culture

Ho Mun Gil is famous as a writer of novels on the theme of war.

Though he is in an advanced age of over 70, he is still very energetic in his work of writing novels.

His novels, which advance the plots in depth with vivid description and strong dramatic effect on the basis of true facts, always win popularity with readers as soon as they are published.

Typical of them is the novel "Battle Area without the Sound of Gunfire," which portrays a woman reconnaissance officer who fought bravely behind enemy lines during the hard-fought Fatherland Liberation War as the heroine.

"It has been over 70 years since the sound of gunfire ceased on this land. But the brilliant feats performed by the heroes who devoted their youth and lives to the country are still vividly remembered. My wish that the younger generation would faithfully carry forward their soul motivated me to write the novel," Ho said.

He said when he met Heroine Ro Nam Gyo, the prototype of the heroine in the novel, more than 20 years ago, she was over 90 years old at that time. The hair of once a beautiful woman reconnaissance officer, who had infiltrated deep into the enemy's secret service and terrified them, turned grey already.

When she first met the writer, she refused to tell him about her story, hearing that he was going to write a novel with her as the main character. A woman of a determined character, she did not put hers on a par with the brilliant feats of her fallen comrades-in-arms. The writer said to her that she had a duty to tell posterity the feats of the preceding generations.

As a result, the feats and careers of the unknown heroes in the enemy rear she vividly remembered were written down as a novel.

The novel was completed in two volumes.

Readers were impressed by the strong will and unwavering faith of the heroes who fought to defend the country at the risk of their lives, escaping a series of mortal dangers among the enemy.

Ho Mun Gil’s four-volume novel "Historic Confrontation" with DPRK Hero Song Si Baek as the model is also one of the best sellers.

It is characterized by the complex plot showing the resourcefulness and dynamic nature of the hero who frustrates every step of the sinister schemes of the enemy for armed invasion of the DPRK as he freely crisscrosses behind the enemy line and the broad framework of the story with many characters from all social strata. In the course of studying a large amount of materials, the writer set the theme of his novel as the historic confrontation between defenders and aggressors, not simply a spy theme.

In the creation of the novel the hero was the writer himself.

While trying to embody all the personalities and intellect of the real hero, he continued his thinking and study and finally represented the personality of the hero as a man of firm faith.

He also wrote over a dozen novels on the theme of war, including the long real-life story "Treasured Sword of a Brilliant Commander" which clearly showed the decisive role of the leader in the war. An influential veteran writer, he produced many works including short stories, true-story literatures, scenarios and scripts of TV dramas and many-act plays.

A winner of Kim Il Sung Prize, he still works hard to create new works enjoying love of the people.