Background
Lee Hyo-seok, who wrote under the pen-name "Gasan" (가산) was born February 23, 1907 in Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do.
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Lee Hyo-seok
Edit ProfileEducation
Lee was deeply impressed by Chekhov and Thomas Mann and graduated first in his class at the Gyeongseong Je-il Academy. He graduated in 1930 with a degree in English Literature and worked for a short stint in the censorship section of the Police Affairs Division of the Japanese Government-General.
Career
Lee enrolled in Gyeongseong Imperial University in 1925, the same year, his poem “Spring” (Bom) was published in the Daily News(매일신보). At Gyeongsong Lee published his poetry in a student magazine (Clear and Cool or Cheongnyang), and in a literary coterie journal (Friends in Literature or 무누). Lee then moved to his wife’s hometown of Gyeongseong, Hamgyeongbuk-do, where he worked as an English teacher.
In 1934 he began teaching at Soongsil University in Pyeongyang.
He died in May 1942 at the age of 35. When Buckwheat Blossoms Bloom is set in Lee"s hometown Bongpyeong-myeon, Pyeongchang-gun) and the area is still famous for its buckwheat production.
The town is surrounded by a ring of 1,500 meter tall mountains and the Lee Hyo-seok Memorial Hall is located in the town inside the Lee Hyo-seok Culture Village which, in 1990 was designated ‘the first national cultural village,’ by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The site features is a small river, a water mill house, a small thatched house and the inevitable miniature dioramas of the novel.
At the end of August to early September (the date differs each year) the annual Lee Hyo-seok Cultural Festival takes place.
The event is buckwheat themed and the events include an essay contest, a photo contest, a colorful parade and a variety of films and performances related to Buckwheat Blossoms. There is also an abundance of buckwheat based food, including excellent noodles and pancakes.
