The Lives and Legacy of Kim Sisŭp (1435–1493) offers an account of the most extraordinary figure of Korean literature and intellectual history. The present work narrates the fascinating story of a prodigious child, acclaimed poet, author of the first Korean novel, Buddhist monk, model subject, Confucian recluse and Daoist master. No other Chosŏn scholar or … [Read More]
Archives: Books (page 2)
Education, Language and the Intellectual Underpinnings of Modern Korea, 1875-1945
Education, the production of knowledge, identity formation, and ideological hegemony are inextricably linked in early modern and modern Korea. This study examines the production and consumption of knowledge by a multitude of actors and across languages, texts, and disciplines to analyze the formulation, contestation, and negotiation of knowledge. The production and dissemination of knowledge become … [Read More]
Millennial North Korea: Forbidden Media and Living Creatively with Surveillance
North Korea may be known as the world’s most secluded society, but it too has witnessed the rapid rise of new media technologies in the new millennium, including the introduction of a 3G cell phone network in 2008. In 2009, there were only 70,000 cell phones in North Korea. That number has grown tremendously in … [Read More]
Greenhouse at the End of the World [forthcoming]
Kim Cho-yeop, who won the Best Writer Award at the Galaxy Awards, China’s science fiction literary award, with his novel collection If We Can’t Go at the Speed of Light, proved that he is loved by readers all over the world, and his first novel, The Greenhouse at the End of the Earth, showed the … [Read More]
If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light [forthcoming]
What makes us struggle to live in a world full of hatred, discrimination and contradictions? Kim Cho-yeop, a science student who makes biosensors, is now a writer who writes novels. Depicting an imaginary world that seems to exist somewhere but nowhere with a unique atmosphere, her first collection of novels, If We Can’t Go at … [Read More]
Your Neighbour’s Table
From the award-winning author of The Old Woman with the Knife comes the thought-provoking story of community and the cultural expectations of motherhood, through four women whose lives intersect in unexpected ways at a government-run apartment complex outside Seoul When Yojin moves with her husband and daughter into the Dream Future Pilot Communal Apartments, she’s … [Read More]
North of the DMZ: Essays on Daily Life in North Korea
The Kim dynasty has ruled North Korea for over 60 years. Most of that period has found the country suffering under mature Stalinism characterized by manipulation, brutality and tight social control. Nevertheless, some citizens of Kim Jong Il’s regime manage to transcend his tyranny in their daily existence. This book describes that difficult but determined … [Read More]
Southeast Asia-North Korea Relations: Drivers, Linkages, and Strategic Ambivalence
Southeast Asia-North Korea Relations reveals the genesis and evolution of Southeast Asian countries’ diplomatic relations with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK/North Korea) by unpacking the underlying political, economic, and security connections. In this book, chapters analyse in detail the individual bilateral linkages of the ten states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) … [Read More]
The Black Box: Demystifying the Study of Korean Unification and North Korea
North Korea is commonly thought of as the most mysterious place in the world. The country is marked by its opacity and inaccessibility, its inner workings seen as impossible for outsiders to grasp. In this groundbreaking book, the leading scholar and practitioner Victor D. Cha shines a light into the “black box” of North Korea … [Read More]
Every Moment Was You: Notes on Loving and Parting [forthcoming]
The Korean best-selling title since 2018 and the winner of the 2018 YES 24 Book of the Year Award, that encourages us to celebrate our ordinary life and love in every moment, Every Moment Was You, is finally available in English! ✨ Captured the hearts of more than 500,000 readers in South Korea. ✨ As … [Read More]
Korean Feminist Artists: Confront and Deconstruct
Explore the vibrant history and profound cultural resonance of feminist art from Korea and the diaspora Renowned curator and scholar Dr. Kim Hong-hee’s book is the first to delve into Korean feminist artists’ impact on the East Asian cultural landscape. This unprecedented visual survey celebrates the work of 42 contemporary artists, from rising stars to … [Read More]
Plastic Rice
A warm, hearty bowl of rice made lovingly for the most important person in his life. The only catch? The rice is plastic. It was a few days after she left. I had run out of the instant rice I always kept on hand for emergencies and was contemplating going out to eat when the … [Read More]
Waltzing with Mosquitoes
A mosquito lies in wait until the perfect moment. One must be measured and patient in this battle of wits—rarely is the fool who moves first ultimately victorious. It was a rainy spring day when I first witnessed the mosquito’s waltz through my open window. It moved lyrically through the air, dodging raindrops perfectly in … [Read More]
The Butterfly Disease
One night, a giant butterfly shadow sweeps over a city and its inhabitants. Most people rise the next morning to a day just like any other. Some, however, never wake up. Afflicted with the Butterfly Disease, they lose themselves in a series of pleasant dreams that always end in death. As always the sun began … [Read More]
The Daily Prophet
I had never distrusted Big Data. I accepted all its decisions and walked the path it laid out for me. Even the date of my birth had been set to the most optimal day through machine learning. My entire life, I lived without doubt. But as time went on, I lost vigor. Life slowly drained … [Read More]
The Saviour at Night / The Midnight Shift [forthcoming]
They were all alone. But he didn’t want to be alone. Su-yeon lives insensitively as loneliness engulfs her whole body. Wanda was adopted to a faraway country and became a lonely stranger. Nanju, a ‘good daughter’ who has never received help from her family. Suddenly, one day, its existence appears before their eyes like fate. … [Read More]