[1] Yang Gwija was born July 1, 1955, in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do[2] and graduated from Wonkwang University in 1978 with a degree in Korean Literature.

In 1986 she achieved popular success with the release of her collection of linked short stories (yeonjak seosal) Neighbors in Wonmi-dong, for which she is still most famous.

[6] As the 1990s turned into a consumer culture in Korea, and a mood of disillusionment replaced the political (and to some extent economic) hope that had characterized the nation.

[7] In 1992 she wrote The Hidden Flower which told the story, in some ways autobiographical, of an author searching for new hope after her old ideals have been destroyed.

In The Road to Cheonma Tombs, Yang's protagonist successfully struggles to come to terms with his past trauma and current powerlessness.