Novelist Lee Won-gyu has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the newly established Kim Moon-soo Literary Award.
The Korean Novelists Association, chaired by Lee Sang-moon, held the first Kim Moon-soo Literary Award ceremony at the Harbor Park Hotel in Incheon on the 18th and announced on the 22nd that novelist Lee Won-gyu had been named the first recipient. Novelists Baek Si-jong, Hwang Choong-sang, and Lee Sang-moon participated in the final judging. Lee Won-gyu, the inaugural winner, made his literary debut in 1982 when his novel "Medals and Shackles" was selected in the Hyundae Munhak full-length novel contest. He has consistently explored issues of national division and the spirit of the Korean people throughout his career.
The Korean Novelists Association explained that it established the Kim Moon-soo Literary Award to pass on the literary spirit of the late novelist Kim Moon-soo to future writers and to inject new vitality into the Korean literary world. After making his debut through the Chosun Ilbo New Year's Literary Contest in 1961, Kim Moon-soo devoted himself to writing fiction and nurturing writers for more than half a century. Until his passing in 2012, he received major Korean literary awards including the Dong-in Literary Award, the Hyundae Munhak Award, the Korean Literature Writers' Award, and the Korea Culture and Arts Award. He also served as a professor at Dongguk University and Hanyang Women's University, where he worked to mentor younger writers.
The Korean Novelists Association plans to select a Kim Moon-soo Literary Award recipient every year going forward.
