Jeong Ha-yeon, writer of 'The King and the Queen' and 'Empress Myeongseong,' dies at 82

[Financial News] Writer Jeong Ha-yeon, who helped define an era of Korean historical dramas with works such as 'Jang Nok Soo,' 'The King and the Queen' and 'Empress Myeongseong,' has died at 82.
The Korean Broadcasting Writers Association and her family, among others, said on the 2nd that she died of a chronic illness on the afternoon of the previous day.
Born in Hwanghae Province in 1944, she was active in Yonsei University's theater club, the Yonhee Theater Art Research Club. She made her debut in 1968 when her play 'Sanullim' was selected for the Seoul Shinmun's New Year Literary Contest. The following year, 'Hwansang Salin' was selected in a full-length play competition held by the National Theater and Kyunghyang Shinmun.
She later expanded her writing to film, radio and television. In the 1970s, she wrote screenplays for films including 'A Love Story,' 'Dating Class,' 'That's You,' 'The Wooden Horse and the Lady' and 'The Glorious Bottom of the Ninth.'
She became known to the public as a writer of historical dramas. Following her first historical drama, 'Jang Nok Soo' (1995), she wrote 'Jo Gwangjo' (1996), 'The King and the Queen' (1998–2000), 'Empress Myeongseong' (2001–2002), 'Shin Don' (2005–2006) and 'Insu, the Queen Mother' (2011–2012), portraying the lives of historical figures and the light and shadow of power.
She also explored human desires and complex emotions in contemporary dramas. In works such as 'Wife' (2003) and 'Flames of Desire' (2010), she depicted conflicts surrounding family, love and success. 'Flames of Desire' is a drama about the twisted family history of Chairman Kim Tae-jin (Lee Soon-jae) of the Daeseoyang Group and his family.
She also left works capturing the lives of cultural figures and the spirit of their times. In the EBS cultural history series 'Count Myeong-dong' (2004), she portrayed cultural figures active in Myeong-dong. In 'Maronie Is Still Here' (2005), she shed light on campus life and society in the 1960s, focusing on figures including Kim Ji-ha, Kim Seungok and Kim Jung-tae. The last drama she wrote was MBC's 'Let's Hold Hands Tightly and Watch the Setting Sun' in 2018.
She received a special prize at the Dong-A Theatre Award and the playwriting award at the Baeksang Arts Awards for 'The Road to Maronie' (1978). For 'The King and the Queen,' she won the Writer Award at the 1999 KBS Drama Awards and the Writer Award at the 2000 Korean Broadcasting Producers' Award.
In a 2011 interview with Woman Donga, she looked back on a period when she struggled with a sense of self-reproach over leaving literature to pursue money by writing dramas. “A senior colleague's admonition not to take lightly dramas watched by so many people made me realize the weight of my work and gave me a sense of responsibility to write well,” she said. She also said that at the time, to avoid becoming enamored of her own writing, she wrote by hand on manuscript paper rather than using a computer.
The funeral is being held in Room 5 of the funeral hall at Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Seoul. The funeral procession is scheduled for the 4th.


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