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The Korean War and Beyond, in Modern Korean Fiction

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Modern Korean literature lends itself especially well to teaching about modern Korea, for it is largely an issue-driven literature. To be sure, Korean literature is heir to a centuries-old tradition of aesthetics that has produced an important body of art-for-art’s-sake literature. But there is also a tradition of didacticism in Korean literature, a need felt by the literati-statesmen traditionally responsible for written literature to prove their mastery of literary forms (a skill one needed to pass the civil service exam that opened the door to positions in the government bureaucracy), and in modern times to enlighten the citizenry to the harsh realities that have informed much of modern Korean history. Korean literature tends also to be a culturally-specific literature, the rich cultural tradition and the social-structural nuances of the Korean language weaving inextricable strands in the fabric of the written work. In short, classroom teachers will find in modern Korean literature a useful primary source of information about important historical events such as the Korean War, the April 19, 1960, student revolution, the dictatorship of Park Chung Hee in the 1960s and 1970s, and the Kwangju massacre of May 1980, as well as signal social developments, including the industrialization begun in the Park Chung Hee era, the population shifts from countryside to city, political repression during the dictatorial regimes of the period 1948–1987, and the increasing visibility of women in contemporary Korean society. It should be noted, though, that there is little to learn in Korean literature about the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). The severing of communications between the two Koreas following the 1953 cease-fire that marked the end of the Korean War has meant that virtually no authors in the south have firsthand knowledge of life in the north. North Korean literature is virtually nonexistent in English translation outside of North Korea.

The situation with literature from South Korea is quite different. A substantial body of literature has been translated, along with a lesser amount of literature from the early-modern period (1917–1945), when Korea had yet to be divided into separate regimes. Although the quality of the translations remains uneven, an increasing number of novels and anthologies are being published in the West (earlier translations were often published in Seoul), and several English-language journals from Korea that carry literature, such as Korea Journal and Korean Literature Today, are available in the libraries of larger universities.

A good place to begin a survey of Korean literature in translation that deals with the Korean War and beyond is Kim Chong-un’s anthology Postwar Korean Short Stories (1983). This collection is prefaced by a generous introduction in which the late Professor Kim observes that few Korean stories deal with the war itself; instead the great majority of Korean War-related stories attempt to come to grips with the physical and psychological trauma, individual and collective, of this devastating conflict, which as of this writing has yet to be concluded by a formal peace treaty. Hwang Sun-wŏn (represented in this anthology by “Time for You and Me Alone”) is one of the few authors who have left us a substantial body of work set on the battlefield, but even here the narratives focus not on the internecine fighting but rather on individual or group efforts to survive a hostile physical environment (“Mountains”[1993], “Life” [1983]), wartime atrocities (“Drizzle” [1990]), and psychological scarring (Trees on a Slope [forthcoming]). Stylistically distinct in Postwar Korean Short Stories are O Sang-wŏn’s “A Respite” and Chang Yong-hak’s “Poems of John the Baptist,” two existential responses to the absurdity of the civil war. Also notable are stories depicting the moral chaos of the postwar series; good examples are Son Ch’ang-sŏp’s “Walking in the Snow” and Sŏ Ki-wŏn’s “The Uncharted Map,” the latter title an apt metaphor of South Korean society in the 1950s.

Relating to the wartime stories, but embracing broader social concerns, are the kijich’on (military camptown) stories and novels. These take place in the demimonde surrounding the American military bases in South Korea and feature the economic marriage of convenience that takes place between the foreign military personnel and host-country nationals who provide them with tailor shops, eateries, and entertainment facilities. The American presence in these works, though rarely fleshed out in three-dimensional form, provides an anchor to American readers and at the same time offers a foil by which the Korean protagonists reassess their identity as Koreans, both individually and societally. That is, the microcosm of American culture provided in the camptowns provides Korean merchants, black-marketeers, and prostitutes with a degree of social mobility that may be denied them in Korea’s traditionally closed society. Gender issues in particular are salient in stories such as Kang Sŏk-kyŏng’s “Days and Dreams” (1989).

