London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

LKL book database logo

Deep Blue Night

Author:
Translated by: ,
Publisher: , 2002
Original title: 깊고 푸른 밤, 1982
Link to online store *

Better known as a novelist, Choe In-ho has also written strikingly original shorter fictions, of which the stories reprinted here are good examples. “Deep Blue Night” is an autobiographical story that is both contemporary in being structured about a highway journey and yet traditional in its themes of exile, wandering, and retrospection. Of interest to an English-speaking audience are the California setting and the protagonist’s observations on American and Korean-American life. “The Poplar Tree” is one of a trio of stories, Strange Folk, that are reminiscent of Choe’s signature stories The Boozer and Another Man’s Room, which likewise blur the boundaries between fantasy and reality. It may be read as a coming-of-age story, a fable of hero worship and shattered illusions, or an example of magical realism, with its blend of vivid detail and playful metaphysical speculation.

* Where the book is available from a number of sources, they are prioritised as follows: (1) Amazon UK site, or Bookshop.org for the more recent uploads (2) Amazon US site (3) Other sites in US or Europe, including second-hand outlets (4) LTI Korea, where the title is advertised as available from there (5) Onlines stores in Korea. Links to Bookshop.org and Amazon UK site contain an affiliate code which, should you make a purchase, gives a small commission to LKL at no additional cost to you.