| Ty Pak | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 박태영 |
| Revised Romanization | Bak Taeyeong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Pak T'aeyǒng |
Ty Pak (born Tae-Yong Pak, 1938) is a prolific and acclaimed writer and a distinguished speaker on Korean affairs and literature.[1][2]
Pak was born in Korea during World War II. In his home country, Pak witnessed Japanese colonial rule, Korea's liberation from Japan in 1945, the division of Korea during the subsequent U.S. and Soviet occupation, and the trauma of the Korean War at his home country during his early childhood and young adolescent years. Pak received his law degree from Seoul National University in 1961. After graduating, he worked as worked as a reporter for the English dailies The Korean Republic and The Korea Times.[3]
In 1965, he emigrated to the United States. He received his Ph.D. in English from Bowling Green State University, Ohio, in 1969. From 1970 to 1987, Pak taught in the English Department at the University of Hawaii.[3] At age 49, Pak decided to retire early and devote himself to writing. His first collection of short stories, Guilt Payment (1983), has been widely adopted as textbooks at many US colleges. In 1987, he took early retirement from his 17 years' teaching career at University of Hawaii to devote himself full-time to writing.
Pak is married and with three children; he presently lives in Honolulu, Hawaii.