Son Hong-kyu

Son Hong-kyu (손홍규 ; born 1975) is a South Korean writer.

Son Hong-kyu was born in 1975 in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province. He graduated in Korean literature from Dongguk University. He began his literary career when he won the Writer's World New Writer's Award in 2001. He was awarded the Daesan Creative Fund in 2004, and the National Arts Fund in 2005. He has also won the 5th Violet People's Fiction Award in 2008.

The special characteristic of Son's fiction is his serious exploration of the world, and people. It is easy to think strangely of saying that a certain writer's characteristic is about the sincere examination of the world and people, because in fiction that is such an obvious thing to do. However, the reason why that is a characteristic of Son's writing is that it is so obvious. The fact that fiction's sincerity is obvious means that the tradition of such sincerity is that much old, and that it is becoming considered as worn out or outdated. To the generation of Son, who was born in 1975, what is important to fiction is not quite sincerity, but wit, experimentation, and uncommon sensations. Therefore, Son's sincerity can actually be his unique characteristic. Literary critic Shin Hyeong-cheol has said of Son that, on the contrary to the current trend of postmodernist theme of death, whether of a person or a subject, "his works honestly show frustration and scars, and his lines are keen with the struggle for finding a reason for new hope". He has added that his works "toss and turn with the anger against the inhuman world, and the affection for humanity", that "he is a writer who is able to lean on the old hope that only people can shed tears."