Kaisei Ri

Kaisei Ri (Lee Hoesung, Korean: 이회성; 1935–2025) was a Zainichi Korean novelist writing in Japanese, renowned as the first ethnic Korean to win the prestigious Akutagawa Prize in 1972 for "The Woman Who Fulled Clothes" (Kinuta wo utsu onna). His notable works include Hyakunen no tabibitotachi (Travellers of a Hundred Years), which earned the Noma Literary Prize in 1994, Watashi no Saharin (My Sakhalin), and Kayako no tameni (For Kayako), often exploring themes of displacement, identity, and Zainichi Korean experiences. Born in Karafuto (now Sakhalin) to Korean immigrant parents, he later acquired South Korean citizenship in 1998.Lee Hoesung