From the publisher’s website: “In the back alley at daybreak I write you name, O democracy” -Chiha Kim [Read More]
Booklist: Korean literature in translation (page 50)
The Moonlit Pond: Korean Classical Poems in Chinese
From the publisher’s website: Unlike poetry written in the vernacular, classical Korean poetry was heavily influenced by the great poets of the Tang and Sung dynasties and was written in Chinese, while reflecting a perspective which was uniquely Korean. This is the first and only comprehensive anthology of classical Korean poetry to appear in English. … [Read More]
Three Voices at Midnight
No synopsis available Read Charles Montgomery’s review for an indication of the contents [Read More]
A Grey Man
Choi In-hoon’s A Grey Man is a relentlessly realistic depiction of the dilemmas and disillusionments inherited by the generation of Korean intellectuals who came of age in the late 1950s, a generation born before the country was liberated from Japanese imperialism and who as adolescents endured the irrational obscenities of the Korean War. https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/9310 [Read More]
Playing with Fire
In this work, the smoldering hatred of the Korean War period resurfaces decades later in the form of a ruthless quest for justice. The main character, a successful Seoul businessman, has a secret past: unknown to his wife and son, he once led another life under another name as a ruthless communist partisan. After a … [Read More]
Modern Korean Verse in Sijo Form
From the publisher’s website: A decade in the making, Jaihiun Kim’s ‘Modern Korean Verse in Sijo Form’ offers what will be the twentieth century’s definitive collection of sijo. Kim begins with the work of Nam-son Ch’oe in the early 20th century and brings the collection up to date with recent poems from Chi-yob Yi and … [Read More]
The Descendants of Cain
Hwang Sun-won, perhaps the most beloved and respected Korean writer of the 20th century, based this extraordinary novel on his own experiences in his North Korean home village between the end of World War II and the eve of the Korean War when Korea had been divided into North and South by its two “liberators” … [Read More]
The Rainy Spell and Other Korean Stories
This anthology of short stories reflects the writers’ shared core experience of Korea’s trajectory from an inward-looking feudal state, through Japanese colony and battle-ground for the Korean War, to a modernizing society. Three stories have been added to the original edition. Ch’ae Man-Sik: My Idiot Uncle Ch’oe In-hun: My Idol’s Abode Ch’oe Yun: His Father’s … [Read More]
The Valley Nearby
Written by one of South Korea’s most popular authors, “The Valley Nearby”is a beautiful tale of a woman attempting to reconcile cultural tradition with her need for individuality and freedom. Living in the isolation of the country, Yun-hee is engaged in a solitary struggle. Her two worlds, that of a rural housewife and that of … [Read More]
Beyond Self: 108 Korean Zen Poems
Korea’s premier poet, the former Buddhist monk Ko Un, presents 108 Zen poems. From these poems we can taste hear, smell and see the life of Ko Un, who is affectionately called “the great mountain peak” by his friends. Note: this collection was subsequently updated and republished as What? in 2008 [Read More]
Wayfarer: New Fiction by Korean Women
The eight writers in Wayfarer are among Korea’s best known authors and bring an astonishing breadth of experience and style to the fiction collected here. They explore love and independence, break the bounds of family, are punished and resurgent. A powerful collection that strikes at the heart of what it means to be modern, to … [Read More]
Songs of the Kisaeng
Original Korean poems, written during the 16th and 17th centuries, and contemporary English translations. The original BOA Editions publication is now hard to find. Apparently however it is available as an eBook from LTI Korea. According to their website: This e-book was made by scanning and converting the original book using OCR software. We have … [Read More]
The Sound of My Waves
This selection of poems by Ko Un, Korea’s leading writer, offers unique insights into how a great poet responds to the violence, war, and oppression that have ravaged Korea in this century. His first poems were written when Ko Un was a Buddhist monk. Later, he returned to a society where nihilism and doubt seemed … [Read More]
The Star and Other Korean Short Stories
Eight stories by leading contemporary writers of Korea providing deeply moving insights into the human condition. They reflect a common concern with the social realities of the 1980s, with sadness and triumph emerging as unifying themes. The source of this humanity, as these stories strongly reveal, lies in powerful family bonds and a deep nostalgia … [Read More]
Land (Vol 1)
Acclaimed as an important piece of modern Korean writing, this book is set against the background of the struggle between conservative and modernizing forces at the turn of the century. It follows the fortunes of several generations of Korean villagers during a time of turbulence and change. [Read More]
The Naked Tree
A coming-of-age novel set during the Korean War, by Park Wan-Suh, one of Korea’s leading contemporary writers. The award-winning author of more than twenty novels, and numerous short stories and essays, Park often deals with the themes of Korean War tragedies, middle-class values, and women’s issues. The novel is rich with scenes of cultural clashes, … [Read More]