Gong Ji-young (Korean: 공지영; born 31 January 1963 in Seoul) is a South Koreannovelist and journalist.[1] Her popular novels are My Sister Bongsoon (2002), Our Happy Time (2005) and The Crucible (2009). She is considered a pioneer of Korean feminism. Since the mid 1990s, she has been considered one of the most eminent Korean female writers.[1] She is gaining in popularity, especially among female readers. Her books have sold more than nine million copies.
Early literary career
In 1985, Gong Ji-Young received her Bachelor's in Arts in Literature from Yonsei University. At that time she worked as a writer at a publishing company and at The Council of Writers for Freedom and Practice, which is now called The Writers Association of Korea (WAK). She has participated in demonstration for Korea's democracy in the 1980s. She was sent to a detention center for joining anti-vote rigging demonstration and decided to become a writer. In 1988, she made a literary debut through her novel Dawn. In the middle of the 1990s, her novels Mackerel, Human Decency and Go Alone Like the Rhinoceros' Horn were on the bestseller list concurrently. In the early 2000s, she sold her novel My Sister Bongsoon for almost 1.6 million volumes.
Current work
Gong Ji-Young divorced three times and has raised three children. The children's last names are all different. To pay for her children's loans, she made a comeback after seven years and released Our Happy Time(2005). The novel was made into a feature film with a total of over four million viewers. After having published The Crucible (2009), the novel was made into a feature film (2011) raising public interest in the rights of disabled students. She was awarded the Lee-sang Prize for the 2011 novel Wander an Alley in Barefoot.
Awards
Gong received several awards for her work:
2001 - 7th 21st Century Literary Award
2001 - 27th Korean Novel and Literature Award from Korean Novelist Association
2004 - 12th Oh Young-soo Literature Award
2006 - 9th Special Media Award from Amnesty International
