Novelist Kim Do-il Publishes Short Story Collection "Eoryongi Noldun Jari" Set in Pohang

A writer living in the region has attracted attention by publishing a novel set in that area. Novelist Kim Do-il (49) has released a collection of eight short stories titled "Eoryongi Noldun Jari" (The Place Where Eoryong Played) (Deuksu Publishing) based on Pohang.

Including the title story "Eoryongi Noldun Jari," the stories Kim has written over the past decade are praised for leading the narrative of Pohang while delving deeper into a broader literary world beyond the region.

Kim Do-il, who expressed his thoughts by saying, "It took courage to face the history of Pohang and family-like themes for a long time, and I have worked hard to gain that courage over a long period," won the grand prize at the 9th Pohang Literature Award for "Dear My Uncle" and is steadily building his literary work in the region, making him a notable writer in the Pohang literary community.

Literary critic No Dae-won, who wrote the review for the short story collection, described the eight stories in "Eoryongi Noldun Jari" as "historical imaginative realism and storytelling of love," explaining the significance of the work. He added, "While the spatial setting of Kim Do-il’s stories is clearly a region in our country, the deeper themes often connect to historical trauma and guilt. This reveals that Kim Do-il’s literary dedication to historical imagination is by no means a mere light-hearted play. The stories of the protagonists he depicts ultimately circle back to the dark pages of history." He further commented, "Even when discussing family and love, he abandons naive attitudes and tries to reflect through historical imagination and critical imagination. He is a storyteller who can remarkably transform a local story into an engaging novel, but he is also a realist who constantly confronts reality and history, ideal and reality, making them reflect upon each other."

Meanwhile, Deuksu Publishing, a literature-specialized publisher, was established and has been operating since 2022 with the purpose of providing opportunities to regional writers who face difficulties securing platforms for publication. It also runs the literature-specialized bookstore "Subuk."