Montafon Moonlight
Portrait of Jeong Chanju
Portrait of Jeong Chanju.

Jeong Chanju 정찬주

Pen name: Byeoknok (檗綠). Korean novelist and essayist devoted to portraying historical figures and practitioners who blossomed into their own unique lives.

Novelist Essayist Buddhist themes

Biography

Since receiving the Korean Literature New Writer’s Award in 1983, Jeong Chanju has remained steadfast in cultivating a distinctive literary universe that explores the inner world of historical figures and dedicated practitioners. His pen name is Byeoknok.

Born in 1953 in Boseong, Jeollanam‑do, Jeong graduated from Dongguk University with a degree in Korean Language and Literature. After a brief period teaching Korean, he began an editorial career at the monthly Buddhist Thought. For more than a decade he worked at Samtoh Publishing, producing the works of Ven. Beopjeong and becoming the monk’s close lay disciple. From Beopjeong he received the Dharma name Muyeom (無染, “unstained”) along with the teaching to live in the world without being tainted by it.

Carrying this teaching in his heart, Jeong built the hermitage Ibuljae on the slopes of Gyedang Mountain in Hwasun, Jeollanam‑do. Since 2002 he has lived there surrounded by nature, cultivating a small garden and devoting himself to writing.

Novels

  • Mountain Is Mountain, Water Is Water — life of Ven. Seongcheol
  • The Novel of Non‑Possession
  • Yi Sun‑sin’s Seven Years (7 vols.)
  • The Moon Reflected on the Heavenly River
  • Goodbye Buddha
  • Celadon: Light of Enlightenment
  • I Will Return After a Thousand Years
  • I Am Joseon’s Seonbi (3 vols.)
  • The Buddha of Gayasan’s Practice (2 vols.)
  • Dasan’s Love (2 vols.)

Essay Collections

  • Ven. Beopjeong’s Songs of Encouragement for Life
  • Pilgrimage to the Land of the Buddha
  • Do Not Deceive Yourself
  • The Road to the Meditation Hall
  • Jeong Chanju’s Tea Travelogues

Children’s Books

  • The Vessel that Holds the Heart
  • The Foolish Novice

Scope & Themes

Across more than one hundred titles spanning fiction and essays, Jeong’s work illuminates the meaning of the practitioner’s presence on this land and the roots of Korea’s spiritual culture, often through journeys to hermitages and portraits of exemplary lives.

Honors

← Back to Home