Jung Yongjoon was born in 1981 in Kwangju, South Chŏlla Province, Korea, and has overcome a stuttering disability to launch a career as a creative writer and university lecturer. He debuted in 2009 in the journal Hyŏndae munhak (Contemporary literature) and has since published three story collections, a novella, and four novels. He teaches creative writing at Seoul Arts University and is a member of the experimental writing coterie Ru. His novel P’ŭrom T’onio (translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton, From Tonnio) was honored with the 2019 Han Musuk Prize.