In January 2010, the year she turned 26, she began her career as a novelist with the short story “Dream, Dream, Dream” in the genre fiction magazine Fantastic. In 2011 she published her first novel, I Want to See Your Snaggletooth. In 2012 she published her second novel, Only Han-ah on Earth. She says that year, while working at the publisher Munhakdongne, she declared herself a full-time writer in order to try for a literary prize.
In 2013 she won the Changbi Prize for Novel for Haju, later published as This Closer. In 2014 she published This Closer and Jaein, Jaeuk, Jaehun.
The breakthrough yearIn December 2015, the year she turned 31, she began to become known with the publication of The School Nurse Files.
In 2016 she published Fifty People. In 2017 she won the Hankook Ilbo Literary Award for it. In 2018 she published the short story Ashley of the Island and the story collection Meet at the Rooftop.
In 2019 she published Cheonggiwa Juyuso Ssireum Gidam. In 2020 she published the story collection I Will Give You a Voice and the novel Siseoneuroputeo, and The School Nurse Files was made into a Netflix series.
In 2021 she published her first essay collection and won the Today’s Young Artist Award. In 2022 she published her first flash fiction collection, Ara-ui Soseol. In 2023 she published her first historical mystery, Seol Ja-eun Returns to Geumseong.
In 2025 she published the second book in the Seol Ja-eun series, Seol Ja-eun, Chasing the Flames. In 2026, the year she turned 42, she published the essay collection I Will Be Your Reader and was chosen for the 4th Choi In-ho Youth Culture Award.
Chung Serang (born Sep 15, 1984) debuted in Jan 2010, the year she turned 26, with a short story in the genre fiction magazine Fantastic, and became known with the publication of The School Nurse Files on Dec 7, 2015, the year she turned 31. The book became more widely known when it was made into a Netflix series in 2020.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
She began her career as a novelist with a short story in the January issue of the genre fiction magazine Fantastic.
Source 01 · Munjang Webzine (Korean) · Novelist Chung Serang · opens in a new tabSource 02 · Changbi (Korean) · Author profile of Chung Serang · opens in a new tabHer first novel came out from the publisher Nanda. It is a romantic thriller in which the author who is its protagonist repeatedly kills off her ex-boyfriend within her novel.
Source 03 · Aladin (Korean) · Book information for I Want to See Your Snaggletooth (2011) · opens in a new tabSource 04 · Chosun Ilbo (Korean) · Out-of-print novels sold for 70,000 won, so she rewrote them · opens in a new tabHer second novel, from NeoFiction, is a romance between an alien from a star 20,000 light-years away and an environmentalist woman. She says that year, while working at the publisher Munhakdongne, she declared herself a full-time writer in order to try for a literary prize.
Source 05 · Yes24 (Korean) · Book information for Only Han-ah on Earth (2012) · opens in a new tabSource 04 · Chosun Ilbo (Korean) · Out-of-print novels sold for 70,000 won, so she rewrote them · opens in a new tabSource 06 · Hankook Ilbo (Korean) · Chung Serang on the Hankook Ilbo Literary Award · opens in a new tab The Yes24 book information gives the same distance as 200 million light-years. The text follows the Chosun Ilbo article’s 20,000 light-years.Among 260 entries, she was chosen as the winner of the seventh Changbi Prize for Novel. The ceremony was held on Nov. 25 that year at the Korea Press Center.
Source 07 · Changbi (Korean) · 7th Changbi Prize for Novel announced · opens in a new tabThe winning work of the Changbi Prize for Novel came out as a book.
Source 02 · Changbi (Korean) · Author profile of Chung Serang · opens in a new tabIt is the fifth book in the Eunhaengnamu novella series, a story in which three siblings gain superpowers after eating fluorescent clam kalguksu.
Source 08 · Eunhaengnamu Publishing (Korean) · Book information for Jaein, Jaeuk, Jaehun · opens in a new tabIt is her fifth novel, published as the ninth book in Minumsa’s Today’s Young Writers series. She says she wanted to write a novel that meets readers on a popular level.
It is a novel with 50 characters centered on a university hospital.
Source 02 · Changbi (Korean) · Author profile of Chung Serang · opens in a new tabShe won the 50th Hankook Ilbo Literary Award for Fifty People, five years after declaring herself a full-time writer.
Source 10 · Hankook Ilbo (Korean) · 50th Hankook Ilbo Literary Award, Fifty People · opens in a new tabSource 06 · Hankook Ilbo (Korean) · Chung Serang on the Hankook Ilbo Literary Award · opens in a new tabIt is the first book in Mimesis’s Takeout series of short stories with illustrations, published with pictures by Han Ye-rol.
Source 11 · Yes24 (Korean) · Book information for Ashley of the Island (2018) · opens in a new tabIt is a story collection from Changbi.
