Korea is remarkable as the only country on earth where the Catholic faith emerged even before the arrival of missionaries. Forming an improvised community of believers, the first Korean Catholics desperately desired priests to say the Mass and administer the sacraments. Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon (1821-1846) and Venerable Father Thomas Choe Yang-eop (1821-1861) were the … [Read More]
Archives: Books (page 3)
A Magical Girl Rehired [forthcoming]
In this charmingly chaotic follow-up to A Magical Girl Retires, our favorite millennial-turned-magical girl begrudgingly returns to the workforce to fight crime and the forces of evil. Our protagonist from A Magical Girl Retires is done with the magical girl life . . . but the magical girl life isn’t done with her. After her request to … [Read More]
Rogue Allies: The Strategic Partnership between Iran and North Korea
In Rogue Allies: The Strategic Partnership between Iran and North Korea, Bruce E. Bechtol Jr. and Anthony N. Celso examine the influence of two rogue states whose rebellion against the United States and US-backed countries has serious consequences for international relations. Iran and North Korea have profited from illegal activities, such as the arming of terrorist … [Read More]
Contemporary Korean Music in Context: Bridging Tradition, Modernity, and the Global Stage
This book encloses an interdisciplinary examination of Korean music’s evolution, contextual interactions, and global positioning from historical, sociocultural, and aesthetic perspectives. It brings together various scholarly contributions to analyse Korean music’s transformations, innovations, and cultural suggestions, with a focus on its historical roots and contemporary manifestations. This book captures the multifaceted dynamics in Korean music, … [Read More]
Korean Newtro: Where Youth Meets Tradition
Korea has become cool. While long seen as a bastion of traditions and customs that go back millennia, the country has now emerged as a playground of hip, trendsetting movements. At the heart of this coolness is, of course, Hallyu, the “Korean Wave” that seems to have penetrated every corner of the planet by now. … [Read More]
The Narrowing Sea: Fukuoka, Pusan, and the Rise and Fall of an Imperial Region
In The Narrowing Sea, Hannah Shepherd examines the shared histories of Pusan and Fukuoka over the eight decades from Japan’s forced opening of Korea’s ports in 1876 to the end of the Korean War in 1953. One city was Korean, the other Japanese; one was a burgeoning colonial port, the other a provincial city buoyed by imperial … [Read More]
Molka
Junyoung and Dahye are colleagues; he has a taste for voyeurism and she a hunger for revenge. Molka (n): the Korean term for spy cameras secretly and illegally installed, often to capture voyeuristic images and videos. Dahye has met the man of her dreams – Hyukjoon, who happens to be the heir to a multi-billion … [Read More]
Okchundang Candy
I still remember that house filled with summer… Growing up, Jung-soon spent every moment she could at her grandparents’ house. Dressing up and watching cartoons. Dyeing each other’s fingernails with crushed balsam petals. Getting the whole neighborhood together to sweep their streets. Falling asleep together…just the three of them, happy. Grandfather was Grandmother’s best and … [Read More]
Once You Cross a Street You’re on the Edge of a Cliff: Surviving the Sex Industry in Korea
Prostitution is the oldest “profession” in the world—that’s what they say. According to Havocsope, total prostitution revenue is $186 billion worldwide, with 40-42 million women prostituted. The number itself is staggering, but the reality is hard to grasp with the statistics only. Bomnal’s memoir Once You Cross a Street, You’re on the Edge of a … [Read More]
From Being to Being
Characterized by genius wordplay, Oh Eun’s poems play with homophones and homonyms while keeping the wit, criticalness, and beauty we associate with Korean poetry. In their sonic play, Oh Eun’s poems bounce dangerously on a tightrope of language. These are poems that in their content and form simultaneously expand the boundaries of language and delight, … [Read More]
Night Picture of Rain Sound
Seventeen short stories transcending the line between fantasy and reality. Sue Ja Joo is on the frontier of ‘Smart Fiction’. A new genre between poetry and the short story, unique to the Korean literary world. ‘Night Picture of Rain Sound’ opens the small door in the corner where certitude is imagination, and imagination is certitude. … [Read More]
Zero: Four Modern Plays
Where is the line? Was there ever a line? Between time-between space-between circumstance. This dreamlike theme reverberates throughout ZERO. ZERO Four Modern Plays is a collection of four plays by Playwright Sue Ja Joo. Each of these searingly brilliant plays form an integrated structure, each with its own message. Night Picture of Rain Sound, bridges … [Read More]
Anti-Nationalist (K-Poet 45)
It is an English poetry collection that contains 20 of the works included in poet Byun Yoon-je’s poetry collection “Anti-State Forces” and translated into English. If his first collection of poems, “I Will Be Lovely Next Year,” firmly depicts solid depiction of solidarity, hope, and the will to not let go of love while struggling … [Read More]
Dark Miracle (K-poet 47)
This book is an English collection of twenty poems translated from Jeong Hyun-woo’s 검은 기적. In this volume, the poet traces the world of lingering light and shifting forms as he passes through the absence of his beloved mother, remembering from the lowest and most enduring place of the heart. Memories bound to the body-like … [Read More]
A Theory of Happiness: Lessons from a 100 year old Korean Philosopher
What does real happiness look like? How can we find true purpose, meaning and connection in our finite time on Earth? 105-year-old Professor Kim reveals key aspects of ancient Korean philosophy and shares stories from over a century of living to help us live better. Showing us how to lean into the world with more … [Read More]
It’s Okay Not to Get Along with Everyone
RSVPing yes to an event even though you don’t want to go; feeling drained responding to text messages; networking with colleagues that you can’t stand. You need to hear that it’s okay not to get along with everyone. We live in an era of constant communication and obligation – messages, calls, meet-ups, events – and … [Read More]