In 1965 he won a prize for a children's story, The Gangly Balloon, in the New Year’s Literary Competition sponsored by Chosun Ilbo.
[3] Yoo made his literary debut with the serial children's tale The Gangly Balloon (키다리 풍선), which was printed in the Chosun Ilbo in 1965.
A steady stream of works beginning with “Portrait of My Elder Sister” (누님의 초상, 1978) deal with Korea’s division from the viewpoint of characters who idealize the past in order to compensate for the depraved reality of the post-war present.
Moreover, they display traditional outlook on life, characterized by belief in fate and inability to adapt to changing ethos and structures of society.
Notable works in this vein are “Shadows” (Geurimja, 1982), “My Father’s River” (아버지의 강, 1986) and “Circle” (Hwan), all of which address the continuing legacy of Korean division manifested on the family.