The sensational success of her novel, which came despite the publication sector’s stagnant performance overall, was a major sign that points to the female voices and feminist narratives that have grown steadily to dominate today’s Korean literary scene, as well as snowballing feminist calls for equal rights and treatment for women. Last year, the majority of South Korea’s major literary awards went to female writers, including Park Min-jung, who won the Young Writer Award given by the publishing house Munhak Dongne. Choi Eun-young was awarded the annual literary prize by the Hankook Ilbo daily newspaper, while the Kim Yujung Literary Award went to Han Kang, whose winning of the Man Booker International Prize in 2016 launched contemporary Korean literature on the world stage. Park and Choi, both in their mid-30s, are two of the most prominent young female writers focused on feminist subjects.

The feminine dominance of local literary awards is likely to continue into 2019 with the 43rd Yi Sang Literary Award, one of the most celebrated prizes announced every January, given to Yoon Yi-hyung earlier this year. Her award-winning short novel, “Their first and second cats,” is a delicate challenge to the shackles of marriage as a social system, delivered through a story of a young married couple who finally part ways. “I wanted to present a way of separation by two people (bound) in a marriage who part ways rationally and with respect toward each other without hate,” Yoon said in a press conference in January after winning the prize. “People tend to regard their marriage as themselves, so they deceive themselves (into keeping their marriage) lest failure of their marriage be failure of themselves,” the 43-year-old writer said, adding, “I wanted to come up with characters who transform their lives for the better while seeking what they really want for their lives.”

Kwon Young-min, a member of the judging committee for this year’s Yi Sang Literary Award, said, “I thought there needed to be a point of view that understands the other side generously … at a time the social strife between men and women is getting deeper.” Indeed, the growing literary attention to feminism came amid intense social tension over mushrooming feminist movements. The year 2018 saw a number of high-profile male figures from the literary, movie and sports scenes brought to their knees, including world-renowned film director Kim Ki-duk and Nobel Prize-nominated poet Ko Un, after their habitual sexual crimes and misdemeanors were disclosed in the “Me Too” movement.

Increasing feminist activism, including “Me Too,” also brought to the fore deep-rooted misogyny and resistance among some men, bringing the country’s gender conflict arguably to the highest level ever. Irene, the team leader of popular girl band Red Velvet, had photos and albums of her set on fire by male fans who uploaded online photos of the destruction after she expressed her interest in “Kim Ji-young, Born in 1982.” Sooyoung of Girls’ Generation was also subject to similar online bullying after mentioning the book publicly. Such controversies further raised the profile of the novel and propelled a decision to make a film based on the story. Starring Jung Yu-mi and Gong Yoo, the film will hit the screen later this year.

This year will also see a number of high-profile female writers return with new publications, filling the literary scene with more feminine voices and feminist agenda. Cho, the author of “Kim Ji-young, Born in 1982,” will release a new novel dealing with illegal immigrants, while a collection of Han Kang’s fiction series based on snow and winter will hit the shelves in the first half of 2019. Two veteran female writers, Eun Hee-kyung and Kwon Yeo-sun, are also planning to release their new works after long pauses.