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Michael Shin on Yi Kwang-su’s The Heartless

The third Global Korea lecture of 2009 will be held at the KCC on 29 September at 6:30pm. Michael Shin from Cambridge University will talk on Yi Gwangu’s The Heartless, sometimes known as Korea’s first modern novel. There will be a raffle to win the novel in an English translation.

Heartless posterThe novel The Heartless by Yi Gwangsu was originally serialized in 1917 and is considered to be one of the most important novels of Korea’s modern literary history. On the surface, it appears to be a typical melodrama since the story centers on a love triangle about a young man torn between two women. But the novel was much more than a melodrama; it was, in a sense, a guidebook of modernity for its readers. Through its characters, settings, and plots, it captured the experience of modernity for an emerging young elite. This talk will examine how The Heartless marked a major turning point in Korean literary history and discuss how it was a major cultural phenomenon.

As usual, pre-registration is required with the KCC.

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