Kim Young-ha facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Young-ha Kim
Born	(1968-11-11) November 11, 1968 (age 56) Hwacheon, South Korea
Occupation	Novelist
Alma mater	Yonsei University
Genre	Fiction
Notable works	I Have the Right to Destroy Myself
Notable awards	Yi Sang Literary Award, Dong-in Literary Award
Korean name
Hangul	김영하
Hanja	金英夏
RR	Gim Yeongha
MR	Kim Yŏngha

Young-ha Kim, born on November 11, 1968, is a well-known writer from South Korea. He writes modern stories and novels that are popular with many readers.

Life Story

Early Years and Education

Kim Young-ha was born in Hwacheon, South Korea. Because his father was in the military, his family moved around a lot when he was a child. When he was young, he had an accident involving gas and lost some of his memories from before he was ten years old.

He went to Yonsei University in Seoul. He studied Business Administration there, but he was more interested in writing stories. After finishing university in 1993, he joined the military for a while.

Becoming a Writer

Kim Young-ha started his writing career in 1995. His first short story, A Meditation On Mirror, was published. The next year, he won an award for his novel, I Have the Right to ... Myself. This marked the beginning of his successful journey as a professional writer.

Other Work and Travels

Kim used to teach at the Korean National University of Arts. He also hosted a radio show about books, which helped people learn more about reading. In 2008, he decided to focus only on writing his books.

He also translates English novels into Korean. For example, he translated F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous book, The Great Gatsby. From 2010 to 2011, he was a visiting scholar at Columbia University in the United States.

His Books and Stories

First Novels and Themes

Kim Young-ha's first novel, I Have the Right to ... Myself, came out in 1996. This book has been translated into many languages around the world.

His historical novel, Black Flower, won an award in 2004. It tells the story of Korean workers who moved to Mexico and became involved in a historical uprising. Kim gets ideas for his stories from many places, like old legends, travel stories, and real historical events.

Another one of his novels, Your Republic Is Calling You, explores what it means to be a person in modern Korean society. It mixes crime story elements with everyday life. This book has also been translated into several languages.

Exploring Modern Life

Kim Young-ha is known for writing about city life in the 1990s and beyond. His stories often feature unusual characters or situations. For example, I Have the Right to ... Myself has a character who helps people end their lives.

His short stories often talk about things like computer games, art, movies, and modern challenges. He uses these topics to explore how people feel alone or struggle to connect in today's busy world. He also looks at how people can be too focused on themselves.

The Legend of Arang

His second novel, Why Did Arang, is based on an old Korean legend. The legend is about a ghost named Arang who was murdered. She haunts a town until a brave leader helps her find justice.

In his book, Kim tells Arang's ancient story alongside a modern story about a hairdresser and a writer. He uses ideas from detective novels to solve the mysteries in the book. This shows how much he enjoys playing with different ways of telling a story.

Books on Screen

Many of Kim Young-ha's books have been turned into movies and musicals.

• The film My Right to ... Myself (2003) was based on his book.
• Another film, The Scarlet Letter, also came from his writing.
• In 2014, his novel Brother Has Returned became the movie Total Messed Family.
• His novel The Quiz Show was even made into a musical!

Fans online also create their own videos and animations inspired by his work. In 2005, Kim also won an award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the movie A Moment to Remember.

Personal Life

Kim Young-ha married Jang Eun-soo in 1996.

Works (partial)

Novels

• I Have the Right to ... Myself (Na-neun na-reul pagoehal gwolli-ga issda 1996)
• Why, Arang (Arang-eun wae 2001)
• Black Flower (Geomeun kkot 2003)
• Your Republic Is Calling You (Bit-e jeguk 2006)
• Quiz Show (Kwijeusyo 2007)
• I Hear Your Voice (Neo-ui moksori-ga deullyeo 2012)

Short stories

• The Pager (Hochul 1997)
• The Vampire (Heup-hyul-gwi 1998)
• Whatever Happened to the Guy Stuck in the Elevator? (Ellibeiteo-e kkin geu namja-neun eotteoke doe-eossna 1999)
• Brother has Returned (Oppa-ga dolawassda 2004)
• Nobody {Blank} What Happened (2010)
• Only Two Person (2017)

Essays

• 《Gulbi Fishing》 (Gulbi-nakksi, 2000)
• 《Kim Young-Ha, Lee Woo-il's Movie Story》 (Kim-yeongha iu-il-ui yeonghwa iyagi, 2003)
• 《Daily Life》 (Il-sang, 2001)
• 《Post-it》 (2002)

Works in Translation

English

• Your Republic Is Calling You (2006)
• Black Flower (2003)
• Brother has Returned (collection of short stories)
• Photo Shop Murder (English translation 2003)
• I Have the Right to ... Myself (1996; English translation, 2007)
• Diary of a ... and other stories, translated by Krys Lee (collection of stories, 2019) contains 4 stories:
  • Diary of a ... (novella, translation of Hangul: 살인자의 기억법; MR: Sarinja ŭi kiŏkpŏp)
  • The origin of life (short story, translation of Hangul: 인생의 원점; MR: Insaeng ŭi wŏnchŏm)
  • Missing child (short story, translation of Hangul: 아이를 찾습니다; MR: Ai rŭl ch'atsŭmnida)
  • The writer (short story, translation of Hangul: 옥수수와 나; MR: Oksusu wa na)

Other languages

I Have the Right to ... Myself (나는 나를 파괴할 권리가 있다)

• Tengo Derecho a destruirme (Spanish)
• Kendimi yıkmaya hakkım var (Turkish)
• Ik heb het recht mezelf te vernietigen (Dutch)
• Mám právo se zničit (Czech)
• Həyatımı məhv etməyə haqqım var (Azerbaijanian)
• Pravo na samouništenje (Croatian)
• Tôi có quyền hủy hoại bản thân (Vietnamese)

Whatever Happened to the Guy Stuck in the Elevator? (엘리베이터에 낀 그 남자는 어떻게 되었나?)

• Kas gi nutiko lifte įstrigusiam vyriškiui (Lithuanian)
• Hur gick det for mannen som satt fast i hissen? (Swedish)
• Wampir i inne opowiadania (Polish)

Your Republic Is Calling You (빛의 제국)

• L'empire des lumieres (French)
• L'IMPERO DELLE LUCI (Italian)
• 光之帝国 (Chinese)
• Říše světla (Czech)
• Schwarze Blume [검은 꽃] (German)

Quiz Show (퀴즈쇼)

• Chơi Quiz Show (Vietnamese)
• Quiz Show (French)

Awards and Recognition

Kim Young-ha has received many awards for his writing, including:

• Munhakdongne New Writer Award (1996) for I Have the Right to ... Myself
• Hyundae Literature Award (1999)
• Lee San Literary Award (2004) for The Brother is Back
• Hwang Sun-won Literary Award (2004) for Treasure Ship
• Dong-in Literature Award (2004) for Black Flower
• Manhae Literary Award (2007) for Your Republic is Calling You
• Yi Sang Literary Award (2012) for "The Corn and I"
• A Awards - Intelligent section (2013)

See also

In Spanish: Kim Young-ha para niños

• Korean literature
• List of Korean novelists