Hyun Kil-un

The stories contained in his first collection, The Dream of Pegasus (Yongma Ui Kkum, 1984), deal specifically with the traumatic historical event remembered as “April 3rd Uprising”, in which masses of ordinary civilians were slaughtered by the police in an attempt to rout communists. Hyun tries to reinvestigate this event and properly mourn the death of innocent people in order to console their hovering spirits. Often it is the unique customs and folklore of Jeju Island that suggests a way toward healing: “The Journal of Gwangjeong Pavilion” (Gwangjeong dang gi, ) and “Ceremony on the Last Day of the Month” utilize the traditional legend of a “strong woman” to describe the hope people of Jeju harbor for the return of a hero who will save them from the tyranny of politicians and bureaucrats. Hyun was also concerned with ideological or historical distortions of truth. Private truth is to be privileged over official accounts; The Skin and the Inner Flesh (Kkeop-jil Gwa Soksal, 1993) employs the sustained metaphor of surface and depth to characterize the relationship between official, often ideologically manipulated versions of “truth” and enduring human truths buried beneath. It is precisely these surface distortions or historical fallacies that he sought to expose in “Fever” (Sinyeol) and “A Strange Tie” (Isanghan kkeun).

Hyun Kil-Un (Hangul: 현길언) (February 17, 1940 – March 10, 2020) was a Jeju Island-based South Korean writer.

Hyun Kil-Un was born on February 17, 1940, on Jeju-do. Hyun graduated from Jeju University and then Hanyang University's Graduate School. Hyun was a professor of Korean Language and Literature at Hanyang University.