Lee began her literary career when her short story The Sign of Disaster Came From The Finger (Korean: 그 재난의 조짐은 손가락에서부터 시작되었다, romanized: Geu jaenanui jojimeun songarak-eseobuteo sijakdoe-eotda) won the 1991 Chungcheong Ilbo New Writer's Award.
Later, she won the 1997 Munhakdongne Winter Literary Contest with her short story Between Dry Days (Korean: 마른 날들 사이에, romanized: Mareun naldeul sai-e) and began to commit to writing full-time.
Our pitiful minds that must adapt to the fast pace and rhythm of civilization, are surprised and startled by the excitement of the sentence that rises within our body like a somewhat familiar monster.
(abridged...) As a traditional artist of language, Lee Hyun-su ties fantastic descriptions and rich dialogue, and tenaciously tells the life journey of the people of the Buyonggak.
And she carefully records the life of the gisaeng, who has “learned the feeling of pain before even coming of age.”[2] As Jang Eunsu states, Lee Hyun-su is our generation's “traditional artist of language."