Seoul, Dec. 26 (BNA): Cho Sihui, the critically acclaimed and bestselling author of “The Dwarf,” has died of a chronic illness. He was 80 years old when he passed away on Sunday.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that Cho was undergoing treatment in a nursing home after contracting COVID-19 in April and was sent to the intensive care unit a week ago due to his failing health.
Born in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, in 1942, Cho studied Korean literature at Surapyeol University of the Arts and Kyung Hee University.
He made his debut as a writer after winning a literary award in 1965 from the local Kyunghyang Shinmun daily for his short story but did not publish another novel for the next ten years.
From 1975 to 1978, Chu ran a series of short stories for a literary magazine, which were published as a collected novel, “The Dwarf” in 1978.
The collection depicts the miserable lives of Korea’s unchanging poor city dwellers while the country achieved rapid industrialization and rapid economic revival.
The book was widely acclaimed by both critics and readers, but it often fell victim to crackdowns by authoritarian governments in the 1970s and 1980s because it criticizes undemocratic governments and reflects first on the dark and ugly aspects of their economic policies.
In a 2000 writer’s note, the author said, “Since the stories were published there have been many crises. However, they have survived and are read by readers. My work is nearing completion with the help of my readers.”
In 2005, the book became the first Korean novel to have its 200th edition published. To date, it has been published in 320 editions and has sold over 1.48 million copies in South Korea.
Zhou was survived by his wife and two sons. His funeral is scheduled for Wednesday.
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