Actor and writer Cha In-pyo (58) received the Shinjin Award at the Hwang Sun-won Literary Awards for his novel "Mermaid Hunting."
On the 4th, Cha In-pyo posted a screenshot of an article announcing the winners of the 14th Hwang Sun-won Literary Awards on social media (SNS), stating, "I received the 2025 Shinjin Award at the Hwang Sun-won Literary Awards for my novel 'Mermaid Hunting.'"
He said, "Just having people read my novel is more than I deserve, and receiving an award makes me feel sorry and apologetic to many who are on the path of literature," adding, "I consider this award not as a compliment of 'well written' but as encouragement to 'write well from now on,' and I will strive to improve. "
He added, "I published my first novel at 42, and I receive the Shinjin Award at 58. I feel like life is a long novel where you don't know the ending until you read it to the end."
Cha In-pyo's wife, Shin Ae-ra, also posted on Instagram the same day, saying, "He disappears every day with a bag saying he's writing, then comes back saying he's hungry at 5 p.m., and now he received this overwhelming award," adding, "I received the New Actor Award just before turning 30, but I never thought he would receive the Shinjin Award just before turning 60. It seems dreams should not be given up, because you never know when they will come true."
Previously, the Hwang Sun-won Memorial Foundation announced the winners of each institutional sector for the 14th Hwang Sun-won Literary Awards on the 1st. Novelist Ju Su-ja was selected for the Writer Award, poet Kim Gu-seul for the Poet Award, and novelist Cha In-pyo for the Shinjin Award.
Cha In-pyo received this award for his novel "Mermaid Hunting," which was published in October 2022. The novel is set in Gangwon Province in the 1900s and tells the story of people searching for the oil of mermaids, which is said to grant a person 1,000 years of life.