1968년 경북 고령에서 출생하여 연세대 경영학과와 동대학원(석사)을 졸업했다.
1995년 계간 『리뷰』로 등단했으며, 소설집 『호출』(1997) 『엘리베이터에 낀 그 남자는 어떻게 되었나』(1999)『오빠가 돌아왔다』(2004)와 장편소설 『나는 나를 파괴할 권리가 있다』(1996) 『아랑은 왜』(2001) 『검은 꽃』(2003), 산문집 『굴비낚시』(2000) 『포스트잇』(2002) 『김영하 이우일의 영화이야기』(2003) 등이 있다.
현대문학상(1999), 이산문학상(2004), 황순원문학상(2004), 동인문학상(2004) 등을 수상했으며, 현재 한국예술종합학교 연극원 극작과 교수로 재직중이다.

Since starting his career as a writer in 1995, Kim Young-ha has been attracting the attention of readers and the literary circle for his use of offbeat imagination and toxic satire to fictionalize a remarkably broad scope of themes from people’s daily lives to historical events. Based on the sharp critical spirit of reality that is typical of those who went to college in the 1980s, his books portray, with brilliant wit and pathos and in a fast-paced style, the other side of reality and the hypocrisy of regular people. He has been honored with many literary award including the Dong-in Literature Prize and the Isan Literary Award.