A reporter for Maeil sinbo and Munjang, Jeong In-taek (1909 โ 1953) was born in Seoul and was close colleagues with Park Taewon and Yi Sang, prominent writers of Korean modern literature in the 1930s. Their relationship is described in relative detail in Yi Sangโs Hwansigi. Jeong In-taek was in love with Kwon Yeong-hui, who was Yi Sangโs lover. He tried to commit suicide to demonstrate his passion for her, and succeeded in marrying her. After Jeong In-taek, who was in North Korea, died during the Korean War, Kwon Yeong-hui married Park Taewon in 1956. She nursed Park through his final years when he was confined to his sickbed, and finished his posthumous work, Gabo Farmersโ War by taking dictation.
Jeong In-taek, who debuted by publishing โTwo Wanderersโ in Maeil sinbo in 1930, wrote many biographical stories with the first person narrator. The excessive self-awareness of the powerless intellectual we see in โClockโ and โCandlewaxโ are favorite themes in Jeong In-taekโs stories. Psychologism literature, which hit its zenith in Yi Sangโs novels in the 1930s and became a characteristic of Korean modern literature, also played an important role in Jeongโs works. Toward the end of his career, Jeong was fixated on depicting romantic relationships. His bold description of physical love earned him the reputation for being the master of romantic novels. โLonging for Home,โ โHappinessโ are the best examples of such works.