Sok-Yong Hwang

Hwang Sok-yong was born in 1943 in the city of Changchun, Manchuria. A multi-award-winning and internationally recognized author, he is considered the most important writer on the Korean Peninsula. He began writing systematically while still in high school. In the late 1960s, he participated in the Vietnam War, an experience that profoundly influenced him. During the 1970s, with the successive publication of his works "The Guest," "Han's Chronicle," "The Road to Sampo," "The Shadow of Arms," and the multi-volume "Jang Gil-san," he ushered in a new era for Korean literature. In 1989, seeking to promote reconciliation, he visited North Korea without government permission, then fled to Germany and the USA, but upon his return to South Korea, he was imprisoned. He was released five years later. Other works include "The Ancient Garden," "The Guest," "Shim Chong: The Lotus Path." "The Abandoned Princess" (2007) is his first book to be translated into Greek.