'Nanssogong' by Jo Se-hee, Depicting the Lives of the Lower Class in the Industrial Era, Passes Away

Realistically Depicting Wealth Gap and Class Conflict
"After Seeing the Redevelopment Demolition Team, I Rewrote the Novel I Had Given Up"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo Mideum] Jo Se-hee, the author famous for the short story collection The Dwarf Who Shot a Small Ball, passed away on the 25th due to a chronic illness. It is reported that he had suffered from COVID-19 in April and recently his condition worsened, leading to his death. He was 80 years old.

Publishing company Iseongwahim announced on the same day, "Author Jo passed away at Gangdong Kyung Hee University Hospital." Jo's son, Jo Jung-hyeop, serves as the CEO of the publishing company.

Jo was born in 1942 in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province. He graduated from the Department of Creative Writing at Seorabeol Art College and the Korean Literature Department at Kyung Hee University. In 1965, he debuted with the short story "The Funeral Ship Without a Mast" through the Kyunghyang Shinmun New Year's Literary Contest. Although he did not leave a significant mark for the next ten years, he gained great attention after publishing "The Blade" in 1975 and the short story collection The Dwarf Who Shot a Small Ball in 1978. The latter surpassed its 320th printing as of July this year, with cumulative sales reaching approximately 1.48 million copies.

The Dwarf Who Shot a Small Ball depicts the life of the urban lower class suffering under the shadow of industrialization through the dwarf family. The dwarf family faces eviction from their unauthorized housing in Haengbok-dong, Nakwon-gu, Seoul, due to redevelopment. Through this, Jo realistically highlights the wealth gap and social conflicts of the 1970s, reflecting on pathological social issues such as inequality and class conflict in Korean society.

Regarding the work, Jo once recalled, "While having a meal with tenants in the redevelopment area, I saw demolition crews breaking down gates and cement walls. After fighting and returning, I began rewriting the novel I had once given up on. Without the suffocating oppressive dictatorship of the Yushin regime, The Dwarf Who Shot a Small Ball would not have been born."

Jo received the Dongin Literary Award in 1979 and founded the humanities and social criticism magazine Dangdae Bipyeong in 1997. Fellow and junior writers published a commemorative collection titled Silence and Love in 2008, marking the 30th anniversary of the publication of The Dwarf Who Shot a Small Ball, reflecting on his achievements and literary world.

The funeral is being held at Gangdong Kyung Hee University Hospital Funeral Hall, Room 12, in Seoul. He is survived by his wife and two sons. The funeral procession will take place on the 28th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.