Cheon Myeong-kwan

Cheon Myeong-kwan is a South Korean novelist, screenwriter and film director. A gifted story-teller, keenly observant of human nature and with an eye and ear for the absurd, Mr Cheon received the prestigious Munhakdongne New Writer Award for his debut short story, 'Frank and I' (2003); his first novel, Whale, published the following year, won the 10th Munhakdongne Novel Award and became one of the most loved novels in South Korea, where it is regarded as a modern classic. Cheon’s novel, Modern Family, was adapted into the word-of-mouth-hit film, Boomerang Family, and helped launch his film-making and writing career.

Whale is published this year – 2023 – in English by Archipelago in the USA and by Europa in the UK and with translations into other languages also available or soon to be.