Whereas Postwar Korean Short Stories comprises stories from the 1950s and 1960s, Land of Exile (1993) includes in addition to work from these decades several stories from the 1970s and one from the 1980s. All are thematically relevant to those times. Many are examples of division literature—that body of work dealing with the territorial division of the Korean peninsula initiated in 1945 when Soviet and American authorities demarcated the peninsula at the 38th parallel for the purpose of accepting the surrender of Japanese troops at the end of the Pacific War, and its hardening by the 1953 cease-fire that established the present DMZ (demilitarized zone) between North Korea and South Korea. The title story of this collection, about a man from a peasant family who participated in massacres of landed gentry around the time of the civil war and who as a result became an internal exile, is especially poignant. Playing with Fire (1997), a novel centered in the same theme, by the same author, Cho Chŏng-nae, is also available. Other stories in Land of Exile concern the societal problems resulting from South Korea’s headlong transformation from a rural to an urban-industrial economy beginning in the 1960s. “A Dream of Good Fortune” by Hwang Sŏg-yŏng and “The Man Who Was Left as Nine Pairs of Shoes” by Yun Hung-gil are representative.

The best one-volume fictional treatment of the social costs of South Korean industrialization in the 1970s is Cho Se-hui’s linked-story novel A Little Ball Launched by a Dwarf. The title story (1998), “Knifeblade” (1998), and “City of Machines” (1990) provide a good introduction.

At the turn of the millennium one of the most visible changes in South Korea is the increased participation of women in the nation’s society, exemplified most recently by Park Keun Hye’s campaign for the nation’s presidency (she is the daughter of the late dictator Park Chung Hee). This participation has extended to the field of literature, with women writers finally gaining parity with their male counterparts after centuries of marginalization by the literary powers-that-be. Like their male colleagues, these women write persuasively of their nation’s social, political, and historical upheavals. Unlike them, they also provide a complex chorus of women’s voices, which in combination provide a rich account of how contemporary Korean women see themselves in a traditionally patriarchal society. Three of these voices are heard in Words of Farewell (1989). One of them, O Chŏng-hui, is noteworthy for her accounts of how modernization has warped the traditional Korean family structure. She, Pak Wan-sŏ, and Ch’oe Yun are South Korea’s most important women fiction writers. All are represented in a more recent women’s fiction anthology, Wayfarer (1997). They are joined by a group of articulate women poets, a sampling of whom is found in translations by Suh Jimoon (1987).

Korean fiction of the 1990s is characterized not only by this increase in women’s voices but also by a decrease in socially engaged stories. Even so, the history of modern Korean literature, which is conventionally dated to 1917 (the year of publication of Yi Kwang-su’s novel Mujŏng [Heartlessness]), reveals a seesaw contest between the literature of social engagement and pure literature. Korean literature of the new century is expected to continue to illuminate the multitude of changes taking place on the Korean peninsula as well as to reflect patterns of thought that have informed Korean civilization since earliest recorded times.

FOR FURTHER REFERENCE

The following is a selection of additional English translations of Korean fiction from the Korean War and beyond. The list is far from inclusive, and interested readers should consult a database at a university Asian collection for further sources, which will include in addition to fiction several worthwhile volumes of poetry in translation.

ANTHOLOGIES

Flowers of Fire, rev. ed., ed. Peter H. Lee (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1986). Contains some of the best-known stories of the twentieth century.

The Golden Phoenix: Seven Contemporary Korean Short Stories, trans. Suh Jimoon (Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner, 1998).

Listening to Korea, ed. Marshall Pihl (New York: Praeger, 1973). A pioneering collection of stories and essays; out of print.

Literature East and West (Korean literature issue), 14, no. 3 (September 1970).

Meetings and Farewells: Modern Korean Stories, ed. Chung Chong-wha (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1980).

