Background
Hong Sung-won was born on December 26, 1937, in Hapcheon, South Gyeongsang Province, Republic of Korea. He was the eldest of eight children in his family.
Hong Sung-won
13 Gwanggyosan-ro, Yeonghwa-dong, Jangan-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Suwon Agricultural Life Science High School where Hong Sung-won studied.
93 Hyanggyo-ro, Maesan-dong, Paldal-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Maesan Elementary School where Hong Sung-won studied.
55 Yeonghwa-dong, Jangan-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Suwonbuk Middle School where Hong Sung-won studied.
145 Anam-ro, Anam-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Korea University where Hong Sung-won studied.
Hong Sung-won in the 2000s.
Hong Sung-won (right) with writer Lee Chung-joon (left) and poet Kim Hyung-young.
Hong Sung-won at the graduation ceremony. From the left, Hong Ja-ram and Hong Jin-ah, his wife Jang Jung-ja, Hong Sung-won and his son Hong Woo-ram.
145 Anam-ro, Anam-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Korea University where Hong Sung-won studied.
13 Gwanggyosan-ro, Yeonghwa-dong, Jangan-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Suwon Agricultural Life Science High School where Hong Sung-won studied.
93 Hyanggyo-ro, Maesan-dong, Paldal-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Maesan Elementary School where Hong Sung-won studied.
55 Yeonghwa-dong, Jangan-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Suwonbuk Middle School where Hong Sung-won studied.
Hong Sung-won in the 2000s.
Hong Sung-won (right) with writer Lee Chung-joon (left) and poet Kim Hyung-young.
Hong Sung-won at the graduation ceremony. From the left, Hong Ja-ram and Hong Jin-ah, his wife Jang Jung-ja, Hong Sung-won and his son Hong Woo-ram.
홍성원
Hong Sung-won was born on December 26, 1937, in Hapcheon, South Gyeongsang Province, Republic of Korea. He was the eldest of eight children in his family.
Hong Sung-won attended Maesan Elementary School. In 1955, he graduated from Suwonbuk Middle School. He also attended Suwon Agricultural Life Science High School. Hong Sung-won entered Korea University where he studied English literature. However, when he was in third grade he had to drop out for financial reasons.
In 1998 Hong Sung-won received an honorary diploma from the Department of English Literature at Korea University.
Hong Sung-won started his career as a writer in 1961, when he wrote a short story called War that won the Dong-a Ilbo’s spring literary contest. In 1964 he published his story Freezing Point Period, which was based on his experience in the military. In the same year he won a literary contest sponsored by Saedae (Generation) with his story “The Train and Calf,” and in December he won the Dong-a Ilbo Novel Contest with D-Day’s Barracks.
In 1967, Hong Sung-won published his novel The Daughter of a Mountain Spirit (Sansin-ui Tral) and in 1977 he wrote his famous novel The North and the South (Nam-gwa Buk), that deals with the military and the Korean War. In 1985, he wrote The Moon and Knife about the 16th-century Japanese invasion of Korea. In addition, he wrote novels such as The Last Idol (Majimak Usang), Faraway Dawn (Meondong) and Guests Who Came by the Last Train (Makcha-ro On Sonnimdeul). Hong Sung-won was diagnosed with late-stage stomach cancer in 2003. He died in May 2008.
Hong Sung-won was a Korean writer, famous for his novels about the Korean War. His most famous novel is The North and the South (Nam-gwa Buk). He is called the author of “hardboiled Korean fiction.” His novel Faraway Dawn is considered a masterpiece and was made into a TV drama in 1993.
His short story War won the Dong-a Ilbo’s spring literary contest in 1961. In 1964 he won Dong-a Ilbo Novel Contest with D-Day’s Barracks. The same year he won Hankook Ilbo's literary contest. In 1985, Hong Sung-won received Hyeondae Literary Award for his novel The Last Idol. He also won Isan Literary Award in 1992.
Hong Sung-won wrote books about the destructive relationships and violence of power within a military unit, as well as the brutality of war. His military service at the Gwangwon-do military base made an enormous impact on his writing.
Hong Sung-won married. The marriage produced three children.
