Photo: Ccmontgom / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Shin Kyung-sook is, to me, one of the most quietly powerful voices to emerge from South Korean literature. Born in Jeongeup in 1963 and educated at the Seoul Institute of the Arts, she built a body of work that reaches deep into family, memory, and loss. Please Look After Mom is the book I'd point anyone toward first; it made her the only South Korean and only woman to win the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2012. The Girl Who Wrote Loneliness shows the same intimate, searching touch. With the Manhae Prize and Ho-Am Prize already to her name, she's a writer I take seriously and reread.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Shin Kyung-sook
- Name (Japanese)
- 申京淑
- Reading
- しん・ぎょんすく
- Born
- January 12, 1963 (age 63)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Rabbit
- Origin
- Jeongeup, North Jeolla, South Korea
- Occupation
- writer / novelist
2. Background
Awards & achievements
- 1996 Manhae Prize
- Ho-Am Prize in the Arts
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Please Look After Mom | — | |
| Notable work | The Girl Who Wrote Loneliness | — |
6. Links
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%94%B3%E4%BA%AC%E6%B7%91
Frequently asked questions
When was Shin Kyung-sook born?
Born January 12, 1963 (age 63).
Where is Shin Kyung-sook from?
Shin Kyung-sook is from Jeongeup, North Jeolla, South Korea.
What does Shin Kyung-sook do?
Shin Kyung-sook works as writer, novelist.
What is Shin Kyung-sook known for?
Notable works include Please Look After Mom, The Girl Who Wrote Loneliness.
Writer — see all → · Novelist — see all → · More people from South Korea →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.