Modern Korean Literature, ed. Peter H. Lee (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1990). Poetry, essays, and fiction; most of the contents are taken from Lee’s two previous anthologies, The Silence of Love (poetry) and Flowers of Fire (fiction).

Modern Korean Short Stories, ed. Chung Chong-wha (Hong Kong: Heinemann Educational Books (Asia), 1980).

Modern Short Stories From Korea, trans. In-Sob Zong (Seoul: Munho sa, 1958).

The Rainy Spell and Other Korean Stories, rev. ed., trans. Suh Ji-moon (Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, 1998).

Reunion So Far Away: A Collection of Contemporary Korean Fiction (Seoul: Korean National Commission for Unesco, 1994). All stories but one are from the 1970s and 1980s.

Seeing the Invisible (Korea theme issue of Manoa, 8, no. 2, 1996). Five stories from South Korea’s post-modernization period by women writers, plus an introductory essay by the feature editor.

Translation: The Journal of Literary Translation, 13 (Fall 1984), Korean Feature Section, pages 1–129.

A Washed-Out Dream, trans. Kevin O’Rourke (Seoul: Korean Literature Foundation, 1980). A strong collection.

The Wounded Season (Korea theme issue of Manoa, 11, no. 2, 1999). Five stories relating to the Korean War and the Kwangju uprising and massacre of 1980, plus an introductory essay by the feature editor.

AUTHORS

(Listed chronologically by author birthdate)

Ch’oe Chŏng-hui (1912–1990)

“The Memorial Service on the Mountain,” in Modern Short Stories from Korea. In the vein of Hyŏn Chin-gŏn’s “Fire.”

“Chom-nye,” trans. G. Poitras, in The Cry of the Harp (Seoul: Si-sa-yong-o-sa, 1983).

Kim Tong-ni (Kim Shi-jong; 1913–1995)

“Father and Son,” trans. Kim, in Postwar Korean Short Stories, 2nd ed. Incisive potrayal of one such relationship.

“The Post Horse Curse,” trans. Pihl, Korea Journal 29, no. 11 (November 1989) and Land of Exile: Contemporary Korean Fiction.

“The Flowers,” trans. Chu with Pihl, in Listening to Korea.

O Yŏng-su (1914–1979)

The Good People, trans. Pihl (Hong Kong: Heinemann Asia, 1985). Engaging collection of stories.

Hwang Sun-wŏn (1915–2000)

The Stars and Other Korean Short Stories, trans. E. Poitras (Hong Kong: Heinemann Asia, 1980). Good sampling of a consummate short story writer; includes an excellent introduction.

The Moving Castle, trans. Fulton and Fulton (Seoul: Si-sa-yong-o-sa, 1985). His most ambitious novel.

The Book of Masks, ed. Holman (London: Readers International, 1989). From his most recent collection of fiction.

Shadows of a Sound, ed. Holman (San Francisco: Mercury House, 1990). Stories covering his entire career.

The Descendants of Cain, trans. Suh and Pickering (Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, 1997). Land reform in North Korea in 1946.

“Shower,” trans. Yu, in Flowers of Fire. Perhaps the most cited but least understood of his stories.

“Cranes,” trans. Lee, in Flowers of Fire and Modern Korean Literature.

“Pierrot,” trans. Suh, in The Rainy Spell and Other Korean Stories. An autobigraphical account of the Hwang family’s refugee life during the civil war.

“Winter Forsythias,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Hanguk Munhak 14 (February 1986), and The Book of Masks.

“Shadows of a Sound,” trans. Holman, Korea Journal 27, no. 8 (August 1987), and Shadows of a Sound. “In a Small Island Village,” trans. Holman, Korean Culture 8, no. 4 (Winter 1987), and The Book of Masks.

“Widows,” trans. Hoyt, Fiction Network, Fall/Winter 1988/1989, and Shadows of a Sound.

“A Man,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Shadows of a Sound.

“Melons,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Shadows of a Sound.

“Conversation in June about Mothers,” trans. Suh, in The Book of Masks. Horrifying.

