As I’ve been logging the various publications during the construction of LKL’s K-lit hub, I’ve been keeping an eye on those stories which appear most often in English translation, whether in an anthology or a standalone publication. Charles Montgomery has always said that When the Buckwheat Blooms is the most published story, and I’ve yet … [Read More]
Author: Hwang Sun-won (황순원 1915-2000)
Selected publications by Hwang Sun-won
- The Moving Fortress ( 움직이는 성, 1972) tr Bruce Fulton, Ju-chan Fulton, Merwin Asia 2015
- The Cloudburst (Bi-lingual, Vol 106 – Korea After the Korean War) (소나기, 1953) tr Edward W Poitras, Asia Publishers 2015
- Lost Souls: Stories tr Bruce Fulton, Ju-chan Fulton, Columbia University Press 2009
- Trees on a Slope ( 나무들 비탈에 서다, 1960) tr Bruce Fulton, Ju-chan Fulton, University of Hawai'i Press 2005
- A Man tr Bruce Fulton, Ju-chan Fulton, Jimoondang 2003
- The Descendants of Cain ( 카인의 후예, 1954) tr Julie Pickering, Suh Ji-moon, Routledge 1997
- Shadows of a Sound tr Martin Holman, Mercury House 1990
- Sunlight, Moonlight (일월(日月), 1964) tr Sol Sun-bong, Si-sa-yong-o-sa 1990
- The Book of Masks (탈, 1976) tr Martin Holman, Readers International 1989
- Trees on the Cliff: a novel of Korea and two stories tr Chang Wang-rok, Larchwood 1980
- The Stars and other Korean short stories tr Edward W Poitras, Heinemann 1980
Short stories in anthologies
- The night he came late in:
- The Lost Ones in:
- Time for You and Me Alone in:
- The Weighted Tumbler in:
- The Stars in:
- The Drizzle in:
- The Children in:
- Masks in:
- Life in:
- For Dear Life in:
- Acorns in:
- Pierrot in:
- The mule in:
- Coarse Sand (왕모래, 1953) in:
- Mountains (산, 1956) in:
- The Game Beaters in:
- The Shower / Cloudburst (소나기, 1953) in:
- Snow in:
- The Dog of Crossover Village in:
- Retreat in:
- The Moon and the Crab’s Legs in:
- Cranes (학) in:
Selected titles about Hwang Sun-won
- Youngmin Choe: Tourist Distractions: Traveling and Feeling in Transnational Hallyu Cinema, Duke University Press 2016
- Anthology: The Northern Region of Korea: History, Identity, and Culture ed Sun Joo Kim, University of Washington Press 2010
Film review: Yu Hyun-mok’s Descendants of Cain
I had looked forward to the first movie in the KCC’s Korean Novels on Screen series – Kim Ki-young’s adaptation of Yi Kwang-su’s The Soil – and had been disappointed. Conversely, not being a particular fan of Yu Hyun-mok’s depressing movies, I was regarding the second in the series – his adaptation of Hwang Sun-won’s 1954 … [Read More]
Screening: Yu Hyun-mok’s The Descendants of Cain
The second in the KCC’s season of book adaptations is Yu Hyun-mok’s version of Hwang Sun-won’s The Descendants of Cain. LKL reviews the novel here. Yu Hyun-mok: The Descendants of Cain (카인의 후예, 1968) Cast: Kim Jin-kyu, Moon Hee, Park No-sik, Jang Dong-hwi KCCUK, 12 April 2018, 7:00 pm Free admission | register on EventBrite … [Read More]
March Literature Night: Hwang Sung-won’s Descendants of Cain
March’s literature night at the KCC will feature Hwang Sun-won’s 1954 novel The Descendants of Cain, set in the bitter period between liberation and the start of the Korean War. LKL’s review can be found here. And don’t forget you only have until the end of March to submit your Kim Aeran essay. Korean Literature … [Read More]
Book review: Hwang Sun-won — Lost Souls
Hwang Sun-won: Lost Souls Translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton Columbia University Press 2010, 354pp Having quite enjoyed two of Hwang Sun-won’s fuller-length stories – Trees on a Slope and Descendants of Cain – though without necessarily being enamoured of the characters of the stories they inhabited, I was looking forward to tackling Lost Souls, … [Read More]
Google Korea remembers Hwang Sun-won
Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of Hwang Sun-won’s birth on 26 March, 1915. Google Korea celebrated with one of their doodles, illustrating Hwang’s most well-known story, The Shower (소나기, 1959). The story was adapted as a movie by Lee Jin-mo in 1978; and Studio Meditation with Pencil is currently working on an animated version, which … [Read More]
Book review: Modern Korean Literature — An Anthology 1908-65
Modern Korean Literature: An Anthology 1908-1965 Edited by Chung Chong-wha Routledge / Kegan Paul International, 1995, 467pp If you are looking to sample Korean literature in translation, the chances are that you’ll find more short stories than full length novels. This collection, though not universally enjoyable, is extremely useful in giving an overview of the … [Read More]
1970s: the missing decade in Korean film?
Newcomers to Korean film can sometimes get the impression that Korean cinema started with Shiri. Indeed, one contributor to the recent Korean Film Blogathon claimed “Korea’s cinema was virtually non-existing until the new millennium”. Not a sentiment with which I strongly agree. While the last decade has certainly seen more than its fair share of … [Read More]
Book review: Hwang Sun-won – The Descendants of Cain
Hwang Sun-won: The Descendants of Cain Translated by Suh Ji-moon and Julie Pickering East Gate / UNESCO / Routledge 1997. Originally published 1954 Novels set in post-liberation Korea, or during the Korean war, often make uncomfortable reading, particularly those set in the Soviet sphere of influence, and where the story is set in the countryside. … [Read More]
Hwang Sun-won: Trees on a Slope
Hwang Sun-won: Trees on a Slope Originally published 1960. Translation by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton, University of Hawaii Press, 2005 Hwang Sun-won’s Trees on a Slope is one of the few Korean novels directly dealing with the Korean War to be available in English. That’s not to say it’s anything like the bludgeoning experience of … [Read More]