In previous years this post has been, to a greater or lesser extent, a list of every non-fiction title I could find that was going to be hitting the bookshops in the coming year. As the LKL Korea Book Database has grown in size, including its stock of future publications, there are now far too … [Read More]
Category: Non-Fiction in Translation
Review: Hwang Sok-yong – The Prisoner
How to review the autobiography of one of Korean’s leading novelists, who has won accclaim both sides of the border; who has spent five years in prison as well as being a person of interest to the authorities for much of his professional career? The memoir makes for fascinating reading as literary history: most of … [Read More]
Eighteen non-fiction titles we’re hoping to enjoy this year [updated]
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Here are some of the books we’re looking forward to in 2021. For the first time in one of these posts we’re flagging the indicative cost of the titles listed here. For me, I have a psychological barrier at around £30: a book has to be offering something pretty special for me to be prepared … [Read More]
Review: Na Man’gap – the Diary of 1636
Na Man’gap’s Diary of 1636, as George Kallander explains in his informative introduction, is the longest known private account of the second Manchu invasion of Korea. Na (1592 – 1642) was a senior scholar-official who was with the King and court inside Namhansanseong – he was in charge of military rations – throughout the siege … [Read More]
Book review: Lee Yil – Dynamics of Expansion and Reduction
How often do you read the learned essay that accompanies a new art exhibition and find yourself not understanding a word of it? For me, more often than I would like. I am never sure how to tell whether the essay is unclear because the writer is being deliberately obscure (to cover up the fact … [Read More]
Pak Chiwon’s Jehol Diary: An amiable bore abroad
The Jehol Diary is a contemporary account of one of the regular journeys from Joseon Korea to Qing China bearing tribute to the emperor. The journey described in this diary took place in 1780, and was ordered by King Jeongjo to greet the Qianlong emperor on his 70th birthday at his summer residence in Jehol, north-east … [Read More]
“Jazz” in the DPRK: Autumn Whispers and the forbidden fruit of Richard Clayderman
I’ve just finished reading Jang Jin-sung’s memoir, Dear Leader. It’s a real page-turner that will appeal to many types of readers, including people who like a good adventure story (the passages describing Jang’s evasion of Chinese and North Korean security forces once he has fled from the North Korean capital are genuinely exciting) and of … [Read More]
Book review: Land of Scholars (Kang Jae-eun)
The Land of Scholars: Two Thousand Years of Korean Confucianism by Kang Jae-eun (translated from Japanese to Korean by Ha Woo-bong, then from Korean into English by Suzanne Lee) Homa & Sekey Books 2006; original Japanese version published in 2003. 515 pp Students of Korean history, and particularly of the Joseon dynasty, will inevitably at … [Read More]
Mountain walking, Tea Classics and a thriller: three new books
ROK Drop Book Review: Yin Yang Tattoo By Ron McMillan. Looks like a good novel for summer holiday reading. http://bit.ly/9hxn6M # Walk the Baekdu-Daegan: Korea’s mountain backbone: new book on the hiking trail. http://bit.ly/b9cmsu # An article about Brother Anthony (brilliant translator, says KTLit.com) and his new book about tea (not my cuppa!): http://www.ktlit.com/?p=1377 [Read More]
Jahyun Kim Haboush (tr): Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong
The style of this takes a bit of getting used to (and this is attributable to the original author, not the translator), but the content is gripping. This is the autobiographical writings of a Korean crown princess – wife of the heir to the throne – and documents at first hand the intrigues within the … [Read More]