Modern Korean Fiction

From the claustrophobic space of Japanese-occupied Korea, to the powerful effects of guilt, shame, and nostalgia accompanying the economic miracle, these stories speak of a history which, while deeply inscribed in local detail, suggest the parameters of a global modernity. In terms of its range and consistent quality, there is simply no other comparable collection. A combination of fresh, new translations of old classics and a judicious selection of more recent writing makes this long-awaited anthology a most welcome publication for anyone interested in twentieth-century Korea. -- Janet Poole

Presenting stories from neglected female, North Korean, and wolbuk writers (those who migrated to the North after 1945 and whose works were widely banned in South Korea) and by bringing politically engaged works together with experimental ones, this anthology articulates the ruptures and resolutions that have marked the peninsula.To represent the past century of Korean fiction, this definitive collection extends beyond familiar writers, challenges cultural norms, and crosses political borders. By inlcuding stories from neglected female, North Korean, and wolbuk writers (those who migrated to the North after 1945 and whose works were widely banned in South Korea) and by bringing politically engaged works together with experimental ones, this anthology articulates the ruptures and resolutions that have makred the peninsula. From sketches of desperate peasants in straitened circumstances to fast-moving, visceral tales of contemporary South Korea, the works in this collection bear witness to the dramatic transformations and events in twentieth-century Korean history, including Japanese colonial rule, civil war, and economic modernization in the South. The writers explore these developments through a variety of literary and political lenses, revealing wtih precision and poignancy their impact on Korean society and the lives of ordinary Koreans. This anthology includes an introduction, which synthesizes the key developments in modern Korean literature, and a comprehensive bibliography of Korean fiction in translation.