The Oh Young-su Literary Award Steering Committee announced on the 9th that novelist Jeong Yong-jun has been selected as the winner of the 32nd Oh Young-su Literary Award.
The winning work is the short story "Jayuin" (Free Person), published in the summer 2023 issue of the quarterly literary magazine Changjakgwa Bipyeong (Creation and Criticism).
"Jayuin" is set in a fictional future society where euthanasia is mandated for all individuals aged 85 and older. The author questions what it means to choose freedom, a human right, in opposition to a social (state) system that controls and manages even human death.
The final judging panel stated, "The winning work seriously addresses the question of what it means to be human in an aging society we face, and excellently reveals persistence regarding the subject, a balanced perspective on the world, honesty, narrative density, and a clear sense of critical awareness."
Novelist Jeong Yong-jun expressed his thoughts, saying, "Thinking of senior novelists who have received literary awards, including novelist Oh Young-su, one of the precious spirits of Korean literature, I have come to harbor the hope of writing even better novels in the future."
The Oh Young-su Literary Award Steering Committee explained that the winning work was selected through preliminary and final rounds (six works in the final) from works recommended by national literary magazines and novel literary organizations among short stories published last year.
The final judging panel consisted of novelist Gu Hyo-seo, literary critic Lee Jae-bok (professor of Korean Language and Literature at Hanyang University), and novelist Bang Hyun-seok (professor of Creative Writing at Chung-Ang University). The preliminary judging was conducted by past winners of the Oh Young-su Literary Award: novelists Jeon Seong-tae, Lee Chung-ho, Park Geum-san, and Pyo Myeong-hee.
Novelist Jeong Yong-jun will receive a prize of 30 million won.
Jeong Yong-jun was born in Gwangju in 1981 and debuted in 2009 with Hyundae Munhak (Contemporary Literature). He has written short story collections Gana, Are We Not Blood Relatives?, and Seolleung Walk; novels Babel, From Tonio, and I'm Talking, You Know; novellas Ghost and Lake of the World; the short story Just Kidding; and the essay collection Long Live Novels. He has received the Hwang Sun-won Literary Award, Han Mu-sook Literary Award, Munhakdongne Young Writers' Award, and Munji Literary Award, among others. He is currently a professor in the Department of Creative Writing at Seoul Institute of the Arts.
The Oh Young-su Literary Award was established in 1993 to honor the literary spirit of novelist Namgye Oh Young-su from Ulsan and to encourage the creative passion of literary artists. It is jointly hosted by the Ulsan Maeil Newspaper and S-OIL Corporation, with support from the Ulsan Metropolitan City.
The award ceremony will be held on the 17th at 6 p.m. at the outdoor performance hall of the Nam-gu Cultural Center in Ulsan.
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