Source 02 · Changbi (Korean) · Author profile of Chung Serang · opens in a new tabIt is a novel from Changbi.
Source 02 · Changbi (Korean) · Author profile of Chung Serang · opens in a new tabIt is a collection of science fiction stories from the publisher Ajak.
Source 12 · Yes24 (Korean) · Book information for I Will Give You a Voice (2020) · opens in a new tabThe novel took five years from conception to writing. She says she drew inspiration from the modern women Kim Myeong-sun and Na Hye-seok.
Source 13 · Munhwa Ilbo (Korean) · Chung Serang on real women more innovative than heroines · opens in a new tabSource 30 · Aladin (Korean) · Book information for Siseoneuroputeo, (2020) · opens in a new tabIt was directed by Lee Kyung-mi, and the author of the original novel wrote the screenplay. Jung Yu-mi and Nam Joo-hyuk starred.
Source 14 · Cine21 (Korean) · Netflix original The School Nurse Files to be released Sept. 25 · opens in a new tabSource 31 · News1 (Korean) · Siseoneuroputeo, passes 100,000 copies, redesigned · opens in a new tabNamed among 2020’s Korean Literature of the Year and Book of the Year, it got a New Year edition to mark 100,000 copies printed.
Source 15 · Newsis (Korean) · Siseoneuroputeo, passes 100,000 copies, New Year edition published · opens in a new tabIt is her first essay collection, from Wisdom House, gathering travel writing she had worked on for nine years from May 2012.
Source 16 · Yes24 (Korean) · Book information for Jigu-inmankeum Jigureul Saranghal Sun Eopseo (2021) · opens in a new tabShe received it at the 2021 Gender Equality Culture Awards, organized by the Women and Culture Network and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The ceremony was held on Oct. 1 in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, and livestreamed on YouTube.
Source 17 · Women’s News (Korean) · Gender Equality Culture Award: the warm, cheerful world of Chung Serang · opens in a new tabSource 32 · Women’s News (Korean) · Chung Serang on creating characters with voices · opens in a new tabShe was chosen in literature among the 2021 awardees for contributions to culture and the arts selected by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Source 18 · Kookmin Ilbo (Korean) · Gold Crown Order of Cultural Merit for Park Seo-bo and Lee O-young, Young Artist award for Chung Serang · opens in a new tabThat year she published the essay collection Jigu-inmankeum Jigureul Saranghal Sun Eopseo and served as an ambassador of the Seoul International Book Fair.
Source 19 · Women’s News (Korean) · Return of the stars: women writers who swept the bookstores · opens in a new tabIt is her first flash fiction collection, from Anon Books, gathering short stories she published in various outlets from 2011, early in her career.
Source 20 · Yes24 (Korean) · Book information for Ara-ui Soseol (2022) · opens in a new tabIt is her first historical mystery, set in Geumseong in the Unified Silla period, and the first of the Seol Ja-eun series planned as at least three books.
Source 21 · Yeongnam Ilbo (Korean) · New book: Seol Ja-eun returns to Geumseong · opens in a new tabAs the fifth and last writer in the series Literature People Hankook Ilbo, she looked back on her connection through winning the Hankook Ilbo Literary Award in 2017.
Source 22 · Hankook Ilbo (Korean) · Chung Serang: may the Hankook Ilbo remain a cultural force 70 years from now · opens in a new tabShe published book two of the Seol Ja-eun series with Munhakdongne.
Source 23 · Yes24 (Korean) · Book information for Seol Ja-eun, Chasing the Flames (2025) · opens in a new tabAs a special speaker at the 2025 Kyunghyang Forum at the Lotte Hotel Seoul, she spoke about the effect of generative AI on art and imagination.
Source 24 · The Kyunghyang Shinmun (Korean) · 2025 Kyunghyang Forum · opens in a new tabShe was one of 11 people chosen by the Seoul city government to take part in the bell-ringing at Bosingak at midnight on Dec. 31.
Source 25 · The Kyunghyang Shinmun (Korean) · Bus driver who saved a passenger and 25-year hotline volunteer to ring the year-end bell · opens in a new tabIt is her first essay collection in five years, from Maum Sanchaek, and offers advice on writing from an author in her 16th year since debut.
Source 26 · Yes24 (Korean) · Book information for I Will Be Your Reader (2026) · opens in a new tabThe judges said she is a writer who freely crosses the boundaries between literary genres and has brought new imagination to Korean literature. The ceremony is to be held on Sept. 30 at Film Forum in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul.
Source 27 · Munhwa Ilbo (Korean) · Novelist Chung Serang wins the Choi In-ho Youth Culture Award · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2010–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
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AgeTrail lines up the key moments of a life by age.
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Books · South Korea
Sep 15, 1984 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1984: the year of the event minus 1984, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.09.22 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.