“A Backcountry Village,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Koreana 7, no. 4 (Winter 1993).

“Doctor Chang’s Situation,” trans. Epstein, Chicago Review, 39, nos. 3 & 4 (1993).

“The Dog of Crossover Village,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Asian Pacific Quarterly 26, no. 1 (Spring 1994).

Son So-hui (1917–1987)

“At the End of the World,” trans. Kim in Postwar Korean Short Stories, 2nd ed. Oedipal conflict.

Chŏn Kwang-yong (1919–1989)

“Kapitan Ri,” trans. Pihl, in Listening to Korea and Land of Exile: Contemporary Koran Fiction. A portrait of a survivor under the Japanese, Soviets, and Americans.

“The Bandmaster,” trans. Kim, in Postwar Korean Short Stories, 2nd ed. Wistful.

Yi Pŏm-sŏn (1920–1982)

“A Stray Bullet,” trans. Pihl, in Listening to Korea and Flowers of Fire. Caused a furor in Korea because of its pessimism.

“The People of Crane Village,” trans. Pak, in The Drizzle and Other Korean Short Stories.

Yu Chu-hyŏn (b. 1921)

“The Imjin River,” trans. Kim, in Postwar Korean Short Stories, 2nd ed.

Son Ch’ang-sŏp (b. 1922)

“A Washed-Out Dream,” trans. O’Rourke, in A Washed-Out Dream.

“The Rainy Season,” trans. Lee, in Flowers of Fire. Two other representative stories by a master painter of 1950s Korea.

Sŏnu Hwi (1922–1986)

“Flowers of Fire,” trans. Lee, in Flowers of Fire. A rare celebration of the will; antideterministic.

“The Ducks and the Insignia,” trans. Lee, in Flowers of Fire.

“One Way,” trans. Kim, in Postwar Korean Short Stories, 2nd ed.

“The Terrorist,” trans. Kim, Korea Journal 14, no. 11 (November 1974).

“Thoughts of Home,” trans. Pihl, in Modern Korean Literature.

Kang Shin-jae (1924–2001)

“Another Eve,” trans. Kim, in Modern Korean Literature. Her best work in translation.

“The Young Zelkova,” trans. Song, in Flowers of Fire; Shin, in Modern Korean Short Stories. Puppy love between half-siblings.

Pak Kyŏng-ni (b. 1927)

Land, trans. Tennant (London: Kegan Paul International, 1996). This epic novel, translated in part here, is one of the great achievements of modern Korean literature.

O Yu-gwŏn (b. 1928)

“Two Travelers,” trans. Kim, in Two Travelers and Other Korean Short Stories (Seoul: Si-sa-yong-o-sa, 1983).

O Sang-wŏn (1930-1985)

“A Betrayal,” trans. Kim, in Modern Korean Short Stories. A chilling psychological study.

Sŏ Ki-wŏn (b. 1930)

“The Heir,” trans. Kim, in Flowers of Fire and Modern Korean Literature.

“The Marok Biographies,” nos. 2, 3, 5, trans. O’Rourke, in Koreana 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995).

Ha Kun-ch’an (b. 1931)

“The Suffering of Two Generations,” trans. O’Rourke, in A Washed-Out Dream and Koreana 9, no. 3 (Autumn 1995).

“The White Paper Beard,” trans. O’Rourke, in A Washed-Out Dream and Koreana 9, no. 3 (Autumn 1995).

Pak Wan-sŏ (b. 1931)

“Winter Outing,” trans. Pihl, Korea Journal 30, no. 2 (February 1990), and Land of Exile.

“The Good Luck Ritual,” trans. Epstein, Korea Times (Seoul), November 1, 1990.

“In the Realm of the Buddha,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Koreana 10, no. 2 (Summer 1996).

“Camera and Workboots,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Koreana 10, no. 2 (Summer 1996).

“Identical Apartments,” trans. Fulton and Fulton in Wayfarer.

The Naked Tree, trans. Yu (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University East Asia Program, 1995).

