Portrait of Yi Mun-yol

Birthday profile

Yi Mun-yol

Yi Mun-yol, South Korean author and academic

Born
May 18, 1948
Age in 2026
78
Zodiac sign
Taurus
Birth year
1948

About Yi Mun-yol

Yi Mun-yol is a South Korean writer. Yi's given name at birth was Yol; the character, Mun, was added after he took up a writing career. His works include novels, short stories and Korean adaptations of classic Chinese novels. An informal count has estimated that over 30 million copies of his books have been sold and, as of 2021, they have been translated into 21 languages. His works have garnered many literary awards and many have been adapted for film and television. He was awarded the Dong-A Ilbo award for a short story, Saehagok, in 1979. He then published a series of novels and short stories including Golden Phoenix, Hail to the Emperor, Age of Heroes and Our Twisted Hero, each of which won awards. Since 1999, he has also served as the head of Buak Literary Center, residential teaching facility for writers which he founded.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Yi Mun-yol timeline

  1. He was awarded the Dong-A Ilbo award for a short story, Saehagok, in 1979.
  2. Since 1999, he has also served as the head of Buak Literary Center, residential teaching facility for writers which he founded.
  3. An informal count has estimated that over 30 million copies of his books have been sold and, as of 2021, they have been translated into 21 languages.

The world when Yi Mun-yol was born

Yi Mun-yol was born in 1948. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1948

  • #1 song"Twelfth Street Rag" – Pee Wee Hunt
  • Top movieHamlet
  • Top TV showTexaco Star Theater (Milton Berle)
  • Best-selling bookThe Naked and the Dead – Norman Mailer

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentCleveland Indians win the World Series
  • Top headlineState of Israel declared
  • Technology milestoneLong-playing vinyl record (LP) introduced
  • Defining fadTelevision sets in homes
  • Notable inventionVelcro
  • World population2.50 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderHarry S. Truman
  • Sports championCleveland Indians (World Series)
  • Also wonBaltimore Bullets (BAA)
  • U.S. population146.6M

1948 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Yi Mun-yol's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19482026
Gas$0.26$3.45/gal
Average home$8,300$435,000
Average income$5,000$67,500
Minimum wage$0.40$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.40$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population146.6M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Library of Congress. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.