A leading woman writer in the colonial and postwar periods, she is considered one of the first Korean authors to address women's psychological struggles in fiction.

[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] After graduating from a girls' school in Hamhung in 1936, she traveled to study English at Japan's Nihon University, but she dropped out of the program after a short period.

[5] She also continued her work as a journalist in this period, serving as editor in chief of the magazine Hyeseong (혜성, Comet) from 1949 until the start of the Korean War, and shepherding the growth of the magazine Hanguk Munhak (한국문학, Korean Literature), through which she helped offer young writers the chance to be published for the first time.

[5] Later in her career Son Sohui primarily focused on writing novels, beginning with Taeyangui Gyegok (태양의 계곡, "The Valley of the Sun") in 1959.

[3] Her work frequently incorporated themes of madness and suicide in portraying women's responses to an oppressive society, employing a psychological realist style.