Park Taewon

Park Taewon (December 7, 1909 – July 10, 1986), also known by his pen names Mongbo and Gubo, was a Korean writer who moved from South Korea to North Korea.

He is notably a grandfather of South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho.

Park Taewon was born in Seoul, Korean Empire on December 7, 1909.

As a student at Gyeongseong Jeil High School, Park debuted as a poet when his poem “Elder Sister” (Nunim) won honorable mention in a contest sponsored by the journal Joseon Literary World (Joseon mundan).

He also won an award for fiction writers writer in 1929 with the publication of his short story “The Beard” (Suyeom) in New Life (Sinsaeng).

He entered Hosei University, Japan, in 1930 but did not earn a degree.

He joined the Group of Nine (Guinhoe, a group that also included Yi Sang) around this time and devoted himself to fiction thereafter.

Upon the liberation of Korea from the Empire of Japan in 1945, he became a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Korean Writers’ Alliance (Joseon munhakga dongmaeng).

In 1950, Park crossed the 38th Parallel into North Korea, and became a professor at Pyeongyang Literature University.

He continued writing.

However, in 1956, he was purged and prohibited from writing, although his writing privileges were restored in 1960.

Park died on July 10, 1986, in North Korea.

His grandson, through a daughter he left in South Korea, is the notable movie director Bong Joon-ho.

The Korea Literature Translation Institute describes Park's contributions to Korean modern literature:

Novels

Short Stories