'Hwang Sok-yong is undoubtedly the most powerful voice of the novel in Asia today' Kenzaburo Oe, winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize for Literature Biografía del autor Born in 1943, Hwang Sok-yong is one of Asia's most renowned authors. A tireless human-rights activist, he was sentenced in 1993 to seven years in a South Korean prison (serving five) for a 'breach of national security', after making unauthorised trips to North Korea to promote openness between the two countries. He is the recipient of South Korea's most prestigious literary prizes, and has been shortlisted for the Prix Femina Etranger.