Overview

A revelatory and richly varied collection of Korea's greatest short stories This eclectic, moving and wonderfully enjoyable collection is the essential introduction to Korean literature. Journeying through Korea's dramatic twentieth century, from the Japanese occupation and colonial era to the devastating war between North and South and the rapid, disorienting urbanization of later decades, The Penguin Book of Korean Short Stories captures a hundred years of Korea's vibrant short-story tradition. Here are peddlers and donkeys travelling across moonlit fields; artists drinking and debating in the tea-houses of 1920s Seoul; soldiers fighting for survival; exiles from the war who can never go home again; and lonely men and women searching for connection in the dizzying modern city. The collection features stories by some of Korea's greatest writers, including Pak Wanso, O Chonghui and Cho Chongnae, as well as many brilliant contemporary voices, such as P'yon Hyeyong, Han Yujoo and Kim Aeran. Curated by Bruce Fulton, this is a volume that will surprise, unsettle and delight.

Full Product Details

9780241448519

Table of Contents

Reviews

An ever-surprising and stylistically diverse anthology that will surely stand as the touchstone collection of Korean literature for decades to come * Literary Review * An exciting new chapter of the K-culture revolution... What the collection does so well – via diverse tales of peddlers and sex workers, battlefield casualties and lonely wanderers searching for connection – is to dismantle this limited perspective with tales of hope, humour and perseverance, illustrating a profound depth to the story of Korea's transformation -- BBC Culture The short stories in this collection, written by a Who’s Who of Korean literature, are not only mirrors that reflect Korean realities but excellent works of literature as well … The authors selected for this anthology include both literary giants – Hwang Sun-won, Cho Chong-nae, and Yi Mun-yol among them – and such interesting relative newcomers as Choe Yun and Chon Un-yong … Penguin has put together an excellent book. In addition to the introduction, the editor’s note and the stories themselves, the provision of a chronology, a list of further reading, notes on Korean name order and pronunciation, glossary, endnotes and a map of the Korean Peninsula makes this book a truly fine collection of Korean stories. -- Stephen Mercado * Asian Review of Books *

An ever-surprising and stylistically diverse anthology that will surely stand as the touchstone collection of Korean literature for decades to come * Literary Review *

Author Information

Bruce Fulton (External Editor) Bruce Fulton is Associate Professor and Young-Bin Min Chair in Korean Literature and Literary Translation at the University of British Columbia. He has translated many major works of Korean literature over the past forty years.

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