1st Edition

Modern Korean Literature

Edited By Chung Chong-Wha Copyright 1995
    256 Pages
    by Routledge

    510 Pages
    by Routledge

    The sixth book in Kegan Paul International's "Korean Culture Series", this volume contains thirty stories that have been selected on the basis of historical interest and literary worth, each representing a monumental moment in the history of Korean Literature. The ten stories in the first part share the common theme of the Korean experience of the confrontation between man and woman; in some stories the relationship is portrayed as innocent and pure, in others the relationship becomes more sophisticated and complex. The ten stories in the second part all deal with old Korean or the old Korean way of life - the Korea of byegone days, which is gradually disappearing in the face of industrialization and internationalization. The third group of stories reveals modern Korea in the process of change during the period of the Japanese Occupation, the liberation from the Occupation, and the Korean War. All thirty stories may serve as social documents. From the time of ideological chaos following the independence of Korea in 1945 up to the fall of the USSR in the 1980s, modern Korean literature has been powerfully swayed by Marxist ideology one way or another. Literature has an important role to play in its portrayal of the relations between society and individual people, and it has a particularly vital social function in developing or undeveloped countries. However, the stories in this anthology are not just historical documents. They represent the peak of literary achievements by great and gifted writers in the first half of this century. It is remarkable to find so many talented writers producing so many powerful works of art in a short span of just over 50 years between 1908 and 1965. This anthology is an invitation to readers to grasp how much Korea has attained in the process of its modernization. The authors whose works appear in this volume are: Yi Kwang-su, Kim Dong-in, Hyun Chin-kon, Yi Hyo-suk, Kim Yu-jong, Yi Sang, Kim Dong-ni, O Yung-su, Hwang Sun-won, Sohn, So-hi, Hahn Mu-suk, Sunwu Hwi, Kang Shin-jae, Oh Sang-won, Suh Ki-won, Han Mal-suk, Choi In-hun, Kim sung-ok, Yi Mun-ku.

    Part 1 ‘Meetings and Farewells’ and other Stories; Chapter 1 The Camellias, Kim Yujong, Chung Chong-wha; Chapter 2 Shower, Hwang Sun-Won, Chang Wang-rok; Chapter 3 The Marsh, Kim Dong-Ni, Chung Chong-wha; Chapter 4 The Flood, Han Mal-Suk, Kim Dong-sung; Chapter 5 The Young Zelkova Tree, Kang Shin-Jae, Shin Hyun-song; Chapter 6 The Rock, Han Mu-Suk, Chung Chong-wha; Chapter 7 Meetings and Farewells, Yi Sang, Chung Chong-wha; Chapter 8 Picture of a Shaman Sorceress, Kim Dong-Ni, Chung Chong-wha; Chapter 9 The Wings, Yi Sang, Moon Hi-kyung; Chapter 10 The Night Outing, Kim Sung-Ok, Eugene Chung; Part 2 The Crag’ and other Stories; Chapter 11 The Red Hills, Kim Dong-In, W. E. Skillend; Chapter 12 Snow, Hwang Sun-Won, W. E. Skillend; Chapter 13 Dogs in the Village Beyond Hills, Hwang Sun-Won, Bob Donaldson; Chapter 14 Spring, Spring, Kim Yujong, W. E. Skillend; Chapter 15 The Buckwheat Season, Yi Hyo-Suk, Shin Hyun-song; Chapter 16 The Fire, Hyun Chin-Kon, Kathryn Kisray; Chapter 17 A Lucky Day, Hyun Chin-Kon, Chung Chong-wha; Chapter 18 The Crag, Kim Dong-Ni, Chung Chong-Wha; Chapter 19 The Afternoon of Mellow Persimmons, Sohn So-Hi, Angela Chung; Chapter 20 The Tale of Kim Takbo, Yi Mun-Gu, Shin Hyun-song; Part 3 ‘Winter, 1964, Seoul’ and Other Stories; Chapter 21 Echoes, O Yong-Su, W. E. Skillend; Chapter 22 A Betrayal, Oh Sang-Won, Kim Chong-un; Chapter 23 Two Reservists, Kim Dong-Ni, Chung Chong-wha; Chapter 24 Retreat, Hwang Sun-Won, Chung Chong-wha; Chapter 25 Winter, 1964, Seoul, Kim Sung-Ok, Chung Chong-wha; Chapter 26 A Journey to Mujin, Kim Sung-Ok, Moon Hi-kyung; Chapter 27 The Heir, Suh Ki-Won, Kathryn Kisray; Chapter 28 Laughter, Choi In-Hun, Lee Sang-ok; Chapter 29 The Revelation, Sunwu Hwi, Chung Chong-wha; Chapter 30 Obscurity, Yi Kwang Su, Lyndal Weiler, Lee Eun-sook, Chung Chong-wha;

    Biography

    Chung Chong-Wha