The sixth book in Kegan Paul International's "Korean Culture Series", this volume contains thirty stories that have been selected on the basis of historical interest and literary worth, each representing a monumental moment in the history of Korean Literature. The ten stories in the first part share the common theme of the Korean experience of the confrontation between man and woman; in some stories the relationship is portrayed as innocent and pure, in others the relationship becomes more sophisticated and complex. The ten stories in the second part all deal with old Korean or the old Korean way of life - the Korea of byegone days, which is gradually disappearing in the face of industrialization and internationalization. The third group of stories reveals modern Korea in the process of change during the period of the Japanese Occupation, the liberation from the Occupation, and the Korean War. All thirty stories may serve as social documents. From the time of ideological chaos following the independence of Korea in 1945 up to the fall of the USSR in the 1980s, modern Korean literature has been powerfully swayed by Marxist ideology one way or another. Literature has an important role to play in its portrayal of the relations between society and individual people, and it has a particularly vital social function in developing or undeveloped countries. However, the stories in this anthology are not just historical documents. They represent the peak of literary achievements by great and gifted writers in the first half of this century. It is remarkable to find so many talented writers producing so many powerful works of art in a short span of just over 50 years between 1908 and 1965. This anthology is an invitation to readers to grasp how much Korea has attained in the process of its modernization. The authors whose works appear in this volume are: Yi Kwang-su, Kim Dong-in, Hyun Chin-kon, Yi Hyo-suk, Kim Yu-jong, Yi Sang, Kim Dong-ni, O Yung-su, Hwang Sun-won, Sohn, So-hi, Hahn Mu-suk, Sunwu Hwi, Kang Shin-jae, Oh Sang-won, Suh Ki-won, Han Mal-suk, Choi In-hun, Kim sung-ok, Yi Mun-ku.
Author(s): Chung Chong-Wha
Series: Korean Culture Series
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2015
Language: English
Pages: 467
City: London
Front Cover
Modern Korean Literature
Copyright Page
Contents
Preface
Notes on the Authors
Notes on the Editor and the Translators
Introduction: Modern Korean Literature 1908-65:
Chung Chong-wha
Part 1: 'Meetings and Farewells' and other stories
The Camellias: Kim Yujong (translated by Chung Chong-wha)
Shower: Hwang Sun-won (translated by Chang Wang-rok)
The Marsh: Kim Dong-ni (translated by Chung Chong-wha)
The Flood: Han Mal-suk (translated by Kim Dong-sung)
The Young Zelkova Tree: Kang Shin-jae
(translated by Shin Hyun-song)
The Rock: Han Mu-suk
(translated by Chung Chong-wha)
Meetings and Farewells: Yi Sang (translated by Chung Chong-wha)
Picture of a Shaman Sorceress: Kim Dong-ni (translated by Chung Chong-wha)
The Wings: Yi Sang
(translated by Moon Hi-kyung)
The Night Outing: Kim Sung-ok
(translated by Eugene Chung)
Part 2: 'The Crag' and other
stories
The Red Hills: A Doctor's Diary: Kim Dong-in
(translated by W. E. Skillend)
Snow: Hwang Sun-won
(translated by W. E. Skillend)
Dogs in the Village beyond Hills: Hwang Sun-won
(translated by Bob Donaldson)
Spring, Spring: Kim Yujong
(translated by W. E. Skillend)
The Buckwheat Season: Yi Hyo-suk
(translated by Shin Hyun-song)
The Fire:
Hyun Chin-kon (translated by Katherine Kisray)
A Lucky Day:
Hyun Chin-kon (translated by Chung Chong-wha)
The Crag:
Kim Dong-ni (translated by Chung Chong-wha)
The Afternoon of Mellow Persimmons:
Sohn So-hi (translated by Angela Chung)
The Tale of Kim Takbo:
Yi Mun-gu (translated by Shin Hyun-song)
Part 3: 'Winter, 1964, Seoul' and other stories
Echoes: O Yong-su (translated by W. E. Skillend)
A Betrayal: Oh Sang-won (translated by Kim Chong-wun)
Two Reservists: Kim Dong-ni (translated by Chung Chong-wha)
Retreat: Hwang Sun-won (translated by Chung Chong-wha)
Winter, 1964, Seoul: Kim Sung-ok (translated by Chung Chong-wha)
A Journey to Mujin: Kim Sung-ok (translated by Moon Hi-kyung)
The Heir: Suk Ki-won (translated by Kathryn Kisray)
Laughter: Choi In-hun (translated by Lee Sang-ok)
The Revelation: Sunwu Hwi (translated by Chung Chong-wha)
Obscurity: Yi Kwang-su (translated by Lyndal Weiler)
