Pak Wansuh (1931- ) entered the Department of Korean Literature at Seoul National University in 1950; however, she had to drop out the same year, when the Korean War broke out in June. As seen in her autobiographic novel, To Dream of a Mountain (Geu Sani Jeongmal Geogi Isseosseulkka), the Korean War was unforgettable for Park and a continuing source of inspiration for her novels. Park worked in the portraits department at the PX of the Eighth US Army base and became an ordinary housewife after marrying in 1953. She became known to the literary world when her novel, The Naked Tree (Namok), won a fiction contest for women writers organized by Woman’s DongA in 1970. Following her debut, Park won various literary awards including the Yi Sang Literary Award.

 Since her debut at the age of forty, Park Wansuh has been a true storyteller of this era and a giant of Korean literature. The feast of chatter Park serves up in her novels has been regarded as valuable national asset. Her works are a rich linguistic treasury unprecedented in Korean literary history; they are mirrors that faithfully reflect the customs of everyday life. As Park once said, the source of her unique chattiness lies in the power of motherhood. Her unique brand of loquaciousness has soothed the pain of those alienated from a capitalist society that demands only competition.

By Lee Seungwon