My Very Last Possession, ed. Chun Kyung-Ja (Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, 1999). Stories translated by various hands.

Yi Ho-ch’ŏl (b. 1932)

“Midnight,” trans. Lee, in Flowers of Fire. Technically innovative.

“The Sultriness of a Cold Evening,” trans. Kim, in Postwar Korean Short Stories, 2nd ed.

“Big Mountain,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Korean Literature Today 2, no. 3 (Fall 1997).

Han Mal-suk (b. 1933)

Hymn of the Spirit, trans. Crowder (Seoul: Korean Literature Foundation, 1983).

“The Rainy Season,” trans. Epstein, Korean Culture 13, no. 4 (Winter 1992).

“A Certain Death,” trans. Crowder-Han, Korea Post, August 1988. Raw and powerful story by a writer more at home describing Korea’s upper class.

Ko Un (b. 1933)

“The Night Tavern,” trans. You, Korean Culture 20, no. 1 (Spring 1999).

Ch’oe In-hun (b. 1936)

The Square, trans. O’Rourke (Devon, Eng.: Spindlewood, 1985). Critically regarded novel about a Korean War POW who elects to go to a third country after the war rather than to the North or the South.

“Imprisoned,” trans. Chun, Koreana 4, no. 1 (1990).

“End of the Road,” trans. Holstein, Koreana 10, no. 1 (Spring 1996).

Sŏ Chŏng-in (b. 1936)

“The River,” trans. Holstein, Korea Times (Seoul), November 1, 1986. Brilliant translation.

“On the Road,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Koreana 11, no. 2 (Summer 1997).

“The Plain,” trans. Brother Anthony, Koreana 11, no. 2 (Summer 1997).

Kim Chu-yŏng (b. 1939)

“Searching for Ch’ŏrwŏn,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Koreana 11, no. 1 (Spring 1997).

Yi Ch’ŏng-jun (b. 1939)

This Paradise of Yours, trans. Chang and Chang (Seoul: Korean Literature Foundation, 1986). One of the more accessible works by a novelist of ideas.

“Fool and Idiot,” trans. Song, in New Translations from Korea (Seoul: Korean Culture and Arts Foundation, 1982). (Also translated by Lee as “The Wounded,” in The Wounded Season.)

“The Crane,” trans. Epstein, Korea Journal 30, no. 6 (June 1990).

“Footprints in the Snow,” trans. Pickering, Koreana 8, no. 1 (Spring 1994).

“The Falconer,” trans. Pickering, Korean Literature Today 1, no. 3 (Winter 1996) [listed as “Volume No. 3”].

“The Prophet,” trans. Pickering, Korean Literature Today 1, no. 3 (Winter 1996) [listed as “Volume No. 3”].

The Prophet and Other Stories, trans. Pickering (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University East Asia Program, 1999).

Cho Sŏn-jak (b. 1940)

“The Wall,” trans. Lee, in Meetings and Farewells.

Chŏn Sang-guk (b. 1940)

“Tears of an Idol,” trans. Pickering, Korea Journal 34, no. 1 (Spring 1994).

Hyŏn Kil-ŏn (b. 1940)

“Homecoming,” trans. Pickering, Asian Pacific Quarterly 26, no. 2 (Summer 1994).

Ahn Junghyo (b. 1941)

White Badge (New York: Soho Press, 1989). Korean soldiers in Vietnam.

Silver Stallion (New York: Soho Press, 1990). The effects of foreign soldiers on life in a small village.

Kim Sung-ok (b. 1941)

“Seoul—1964 Winter,” trans. Pihl, in Listening to Korea and Land of Exile. Ahead of its time.

“Record of a Journey to Mujin,” trans. O’Rourke, in A Washed-Out Dream.

Yi Mun-gu (b. 1941)

“The Ballad of Kalm˘ori,” trans. Ahn, in Modern Korean Literature.

“Sunset Over My Hometown,” trans. Suh, in The Golden Phoenix.

