“My name is きょうこ, Kyoko, I am Korean … I have something important to tell you.” A subtly disorienting story of reminiscences between a mother and daughter as they each in their own way struggle with the effects of the mother’s encroaching dementia. As they each try to piece together the fragments of a traumatic history, through doing so they tell … [Read More]
Archives: Books (page 34)
Towards 0%
“Despite the hordes of people packing the theatre that day, I can’t remember a single face.” An extended meditation on the world of Korean cinema, the blockbuster versus the independent artist, its trends and its characters and role in society, seen through the eyes of a film enthusiast narrator and their interactions with those around them, each … [Read More]
Take My Voice
“The bloodstains on the linoleum were impossible to remove completely.” A madcap, sci-fi, found-family caper set in a world where a small group of people, known as ‘monsters’, have developed odd special powers or traits necessitating their voluntary, or less voluntary, incarceration while the state works out what to do with them and which builds to a wonderfully comic set-piece, charmingly … [Read More]
Knockoff Viagra & Jeje
“I had been called to pick up Jeje from a karaoke bar in Jongno district…” A deftly expressive short modern love story concerning the misadventures of Hyoung and Jeje as they navigate the Seoul underworld in search of something more from life with lots to say about our contemporary moment; how people use and are used by others, but … [Read More]
Korea at War: Conflicts That Shaped the World
An engaging history covering a century of conflict on the Korean Peninsula Korea at War recounts how two separate nations emerged on the Korean peninsula as the result of devastating conflicts involving provocative personalities and superpower intrigues. The topics covered in this fascinating book include: The brutal years of Japanese colonial rule which began with Japan’s … [Read More]
Belonging in a House Divided: The Violence of the North Korean Resettlement Process
Belonging in a House Divided chronicles the everyday lives of resettled North Korean refugees in South Korea and their experiences of violence, postwar citizenship, and ethnic boundary making. Through extensive ethnographic research, Joowon Park documents the emergence of cultural differences and tensions between Koreans from the North and South, as well as new transnational kinship … [Read More]
North Korea’s Mundane Revolution: Socialist Living and the Rise of Kim Il Sung, 1953–1965
When the crucial years after the Korean War are remembered today, histories about North Korea largely recount a grand epic of revolution centering on the ascent of Kim Il Sung to absolute power. Often overshadowed in this storyline, however, are the myriad ways the Korean population participated in party-state projects to rebuild their lives and … [Read More]
Hanok – The Traditional Korean House
A special feature of the traditional Korean Hanok building style is its difference from Western styles. The Hanoks preserved to this day are built according to practical housing needs, while featuring distinct regional differences and adaptations to their surrounding landscapes. They breathe the style and flair of their inhabitants‘ lives and traces of them can be … [Read More]
Korea Style
Simplicity, tradition and a deep respect for all things natural–these are the essential elements of Korean design underpinning the nation’s fast-growing creative scene.Influences from China, Japan and the West have filtered into Korea, but the peninsula has always maintained its own identity. Spatial, spiritual and material qualities are reflected in the simple beauty of its … [Read More]
Hanok: The Korean House
Appreciate the understated glamour and traditional comfort in this collection of the most excellent examples of timeless Korean architecture.Hanok: The Korean House provides new insights on the stylish traditional Korean homes that are experiencing a resurgence of popularity in Seoul today. While the exteriors of these houses are indistinguishable from traditional hanok built decades ago, the insides have … [Read More]
An Chunggŭn: His Life and Thought in His Own Words
From the publisher’s website: In An Chunggŭn: His Life and Thought in his own Words, Jieun Han and Franklin Rausch provide a complete translation of all of An’s writings and excerpts from his trial and appeal. Though An is most famous for killing Itō Hirobumi, the contents of this volume show that there was much more … [Read More]
Snowglobe
In a world of constant winter, only the citizens of Snowglobe escape the bitter cold—but Snowglobe hides dark and dangerous secrets at its heart. A groundbreaking Korean novel translated into English for the first time that is perfect for fans of Snowpiercer and Squid Game! Enclosed under a vast dome, Snowglobe is the last place … [Read More]
Transnational Encounters between Germany and Korea: Affinity in Culture and Politics Since the 1880s
This book examines the history of the German-Korean relationship from the late nineteenth to the twenty-first century, focusing on the nations’ varied encounters with each other during the last years of the Yi dynasty, the Japanese occupation of Korea, the Cold War, and the post-Cold War era. With essays from a range of internationally respected … [Read More]
Strategic, Policy and Social Innovation for a Post-Industrial Korea: Beyond the Miracle
Export-oriented industrialization has transformed the Korean economy so profoundly that it has become known as the “Miracle on the Han.” Yet, this industrial model has become fragile, as Korea’s chaebols are being challenged by Chinese competitors. Attempts to seek out new engines of economic growth have failed, or remain underdeveloped, while a looming demographic crisis … [Read More]
Making Borders in Modern East Asia: The Tumen River Demarcation, 1881–1919
Until the late nineteenth century, the Chinese-Korean Tumen River border was one of the oldest, and perhaps most stable, state boundaries in the world. Spurred by severe food scarcity following a succession of natural disasters, from the 1860s, countless Korean refugees crossed the Tumen River border into Qing-China’s Manchuria, triggering a decades-long territorial dispute between … [Read More]
From Factory Girls to K-Pop Idol Girls: Cultural Politics of Developmentalism, Patriarchy, and Neoliberalism in South Korea’s Popular Music Industry
Focusing on female idols’ proliferation in the South Korean popular music (K-pop) industry since the late 1990s, Gooyong Kim critically analyzes structural conditions of possibilities in contemporary popular music from production to consumption. Kim contextualizes the success of K-pop within Korea’s development trajectories, scrutinizing how a formula of developments from the country’ rapid industrial modernization … [Read More]