Novelist Choi In-hun who delved into ideological rift of post-war Koreas dies of cancer

SEOUL, July 23 (Yonhap) -- Prominent novelist Choi In-hun, whose best-known work delved into the ideological dilemma Koreans faced over the country's history of war and division, died on Monday after a battle with cancer.

Choi, 82, passed away at a hospital in the city of Goyang, northwest of Seoul, in the morning. He was diagnosed with late-stage colorectal cancer four months ago.

Born in 1934 in Hoeryong in what is now the North Korean province of North Hamgyong, Choi crossed down into the South in the wake of the 1950-53 Korean War.

Choi is best known for his 1960 novel "the Square," which dealt with the life of a young Korean man who took his own life, squeezed between the ideological rift and unable to choose between loyalty to either South or North Korea.

pbr@yna.co.kr
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