Award-winning work
Target Im Hyeon · Godu (叩頭)
Eunmi Choi · A Person Made of Snow
Kim Geum-hee and Moon Sang
Baek Su-rin · Quiet incident
Gangwha-gil · Lake - Other People
Choi Eun-young · That Summer
Cheon Hee-ran · Five Preludes and Fugues

Judges Kwon Hee-chul, Kim Yeon-soo, Kim In-sook, Nam Jin-woo, and Ha Seong-ran
Sentencing Committee members Noh Tae-hoon, Lee Eun-ji, Lee Jae-kyung, Shin Saet-byeol, and Hwang Hyeon-kyung

Lim Hyeon's "Knock Head" reveals the extent to which a person's self-deception can reach through the voice of an ethics teacher with a twisted ethical consciousness that all altruistic actions have selfish intentions hidden within them.
He won the grand prize with the comment that he had “discovered even the experience” (novelist Ha Seong-ran) from Lim Hyeon, who he had only known for his diligent writing “as if building the body of a novel with persistence.”
Choi Eun-mi's "The Man Made of Snow" tells the story of a life of impure bonds, entangled in blood, with no escape, by confronting the violence and immorality hidden beneath the façade of family with a prose style that is almost deceptively plain.
Kim Geum-hee's "Condolences" depicts the guilt of characters who are no longer able to meet and who are entangled in death, "inevitably revealed in a violent way," through a journey from Seoul to Daegu to offer condolences, presenting a deep sense of pathos.
Baek Su-rin's "Quiet Incident" tells the story of a narrator's growth, possessing an aesthetic eye that captures beautiful scenes in a run-down neighborhood slated for redevelopment, and speaks of the moments when a life driven by beauty overwhelms or obliterates ethical judgment.
Kang Hwa-gil's "Lake - Another Person" is a women's novel that vividly recreates the threats that encroach on women's daily lives using the grammar of a crime thriller. It is also a psychological novel that accurately diagnoses the anxiety of women who have become highly sensitive in such lives, providing both the pleasure of reading and profound food for thought.
Eunyoung Choi's "That Summer" depicts the love and breakup scenes of lesbian women, no different from anyone else's, in a clear and lonely way within a traditional narrative.
Cheon Hee-ran's "Five Preludes and a Fugue" weaves the unspoken truth surrounding the death of a woman who was both a mother and a lover into a sophisticated narrative, presenting a truth that will never disappear no matter how much it is refined or adapted, and a duet of reconciliation and discord that plays alongside it.

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To judge the 8th Young Writer's Award in 2017, three young critics, Noh Tae-hoon, Lee Eun-ji, and Lee Jae-kyung, spent the entire year of 2016 searching for and reading a vast collection of works, discussing them, and selecting problematic works.
As a result, twenty-nine works were selected, and critics Shin Saet-byeol and Hwang Hyeon-gyeong joined to supplement the results of the first round of selection and complete the second round of selection.
As a result, a total of nineteen works were selected for the final round.
After discussing these nineteen works, the final judges selected seven award-winning works and one grand prize winner among them.
The main characters were played by Kwon Hee-chul, Kim Yeon-soo, Kim In-sook, Nam Jin-woo, and Ha Seong-ran.

In addition to Lim Hyeon, who received the grand prize, Kang Hwa-gil and Cheon Hee-ran were introduced to the Young Writer Award for the first time.
This is evidence that new trends are constantly joining our reading and writing, and that the Young Writer Award is contributing to illuminating such trends.
Kim Geum-hee has been nominated for the Young Writer Award for three consecutive years, and Choi Eun-mi has also been awarded three times, including this result.
This may be because, despite the Young Writer Award's purpose of highlighting 'newness,' these writers' consistent efforts stand out.

The world is chaotic and confusing.
So literature is always here.
Without being swayed by the absurd and the ridiculous, just foolishly asking and asking again.
It was a special judging that felt strongly about the struggles of young writers who must move forward without forgetting their mistakes.

