Bae Myung-hoon is a prominent South Korean science fiction and short stories author known for writing political satire. His notable books include Tower (2021) and Launch Something (2020).
Bae Myung-hoon was born in Busan, South Korea. He earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in international relations from Seoul National University. His literary journey began when his short story Smart D won the SF Creative Writing Contest in 2005.
Bae's work often blurs the line between genre fiction and literary fiction, attracting the attention of both literary critics and publishers. His breakthrough came with the publication of Tower in 2009, a satirical social science fiction novel. It was later published in English by Honford Star in 2021.
Tower is a composite novel that explores the complexities of a fictional skyscraper city-state, using its structure to comment on political and social issues. This work established Bae as a significant voice in South Korean literature.
In 2010, Bae's short story Hello, The Artificial Being! appeared in the literary journal Munhakdongne. The publication was notable since science fiction in South Korea typically belongs to online communities rather than traditional literary outlets. The story won the 2010 Munhakdongne Young Writers' Award.
A judge praised the story, saying, "Based on his impressive knowledge of space science, Bae Myung-hoon successfully portrays the pent-up frustrations of human existence erupting in the vast universe."
Bae expanded this story into a collection of short stories published in the same year. Shin Hyeong-cheol commented in the book's afterword that Bae's works have a stylistic variety that cannot be categorized. "His ultimate goal is to explore serious anthropological questions," Shin noted.
Bae's 2020 novel, Launch Something, delves into a quirky science fiction scenario where Earth is threatened by a second "sun." The novel combines his signature political satire with a narrative about the Korean Space Force joining the US-led Allied Space Force to save Earth.
Bae Myung-hoon has also written over fifty short stories, novellas, and numerous essays. He has received multiple awards, including the SF Creative Writing Contest for Best Short Story in 2005 and the Munhakdongne Young Writers' Award in 2010.
