Gov't to posthumously honor novelist Choi In-hun

SEOUL, July 24 (Yonhap) -- The government will posthumously decorate prominent novelist Choi In-hun, who passed away on Monday, with a first-grade cultural medal for his contribution to Korean literature, the culture ministry said Tuesday.

Minister Do Jong-whan will visit Choi's bereaved family on Tuesday afternoon to deliver the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit, according to the ministry.

It would be the second cultural honor to be awarded to the writer after the third-grade Bogwan Order of Cultural Merit in 1999.

Choi died of cancer at age 82 at a hospital in Goyang, just outside of Seoul.

He is credited with having opened a new horizon in Korean literature by providing a new perspective on the Cold War-era division of the Korean Peninsula with his 1960 novel "The Square." His other well-known works include "A Grey Man" (1963), "Journey to the West" (1966), "The Sound of Laughter" (1967) and "The Keyword" (1994).

He taught literary creation at Seoul Institute of the Arts from 1977 to May 2001. He had since been an honorary professor at the college.

sshim@yna.co.kr
(END)