Hyŏn Kyŏngjun 현경준 / 玄卿駿

Hyŏn Kyŏngjun was born in Myeongchon in North Hamgyong (modern-day North Korea) in 1910. He spent much of his life in Manchuria (working as a reporter during the 1940s) but also traveled to Siberia in 1920 and studied in Japan.

He made his literary debut in 1934 in the Choson Ilbo with his novel “Sun of the Heart” (마음의 태양) and by winning the Donga Ilbo동아일보 Spring Literary Contest of 1935 with his story “Raging Waves” (격랑).

Hyŏn is a representative author of Kyŏngyang (경향) literature: a literary movement that arose during the Japanese colonial period and was developed by members of the Korean Artist Proletarian Federation (KAPF) that supported the political deployment of literature towards workers’ causes. His realist fiction focuses on the experiences of Koreans in Northern Kando (Jiandao, modern-day Yanbian). He critiqued Japanese policies in Manchuria through his works “Yoo Maeng” (유맹) in 1938 and “The String of a Heart” (마음의 금선).

He was killed in battle while working as a war reporter during the Korean War in 1951.

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