Park Wan-suh: Lonesome You Translated by Elizabeth Haejin Yoon Dalkey Archive, 2015, 252pp Originally published as 너무도 쓸쓸한 당신, Seoul, 1998. I came to Lonesome You with fairly neutral expectations. I had read Who Ate All the Shinga, the story of Park’s childhood in the late 1940s and through the war years. It was an interesting … [Read More]
Event tag: KLN 2016
Book review: Hwang Sun-won — Lost Souls
Hwang Sun-won: Lost Souls Translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton Columbia University Press 2010, 354pp Having quite enjoyed two of Hwang Sun-won’s fuller-length stories – Trees on a Slope and Descendants of Cain – though without necessarily being enamoured of the characters of the stories they inhabited, I was looking forward to tackling Lost Souls, … [Read More]
Event news: August’s literature night features Jung Young Moon
The last two literature nights featuring Hwang Sun-won and Park Wan-suh have been really rewarding. Even if you’re not wholly convinced about the subject book, the opportunity to discuss it with others always provides different ways of looking at it. I hope I’ll get around to writing about both books – Park Wan-suh’s Lonesome You … [Read More]
Book review: Cheon Myeong-kwan — Modern Family
Cheon Myeong-kwan: Modern Family Translated by Kyoung-lee Park White Pine Press Korean Voices Series, 2015 Originally published as 고령화 가족 by Munhakdongne Publishing Corp, 2010 The KCC has been running its Korean Literature Nights for more than two years now. The discussion group has an enthusiastic and regular following, to the extent that seats have … [Read More]
KCC’s April Korean Literature Night features Cheon Myung-kwan’s Modern Family
Cheon Myung-kwan is definitely author of the month – he’s appearing at Asia House in May as well as being the subject of this month’s Korean Literature Night. The novel was made into the movie Boomerang Family by director Song Hae-sung, which was the closing gala screening of the 2013 London Korean Film Festival. Korean … [Read More]
2016 Korean Literature Nights
Here are the Korean Literature Nights currently scheduled for 2016. Thu 25 Feb The Investigation By Lee Jung-myung Fukuoka Prison, 1944. Beyond the prison walls the war rages; inside a man is found brutally murdered. Yuichi Watanabe, a young guard with a passion for reading, is ordered to investigate. The victim, Sugiyama – also a … [Read More]
Book review: Kim Namcheon – Scenes from the Enlightenment
Kim Namcheon — Scenes from the Enlightenment Translated by Charles La Shure Dalkey Archive, 2014, 254pp orignally published as 대하, Inmunsa 1939. A brief review, because this is a book I never finished. The blurb on the back of the book sums the contents up well: An account of seemingly trivial events – a wedding … [Read More]
Book Review: Cho Chongnae — How in Heaven’s Name
Cho Chongnae: How in Heaven’s Name Translated by Bruce and Ju-chan Fulton Merwin Asia, 2012, 141 pages. Originally published as 오 하느님 (O God) and renamed 사람의 탈 (Human Mask) How in Heaven’s Name is an appropriate title for the mind-boggling story of how a group of Korean country lads came to be fighting in … [Read More]
Book Review: Ahn Do-hyun — The Salmon Who Dared to Leap Higher
Ahn Do-hyun: The Salmon Who Dared to Leap Higher Panmacmillan 2015, 122pp Translated by Deborah Smith Originally published as 연어, Munhakdongne, 1996. Ahn Do-hyun is a bestselling poet and this is his first novel to be translated into English. The English title for this translation is an interesting one – clearly echoing the English title … [Read More]
Book review: Lee Jung-myung — The Investigation
Lee Jung-myung: The Investigation Translated by Kim Chi-young Mantle, 2014, 288pp The central character in The Investigation is a real historical figure: Yun Dong-ju, a poet who had the misfortune to live in the Japanese colonial period. There can be few worse fates for a poet than to be prohibited from writing in his native … [Read More]
Jang Eun-jin: No One Writes Back. Just read it. You won’t regret it.
Jang Eun-jin: No One Writes Back First published in Korea as 아무도 편지하지 않다 by Munhak Tongne, Paju, 2009 This edition Dalkey Archive 2013 Translated by Jung Yewon I can’t remember having cried at the end of a novel before, particularly one in which nothing much happens. No One Writes Back is a beautiful gem … [Read More]