Seo Jeong-in
Seo Jeong-in (December 20, 1936 – April 14, 2025) was a South Korean writer known for using fiction to critique society. He was born in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do, and studied English literature at Seoul National University, where he earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees. He made his literary debut in 1962 when his story Transferred to the Rear won the New Writer’s Prize from Sasanggye magazine. He also taught English at Chonbuk National University.
Seo’s early stories are existential and explore human existence under the pressures of daily life. His debut, Evacuation, touches on existential fear of the military and the medical condition Menière’s syndrome. In Labyrinth, he shows how freely chosen paths in life can become closed off. His best-known work from his classical phase is A River, which portrays the loneliness of a life in a world that denies beauty.
Though his subjects varied, his works share a concern about growing insensitivity to violence and suffering in modern society. Over time, his critical tone softened. In 1996, The Color of Water, the Pattern of That Shade marks a shift to a warmer, more compassionate view, telling a story of family hardship and maternal love while examining the negative effects of rapid industrialization.
Seo Jeong-in died on April 14, 2025, at the age of 88.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 23:54 (CET).