Growing up amid the starvation and oppression of 1990s North Korea, 10-year-old Cho Jun-su stumbles upon a mysterious game, left behind in a hotel room by a rare foreign visitor. As Jun-su painstakingly deciphers the rules of the game in secret, he unlocks an inner world that is at first an antidote and then a … [Read More]
Archives: Books (page 41)
Launch Something!
Earth is experiencing a sweltering heatwave caused by a second “sun” – a shining object in the sky that either looks like Pac-Man or a pizza missing a slice, depending on who you ask. As this object increases in size and risks making Earth uninhabitable, the Korean government decides it has to do its part … [Read More]
The Age of Doubt
The Age of Doubt collects some of Pak Kyongni’s most famous works, including her 1955 debut and other stories featuring characters that would appear in her 21-volume epic, Toji. Many of Pak’s stories reflect her own turbulent experiences during the period following the Korean war and the various South Korean dictatorships throughout the twentieth century. … [Read More]
100°C: South Korea’s 1987 Democracy Movement
What does it take for ordinary citizens to risk everything to protest living under a repressive government? What takes them beyond the brink, to the “boiling point”? In his graphic novel 100°C, celebrated webtoon and comics artist Choi Kyu-sok sheds a light on these questions by examining the lives of one family caught up in the great … [Read More]
Cold Candies
Cold Candies encapsulate the saccharine strangeness of a woman’s life. Fragments of narratives about girls, dolls, sisters, mothers, men, lizards, the moon, and pillows are brought together into otherworldly images that are devastating, yet familiar. Lee Young-ju is one of South Korea’s most original minds, and this collection, curated and translated by National Endowment of … [Read More]
Make Break Remix: The Rise of K-Style
K-pop, K-fashion, K-drama, K-beauty: over the last decade, K-style has exploded onto the global scene. Where does it go from here? In Make, Break, Remix, Fiona Bae makes no attempt to define or categorize the movement, instead celebrating the eclectic, multifaceted nature of K-style and its home city of Seoul. Through interviews with tastemakers who … [Read More]
Myung Sung: The Korean Art of Living Meditation
Myung Sung introduces the Korean art of living meditation as the way to achieve a life of balance and happiness. Using eight simple keys, readers can enjoy all the calming, positive benefits of meditation in every minute of every day. You can experience calm mindfulness in every moment of every day Most forms of meditation … [Read More]
The Korean Book of Happiness
From the very first moment she set foot in South Korea, Barbara Zitwer, literary agent to some of the most celebrated, prize-winning Korean authors, fell head-over-heels in love, discovering there a renewed sense of happiness and energy. In this witty, charming book, Zitwer shares all that she has learnt about this fascinating country: a vibrant, … [Read More]
The Pachinko Parlour
The days are beginning to draw in. The sky is dark by seven in the evening. I lie on the floor and gaze out of the window. Women’s calves, men’s shoes, heels trodden down by the weight of bodies borne for too long. It is summer in Tokyo. Claire finds herself dividing her time between … [Read More]
Yolk
From New York Times bestselling author Mary H.K. Choi comes a funny and emotional story about two estranged sisters and how far they’ll go to save one of their lives – even if it means swapping identities. Jayne and June Baek are nothing alike. June’s three years older, a classic first-born, know-it-all narc with a problematic finance … [Read More]
Skinship
WINNER OF THE PEN/ROBERT W. BINGHAM PRIZE • LONGLISTED FOR THE STORY PRIZE • The breathtaking debut of an important new voice—centered on a constellation of Korean American families “To encounter these achingly truthful, beautiful stories of newcomer Americans is like gazing up at the starry vault of a perfect night sky; it’s immediately dazzling and impressive, and yet the … [Read More]
Confronting South Korea’s Next Crisis: Rigidities, Polarization, and Fear of Japanification
South Korea’s economic miracle is a well-known story. However, today Korea is confronting a new set of internal and external risks, which may foreshadow the next crisis. The Korean economy has been struggling with the faltering growth momentum and the rise of unprecedented socio-economic problems over recent years well before the pandemic crisis. After abrupt … [Read More]
Speed up your Korean: Strategies to Avoid Common Errors
Word order, honorifics, terms of addresses and idiomatic expressions are just some of the areas that cause confusion for students of Korean. Learning how to avoid the common errors that arise repeatedly in these areas is an essential step in successful language learning. Speed Up Your Korean is a unique and innovative resource that identifies and … [Read More]
Korean Atrocity! Forgotten War Crimes, 1950-1953
As there was no clear victor at the conclusion of the Korean War, no war crime trials were held. But, as this book reveals, there is evidence of at least 1,600 atrocities and war crimes perpetrated against troops serving with the United Nations command in Korea. The bulk of the victims were Americans but many … [Read More]
Engraving Virtue: The Printing History of a Premodern Korean Moral Primer
In Engraving Virtue, Young Kyun Oh investigates the publishing history of the Samgang Haengsil-to (Illustrated Guide to the Three Relations), a moral primer of Chosŏn (1392–1910), and traces the ways in which woodblock printed books contributed to shaping premodern Korea. Originally conceived by the court as a book with which to instill in its society Confucian ethics … [Read More]
Kim Jong-il: North Korea’s Dear Leader (revised and updated)
An expert on North Korea sheds new light on the enigmatic tyrant From his goose-stepping military parades to his clownish macho swagger, North Korea’s Kim Jong-il is an odd amalgam of political cartoon and global menace. In charge of a nuclear arsenal he’s threatened to use against the U.S. and Japan, the man, his motives, … [Read More]