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Lim Hyeon, "Knocking Head" The narrator's persistent efforts to defend himself in any way clearly highlight how hypocritical, self-centered, and hypocritical he is.
This work has the power to make us revisit the issue of the sincerity of apology and forgiveness, a major topic of our time.
Nam Jin-woo (poet, literary critic)

It doesn't matter whether you actually did something wrong or whether you feel sorry about it.
The key is whether you know how to say such things or not.
I think that's very important.
Hypocrisy? I have absolutely no faith in words like sincerity or sincerity.
How can we judge that? Isn't it something that comes from the angle of the head bowed and the kneeling posture? (『Munhakdongne』 Spring 2016)


Eunmi Choi, “The Man Made of Snow” is a chilling novel.
The life we ​​want to believe is pure, beautiful, or sometimes sacred is itself an inescapable mass of impurities, and it is disgusting that we are caught in an impure life and cannot escape it.
Kwon Hee-cheol (literary critic)

“Then how will our mother cry?”
There was silence for a moment.
Kang Min-seo was looking into Kang Yun-hee's eyes.
The strange power of Kang Min-seo's gaze filled the space.
Strangely enough, in that brief moment, Kang Yun-hee seemed to be receiving comfort. (『Consonant and Vowel』 Spring 2016)


Kim Geum-hee, "Condolences" If this work is a discovery, it is definitely "A Person Who Cries Quietly."
What kind of people cry quietly?
Why are you crying quietly?
A person who cries with his shoulder, seemingly invisible.
Kim Geum-hee has thus created another impressive character alongside her own unique characters.
_Ha Seong-ran (novelist)

It was a spring night with cherry blossoms falling in the sky, and the comedian stretched out his legs on the floor and said, "I used to be a bad guy, I was bad, you know that."
He asked so earnestly and earnestly that even a passing Songra would agree, saying, "Yes, you were bad, very bad." (『Munjang Webzine』 February 2016 issue)


Baek Su-rin's "Quiet Incident" was a work that contained beautiful pictures in many places, including a snowy scene.
I was impressed by the poet's excellent description of the silent passage of time that wears away life. _Nam Jin-woo (poet, literary critic)

Looking back, I think that might have been a defining moment in my life.
Because it was hinting at the fact that from now on, I would live a worthless life like this, unable to go out, just holding onto the doorknob and looking out the window.
But it was only much later that I understood the meaning of that scene, and at that time, I was just watching the beautiful snowflakes falling outside the window.
Forget everything completely.
The sight of pure white snowflakes falling between the fluttering red flags hanging from every house was simply enchanting. (『Axt』 July/August 2016 issue)


Kang Hwa-gil, "Lake - Another Person" is a familiar fear.
It was so familiar that it felt like it was right next to me, a suffocating feeling.
Perhaps it was my fear, not the protagonist's.
_Kim In-sook (novelist)

She had been hearing about stupid women for a very long time.
Women who give their hearts carelessly, women who give in easily, women who are unable to take charge of situations and are dragged along.
She's heard more warnings about stupid women than about dangerous men.
It shouldn't look easy.
That would lower your value.
It was now the thirteenth floor.
She forced a smile at the man.
I felt like that was the way to go. (『Axt』 September/October 2016 issue)


Eunyoung Choi, "That Summer" The abundance of signs that change the colors of life without anything happening.
The joy and sadness, the excitement and the indifference felt when touching the knots that make up that silence are contained in this work.
Kwon Hee-cheol (literary critic)

They kissed for a long time.
I was so lost in the taste of my tongue and lips, the feeling of my teeth occasionally chattering, and the sweet breath coming from my small nose that I couldn't even perceive the passage of time.
The idea of ​​one's own body, the consciousness of 'me', and the distinction between you and me all lost their meaning at that moment.
At that time, our bodies were closer to flower petals and waves.
We are nothing more than the breath we breathe in and out, Lee Kyung thought.
A breath that rises endlessly yet simultaneously plummets deeply. (21st Century Literature, Winter 2016)


Cheon Hee-ran, “Five Preludes and a Fugue” is a short story that brings the issue of sexual minorities to the forefront.
If it's a hot issue, you need to put special effort into finding a vessel to contain and deliver it.
This process of reflection was particularly evident in this short story, more so than in other short stories.
_Kim Yeon-su (novelist)

I can't say that you can do everything well.
You and I may not have much in common, but at least we learned from our fathers that evolution and growth are not synonymous with overcoming or growth.
So, I just want to tell you that after that fear passes, you'll be standing where you've already been. (Modern Literature, November 2016)

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The winners of the Young Writer's Award will each receive a prize of 5 million won and a trophy. If the royalties (10%) of the winning collection exceed the prize money, the excess royalties will be divided equally among all winners.
In line with the purpose of the award to promote young writers, the collection of award-winning works will be sold at a special price for one year after publication.