Author: Kim Man-jung, Trad / anon
Translated by: Kim Chong-un, Richard Rutt
Publisher: RASKB, 1974
Link to online store *
The Three works translated in this volume are recognised as the most significant products of traditional Korean fiction.
- A Nine Cloud Dream is an allegorical romance about Buddhist and Confucian thought, written by Kim Man-jung, a scholar-statesman of the seventeenth century. It contains passages of both high and low comedy, as well as perceptive character-studies and some highly ornamental writing.
- The True History of Queen Inhyŏn, an example of the so-called ‘palace literature’, is a literary version of the dramatic story of a tragic seventeenth century queen.
- Ch’un-hyang derives from the folk tradition. It is Korea’s favourite romance, here translated from the delightful blend of prose and poetry that is its most authentic form.
The major characters are all women, and the three stories together give a vivid picture of the Korean ideal of womanhood before it felt the impact of western culture.
Each of the three works is provided with a succinct introduction describing the history of the text and providing notes to assist the enjoyment of the general reader.
Source: book’s dust jacket
LKL says:
Three traditional stories about female endurance. The classic Chunhyang, the true story of Queen Inyhon, and the Nine Cloud Dream. Each of the novels has a useful introduction. Essential and pleasurable reading.
LKL rating: 
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