The Dong-a Ilbo
In 1987, his play "Interior Drama" (Sillaegeuk) was chosen as the winner of the New Spring Literary Contest sponsored by The Dong-a Ilbo and his poetry collection "A Meditation on Hamburger" (Haembeogeoae daehan meongsang) won the Kim Su-yeong Literature Prize. Despite the fact that his formal education ended after he graduated from Seongseo Middle School, Jang Jeong-il possesses encyclopedic knowledge of poetry, music, drama and culture, which heightened public fascination with the author.