Cho Se-hui (b. 1942)

“The Bony Fish That Came Into My Net,” trans. Sol, in The Road to Samp’o and Other Korean Short Stories (Seoul: Si-sa-yong-o-sa, 1983). One of the best stories from a landmark novel; a withering expose of the dark side of Korean industrialization.

“The Möbius Strip,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Korean Literature Today 3, no. 3 (Fall 1998).

Yun Hung-gil (b. 1942)

The House of Twilight, ed. Holman (London: Readers International, 1989). Good collection of stories by one of the most astute and evenhanded observers of contemporary Korean society.

“The Rainy Season,” trans. Suh, in The Rainy Spell and Other Korean Stories and The House of Twilight. One of the best-known examples of the “Literature of Division” (of the Korean Peninsula).

“The Man Who Was Left as Nine Pairs of Shoes,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, in The House of Twilight and Land of Exile.

Hwang Sŏg-yŏng (b. 1943)

“The Road to Samp’o,” trans. McHale, in The Road to Samp’o and Other Korean Short Stories.

“A Dream of Good Fortune,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, in Land of Exile. Gritty depiction of urban squatters.

The Shadow of Arms, trans. Chun (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University East Asia Program, 1994). Vietnam War novel, based on the author’s experiences.

“The Chronicle of a Man Named Han,” trans. Yu, in Korean Literature Today 3, no. 2 (Summer 1998).

Kim Chi-wŏn (b. 1943)

“Lullaby,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Korea Journal 28, no. 8 (August 1988); and Words of Farewell.

“A Certain Beginning,” trans. Fulton and Fulton in Words of Farewell; and Stories from the American Mosaic: The Graywolf Annual Seven, ed. Walker (St. Paul: Graywolf Press, 1990). A contract marriage in New York City.

“Almaden,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Asian Pacific Quarterly 26, no. 2 (Summer 1994), and Wayfarer.

Sŏ Yŏng-un (b. 1943)

“Dear Distant Love,” trans. Fulton and Fulton in Wayfarer.

Ch’oe In-ho (b. 1945)

“Another Man’s Room,” trans. O’Rourke, in A Washed-Out Dream. Illusion versus reality; an innovative story by a facile writer.

“The Boozer,” trans. Pihl, in Land of Exile. Haunting.

“The Poplar Tree,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Moonrabbit Review 1 (Spring 1995). Fabulous.

“Deep Blue Night,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Korea Journal 35, no. 4 (Winter 1995). Two Korean men on a road trip in California.

O Chŏng-hui (b. 1947)

“The Party,” trans. Sol, Korea Journal 23, no. 3 (October 1983).

“The Bronze Mirror,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, in Modern Korean Literature and Land of Exile. Ultimately terrifying.

“Words of Farewell,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Korea Journal 28, no. 1 (January 1988), and Words of Farewell. Difficult but rewarding.

“The Toyshop Woman,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Korea Times (Seoul), November 5, 7, 8, 1989. A schoolgirl’s descent toward madness.

“Evening Game,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Asian and Pacific Quarterly 22, no. 3 (Autumn 1990), and Words of Farewell. Provocative account of a dysfunctional family.

“Chinatown,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Korea Journal 30, no. 1 (January 1990), and Words of Farewell. A girl comes of age in 1950s Inchon.

“A Portrait of Magnolias,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Koreana 6, no. 2 (Summer 1992). Shamanism, creativity, and a story-within-a-story.

“Morning Star,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, in Seeing the Invisible. Nostalgic.

“Fireworks,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Asian Pacific Quarterly 25, no. 2 (Winter 1993).

“Wayfarer,” trans. Fulton and Fulton in Wayfarer.

“Lake P’aro,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Korean Literature Today 3, no. 4 (Winter 1998).

“The Monument Intersection,” trans. Suh in The Golden Phoenix.

Kim Min-suk (b. 1948)

“Scarlet Fingernails,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Korea Journal 36, no. 3 (Autumn 1996); and Wayfarer.

