Jeong You-Jeong

Jeong You-jeong is a leading figure in contemporary Korean fiction, celebrated for her taut psychological thrillers and genre-bending narratives that probe the depths of human desire and moral ambiguity. Initially trained and employed as a nurse and later working in health-insurance review, Jeong shifted to full-time writing in her mid-30s. Her body of work includes critically acclaimed novels such as Shoot Me in the Heart, Seven Years of Darkness, 28 and The Good Son — each exploring themes of free will, evil, survival and the unforeseen consequences of violence. English translation of The Good Son broadened her global readership. Her stories have been adapted into films, and she is frequently described as “Korea’s Stephen King” for her ability to captivate readers with both narrative intensity and literary depth.