Djuna
{{Short description|South Korean science fiction writer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Djuna
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| pseudonym = Lee Youngsoo
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| occupation = Writer
| language = Korean
| nationality = South Korean
| period = 1994~
| genre = science fiction
| subject =
| notableworks = The Pacific Express
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Djuna ({{Korean|hangul=듀나}}) is a South Korean pseudonymous science fiction writer and film critic. Djuna is managed by Greenbook Agency.{{Cite web|title=Greenbook Literary Agency: Djuna|url=https://www.grb-agency.com/djuna|url-status=live|access-date=3 April 2019|website=dgugspress.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507164834/https://www.grb-agency.com/djuna |archive-date=7 May 2021 }}
Life
The identity of Djuna is unknown, and Djuna prefers the personal pronoun "they."{{Cite web|url=http://www.dgugspress.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=814|title=정체불명의 가면을 쓰고 이야기하는 듀나 – 동국대학교 대학원신문|website=dgugspress.com|access-date=3 April 2019}} They publish all their works under the name Djuna, and interviews are done by e-mail correspondence or online chats.{{Cite web|url=http://www.hankookilbo.com/News/Read/201602221637870410|title=[촉ㆍ감] 얼굴 없는 평론가 듀나…문학 갈등 사이에 끼다|date=22 February 2016|website=Hankook Ilbo|language=ko|access-date=3 April 2019}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.etnews.com/201007140050?SNS=00002|title=[박성원의 미래사회]한국에 과학소설이 희귀한 이유|last=www.etnews.com|date=14 July 2010|website=대한민국 IT포털의 중심! 이티뉴스|language=ko|access-date=3 April 2019}} For some of their early works, they used the name Lee Youngsoo, but it is generally taken as a pseudonym, because Lee Youngsoo is one of the most common names in Korea.{{Cite web|url=http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&oid=021&aid=0000005011&sid1=001|title=얼굴없는 사이버 작가 DJUNA|website=Naver News|language=ko|access-date=3 April 2019}}
They explain the name Djuna as coming from writer Djuna Barnes and a character in a work by the pseudonymous Ellery Queen. The capitalization was due to Djuna's belief that using lowercase letters for proper nouns was "awkward".{{Cite web |date=24 April 2004 |title=DJUNA는 무슨 뜻이고 왜 듀나라고 발음되나요? |trans-title=What does DJUNA mean and why is it pronounced as Dunna? |url=http://djuna.cine21.com/bbs/view.php?id=faq&page=2&sn1=&divpage=1&sn=off&ss=on&sc=on&select_arrange=headnum&desc=asc&no=2 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929092606/http://djuna.cine21.com/bbs/view.php?id=faq&page=2&sn1=&divpage=1&sn=off&ss=on&sc=on&select_arrange=headnum&desc=asc&no=2 |archive-date=29 September 2007 |access-date=16 July 2024 |language=ko}}
In 2020, Djuna succeeded Soyeon Jeong as the second president of the Science Fiction Writers Union of the Republic of Korea, leaving office in 2021.
Works
Djuna debuted in 1997 with the anthology Butterfly War.
In 2023 their first major work has been translated to English (the novel Counterweight).{{Cite magazine |last=Knibbs |first=Kate |date=11 July 2023 |title=Djuna, South Korea's Enigmatic Sci-Fi Legend, Opens Up About Their New Book |language=en-US |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/story/pseudonymous-author-couterweight-djuna-interview-wired-30/ |access-date=5 December 2023 |issn=1059-1028}}{{Cite news |last=Kunzru |first=Hari |date=9 July 2023 |title=In Djuna's Space-Elevator Sci-Fi, Corporate Conspiracies Abound |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/09/books/review/djuna-counterweight.html |access-date=14 August 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}
Reception
Since the 1990s, Djuna has been one of the most prolific and important writers in the South Korean science fiction field.{{Cite web |date=23 September 2008 |title=[커버스토리]21세기 상징 대중문화분야 SF소설가 듀나 |url=http://weekly.khan.co.kr/khnm.html?mode=view&artid=18364&code=116 |access-date=3 April 2019 |website=Weekly Kyunghyang |language=ko}}{{Cite web |title=듀나 {{!}} 문학과지성사 |url=http://moonji.com/bookauth/851/ |access-date=3 April 2019 |website=moonji.com}} Djuna been described as "a literary giant in Korea".
Selected works
They have published seven short story collections, six novels, and two essays.
= Short story collections =
- Butterfly War (나비전쟁) 1997
- Duty Free Area (면세구역) 2000
- Pacific Express (태평양 횡단 특급) 2002
- Proxy War (대리전) 2006
- Teeth of the Dragon (용의 이) 2007
- Bloody Battle on the Broccoli Field (브로콜리 평원의 혈투) 2011
- Not Yet a God (아직은 신이 아니야) 2013
= Novels =
- Molok (몰록) 2001
- The Shadow of Spiderweb (거미줄 그늘) 2009
- Jezebel (제저벨) 2012
- The World of Mint (민트의 세계) 2018
- There I Existed In Arcadia (아르카디아에도 나는 있었다) 2019
- Counterweight (평형추) 2021.
= Film criticism =
- Complaining over the Screen (스크린 앞에서 투덜대기) 2001
- Film Shakespeare (필름 셰익스피어) 2005
- Genre Encyclopedia: SF Film (장르백서 2: SF영화) 2015
= Non-fiction =
- Possible Spaces of Dreams: Djuna Essay (가능한 꿈의 공간들:듀나 에세이) 2015
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.wired.com/story/pseudonymous-author-couterweight-djuna-interview-wired-30/ Djuna, South Korea’s Enigmatic Sci-Fi Legend, Opens Up About Their New Book] Wired, 11 July 2023
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Category:South Korean novelists
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:South Korean science fiction writers
Category:20th-century South Korean writers