[2] Park graduated with a degree in Korean Literature from Yonsei University in Seoul.
[3] Park applied to the Law School of Korea University, but was refused and then spent three years traveling the Korean countryside working a laborer and living with prostitutes, petty thieves, vagabonds, and other social misfits.
Park was admitted to Yonsei University, but two days after entering, volunteered to serve in the Vietnam War.
When he returned to Korea, Park wrote The Distant Ssongba River (Meonameon ssongbagang, 1977) based on his experience in the war.
He was awarded the second Today's Writer Prize, the novel sold over 100,000 copies and made Park an instant celebrity.