Yi Mun-yŏl (b. 1948)

Our Twisted Hero, trans. O’Rourke (New York: Hyperion, 2001). An allegory of the corrupting influence of power; set among middle school boys.

The Poet, trans. Chung and Brother Anthony (London: Harvill, 1995).

Kang Sŏk-kyŏng (b. 1951)

“A Room in the Woods,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Korea Journal 27, nos. 4 and 5 (April and May 1987), and Words of Farewell. A family in crisis and the Seoul street scene.

“Days and Dreams,” trans. Fulton and Fulton in Words of Farewell. Prostitutes near an American army base.

Ch’oe Yun (Ch’oe Hy˘on-mu; b. 1953)

“His Father’s Keeper,” trans. Suh, Korea Journal 32, no. 2 (Summer 1992); and The Rainy Spell and Other Korean Stories. A family separated by ideology.

“The Gray Snowman,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, in Seeing the Invisible.

“The Last of Hanak’o,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Korean Culture 17, no. 4 (Winter 1996); and Wayfarer.

“There a Petal Silently Falls,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Korea Journal 37, no. 4 and 38, no. 1 (Winter 1997 and Spring 1998).

“The Flower with Thirteen Fragrances,” trans. Suh in The Golden Phoenix.

Im Ch’ŏl-u (b. 1954)

“A Shared Journey,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Korea Journal 31, no. 2 (Summer 1991); and Land of Exile. The psychological aftermath of the Kwangju Massacre of 1980.

Yi Kyun-yŏng (1954–1996)

“Beyond the Dark Memories,” trans. Fulton and Fulton, Asian and Pacific Quarterly 23, no. 3 (Autumn 1991). In reconstructing a drunken evening a man discovers a long-lost sister from whom he was separated during the Korean War.

Yang Kwi-ja (b. 1955)

A Distant and Beautiful Place, trans. Kim and Pickering (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2002).

Kim Hyŏng-gyŏng (b. 1960)

“A Woman Who Smokes,” trans. Kim, in Seeing the Invisible.

Kong Chi-yŏng (b. 1963)

“Dreams,” trans. Kim and Han, in Seeing the Invisible.

“Human Decency,” trans. Fulton and Fulton in Wayfarer.

Kong Sŏn-ok (b. 1963)

“The Flowering of Our Lives,” trans. Fulton and Fulton in Wayfarer.

“The Blind Calf,” trans. Yu, Harvard Review 23 (Fall 2002).

Shin Kyŏng-suk (b. 1964)

“The Sequestered Room,” trans. Lee and Lee, Kyoto Journal, no. 30 (1995).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cho Chŏng-nae, Playing With Fire, trans. Chun Kyung-ja. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University East Asia Program. 1997.

Cho Se-hui, “City of Machines,” trans. Marshall R. Pihl, Korea Journal 30, no. 3 (March 1990): 68–74.

——— . “Knifeblade,” trans. Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton, Korean Literature Today 3, no. 3 (Fall 1998): 107–25.

——— . “A Little Ball Launched by a Dwarf,” trans. Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton, Korean Literature Today 3, no. 3 (Fall 1998): 126–69.

Fulton, Bruce and Ju-Chan, trans., Words of Farewell: Stories by Korean Women Writers. Seattle: Seal Press, 1989.

——— . Wayfarer: New Fiction by Korean Women. Seattle: Women in Translation, 1997.

Hwang Sun-wŏn, Trees on a Slope, trans. Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, forthcoming.

Kim Chong-un, trans., Postwar Korean Short Stories, 2nd ed. Seoul: Seoul National University Press, 1983.

——— . et al., trans., The Drizzle and Other Korean Short Stories. Seoul: Si-sa-yong-o-sa, 1983.

Pihl, Marshall R., and Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton, trans., Land of Exile: Contemporary Korean Fiction. Armonk: M. E. Sharpe, 1993.

Suh Ji-moon, trans., “Seven Feminist Poems,” Korea Journal 27, no. 9 (September 1987): 34–42.