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Renowned Korean ovelist Choi In-ho has passed away after a long battle against cancer.
Choi wrote a number of bestsellers starting in the 1970s, with many of them used as the
basis for a number of popular Korean movies and TV dramas.
Our Sohn Jung-in reports. Renowned novelist Choi In-ho died on Wednesday after a long
battle with cancer.
This year is the 50th anniversary of the start of Choi's career, which is marked by his winning
a literary contest at the age of 18.
The 68-year-old writer is known for critically acclaimed novels such as "Another Man's Room"
and "Heavenly Homecoming to Stars," and continued to write even after being diagnosed with salivary
gland cancer in 2008.
Friends and colleagues paid their respects to Choi at a memorial service in Seoul on
the night of his passing.
"I once sat on the jury of a literary competition with Choi In-ho. It lasted an entire day and
it was a very agonizing job. When I told him how I was feeling, he gave me a hug and cheered
me up."
The novelist reached into the souls of contemporary readers with a range of works spanning the
genres of fiction, historical fiction, essays and even children's books.
Many people remember him for the television shows and films inspired by his works, including
the historical novel "Sangdo," which became a huge success after being made into a TV
series of the same name, and the novel "Deep Blue Night," which was made into a movie.
"Choi was very interested in movies as well. He played a very important role in the Korean
film industry, especially in the 70s and 80s when he wrote many books that were made into
movies."
A Catholic mass for Choi will be held at the Myeongdong Cathedral in central Seoul on Saturday.
He will be buried at Bundang Memorial Park in Gyeonggi Province.
Sohn Jung-in, Arirang News.