENS". www.vop.co.kr. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  31. ^ Mihee, Eun (2011). Black skirt Sadako. Ja Eumgwamoeum. ISBN 9788957075791.
  32. ^ "'쉿!' 이브들의 아찔한 수다… 여성 작가 6명, 섹스를 정면으로 다룬 단편 모아 출간". 동아닷컴 (in Korean). 31 May 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  33. ^ Mihee, Eun (2012). Pope John Paul II. unknown. ISBN 9788957076675.
  34. ^ Mihee, Eun (14 September 2017). Flutter, Flutter, Butterfly. Dorrance Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-4809-4114-4.
  35. ^ 80518 – 5.18 Democratic uprising South Korea 1/4
  36. ^ 80518 – 5.18 Democratic uprising South Korea 2/4
  37. ^ 80518 – 5.18 Democratic uprising South Korea 3/4
  38. ^ 80518 – 5.18 Democratic uprising South Korea 4/4
  39. ^ Gwangju Story of Yellow-Rose 80518
  40. ^ 1. How I Started Writing “Flutter Flutter Butterfly
  41. ^ 2. The Recurrent Questions I Had Writing the Book
  42. ^ 3. The Main Contents and Plot of the Book
  43. ^ 4. The Lives of the Victimized Women: After the Lives as “Comfort Women”
  44. ^ 5. The Things We Have to Keep on Dreaming About”
  45. ^ Accompanied with Mihee Eun
  46. ^ Window of mind
  47. ^ "Live and think". Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  48. ^ "Blue Square-Eun Mihee". Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  49. ^ Love, what are you?
  50. ^ Gwangju novelist Eun Mihee's Transform
  51. ^ "Samsung Social Contribution White Paper, p9,34,67,70,138,177" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.