Actor Cha In-pyo (58) won the New Writer Award at the 14th Hwang Sun-won Literary Award for his novel 'Mermaid Hunting'. This achievement came 16 years after the publication of his first novel, marking 30 years in his acting career.
In the public's memory, he is still a star actor who makes hearts flutter, but now he is a middle-aged rookie writer who has quietly begun his 'second half of life' on the unfamiliar stage of literature.
On the 4th, the Hwang Sun-won Memorial Foundation announced, "This year's Hwang Sun-won Literary Award winners are novelist Joo Soo-ja for the Writer Award, poet Kim Gu-seul for the Poet Award, and actor-writer Cha In-pyo for the New Writer Award."
The award-winning works include Joo Soo-ja's novel 'Looking for the Novel Explanation', Kim Gu-seul's poetry collection 'Island of Shadows', and Cha In-pyo's novel 'Mermaid Hunting'.
The award-winning work 'Mermaid Hunting' depicts human desires, survival, and moral dilemmas within a fantasy setting. The judging panel noted, "We focused on literary authenticity and completeness rather than fame or external conditions."
Cha In-pyo expressed his overwhelming emotions and the weight of being a rookie writer through the Hwang Sun-won Memorial Foundation. "The news of the award feels like a quiet permission that I can continue to write novels," he said, adding, "I will think more humbly and deeply about what truly good novels are and what novels leave an impact on people."
On the same day, he also shared on his social media, "Just having people read my novel is already more than I deserve, and receiving an award makes me feel sorry and apologetic to many who are walking the path of literature," and added, "I published my first novel at 42, and now at 58, I receive the New Writer Award. Life feels like a long novel where you only know the ending after reading it to the end."
Stepping away from the glamorous spotlight and into the position of a 'beginner', his challenge is not just a personal achievement but also a quiet message to middle-aged people in our society.
Cha In-pyo was a star who enjoyed immense popularity in the mid-1990s with the drama 'Love in Your Arms'. However, his path has always defied expectations. He focused on finding his own way rather than commercial success. He enlisted voluntarily and got married at the peak of his popularity, seemingly dedicating more time to the public adoption of his two daughters and volunteer work than to his main profession. He later wrote novels and transformed into a director, expanding his field of activity.
Still, when he announced he would write a difficult novel, many were puzzled. In a past interview, Cha In-pyo revealed his motivation for writing novels.
“There is no other way for me to express what I think except through novels. Movies and dramas require huge capital and the decisions of many people, but novels can be done by myself. Movies and dramas are forgotten once they are broadcast, but books can continue to be read if they are placed in someone's library.”
After publishing his first novel 'Today's Forecast' at 42, he released three long novels, including 'If We Ever Look at the Same Star' (2021), which deals with the comfort women issue, and 'Mermaid Hunting' (2022). 'If We Ever Look at the Same Star' was selected as a must-read by the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Department at the University of Oxford and topped the bestseller list.
He revealed that he decided to write a novel after seeing the story of Grandma Hun, who was taken as a comfort woman by the Japanese army and abandoned in Cambodia on August 4, 1997. Last August, he appeared on tvN's entertainment program 'You Quiz on the Block' and shared, "Thinking about the history of comfort women, various emotions crossed my mind. Sadness, anger, and the shame of not being able to protect women. Those emotions did not settle for months, and I thought, 'Let me try to write this as a novel,' and that’s how I started. It took me ten years to complete the novel."
Cha In-pyo emphasized the necessity of literature by sharing his mother's sweet potato farming story. "My mother keeps the best sweet potatoes harvested in a year separately to use as seeds for the next year. When I asked why she doesn't eat the others, she said, 'I will plant them again next year.' Seeds are passed down through generations like that."
He said, "Like seeds, humans also work hard every year, planting the best fruits for the next generation. This is very similar to human life. When a person is born, they give all kinds of love to raise a child, and as that child grows, they love, learn, and share. The crystallization of love that has been passed down for thousands of years is us," he compared.
He emphasized, "Literature should awaken people to the preciousness that humans have forgotten in a world where each person is a miracle and lives forgetting their own worth."
Cha In-pyo's literary challenge is more than just dreaming and challenging himself anew after middle age. The path he chose is one of uncertainty rather than comfort, a precarious position of starting over rather than past glory. He set aside success and returned to anonymity. He has shown that life after middle age is not 'completion' but another time of exploration and questioning. 'True success' is the courage to transform. Therefore, Cha In-pyo's challenge has significant social implications.
In an interview, he once said, "If you have something in mind, don't hesitate to challenge it. Our lives ultimately divide into whether we tried or not. We must live a life of trying."
Regarding this award, he said, "I will take it as encouragement to write well from now on." That encouragement is also a warm message to everyone living their second half of life, saying, "It's okay to start again at a late age. What matters is sincerity."
