December 30, 2006 ㅡ It was a quiet year for the publishing industry. No major incidents took place, no shouting between North and South Korean writers on the peak of Mount Baekdu like last year. Nevertheless there were ups and downs. Here are sone key words that sum up Korea's literary scene in 2006.
The wind of Gong Ji-young
Gong's name stood out in an industry dominated by translated novels. Her book "Our Happy Time", a tale of love between a vulnerable art professor and a man facing the death penalty, which was also made into a film, has now sold over 750,000 copies since its release in April 2005. The critics dubbed the phenomenon "the wind of Gong Ji-young". When the film was released in November the book remained on top of the bestseller's list for eight weeks. It was the first time in four years that a Korean novel had achieved such success, and Gong received an honorary award from Amnesty Korea for leading the campaign to abolish capital punishment.
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