[_list: Books from Korea] Vol.18 Winter 2012 by LTI Korea Library

Vol.18 Winter 2012

Special Section

Creating the World in Korean Literature

Special Interview

Guy Sorman and President of LTI Korea Kim Seong-Kon Interviews Literary Critic Kim

Byong-ik Philosopher Kang Shin-joo Spotlight on Fiction

A Trip to Mujin by Kim Sung-ok Theme Lounge

PSY, Horse Dancing with the World

ISSN 2005-2790

FAQ What is list_Books from Korea, and where can I find it? list is a quarterly magazine packed with information about Korean books. Register online at www.list.or.kr to receive a free subscription.

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Who publishes list_Books from Korea? list is published by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, which is affiliated with the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. LTI Koreaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission is to contribute to global culture by expanding the knowledge of Korean literature and culture abroad. Visit www.klti.or.kr to learn about our many translation, publication, cultural exchange, and education programs. Contact: list_korea @ klti.or.kr

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Foreword

Korean Literature Travels the World Korean pop star PSY has taken center stage on the international music scene with his hit song, “Gangnam Style.” The video gained a staggering 700 million views on YouTube in just three months, and spent seven consecutive weeks at No. 2 on the Billboard chart as of November 13. The “Gangnam Style” music video has inspired hundreds of parody videos as people all over the world have been dancing the catchy “horse dance” that “Gangnam Style” is famous for. Overcoming geographical boundaries and appealing to a universal penchant for elation, PSY, a 30-something Korean singer with average looks, has been a surprise and delight to Koreans as well. Above all, the role of “Gangnam Style” as a song and choreographed dance that is universally enjoyed carries no small cultural significance. In 1882, natural scientist W.E. Griffis referred to Korea as “Corea: the Hermit Nation” in his book of the same title. Until the end of the 19th century, Korea was indeed a nation tucked away in a corner of the world, one with an inconspicuous presence. But Korea had not always been a hermit nation. Historically, Korea was an active participant of international trade that sent merchants as far as Southeast Asia, Inner Asia, and even the Middle East. The isolationist foreign relations during the Joseon era, however, led to 400 years of reclusion, which made Korea seem a hermit nation in Griffis’ eyes. But not long after Griffis’ observation, Joseon, or his ‘Corea,’ fell under Japanese colonial rule, sending Koreans all over the world to China, Japan, Inner Asia, and North America with the dream of freedom and independence. This history of the Korean diaspora continued after the Korean War (1950-1953) as Koreans left their home country to escape poverty and political oppression, and lay roots in foreign lands. Korean contemporary history has truly been one of expatriation and exile. Restrictions on overseas travel for Koreans slowly began to lift in 1989. Before then, political dictatorship and national security matters that rose from being a divided nation in armistice made traveling abroad difficult. However, when industrialization was swiftly achieved and democracy successfully established, the government adopted “globalization” as its motto in 1992 and encouraged Koreans to travel. This resulted in Korean writers’ direct experience with diverse cultures, and these experiences made their way onto the pages. Inspired by the push for globalization, overseas travel operated as an impetus for exploring the light and shadow of globalization and fostering an imagination that extends far beyond the geographical boundaries of the Korean peninsula. This issue of _list is a meaningful and exciting showcase of “Creating the World in Korean Literature,” introducing works that search for the vestiges and path of the Korean disapora, that invites us to remember and experience the momentous occasions in history and investigate the isolation and identity crisis Koreans experience in foreign lands. In addition, we have also sought out stories that focus on the lives of people that Korean characters meet while abroad—stories of tragedy and humanism in warring regions, and unique writing spaces. Korean literature today is thus communicating with the world and searching for a universal value to uphold and cherish. Join us as we journey around the world through the lens of Korean literature. by Kim Dongshik

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Vol.18 Winter 2012

Contents Winter 2012 Vol. 18

01 04 05 06 08

Foreword Trade Report News from LTI Korea Bestsellers Publishing Trends

Special Section

Creating the World

in Korean Literature 10 13 16 19

Interviews

22 Literary Critic Kim Byong-ik 28 Philosopher Kang Shin-joo

Excerpts

26 Still, Literature Must Go On by Kim Byong-ik 32 Philosophy VS Philosophy by Kang Shin-joo

The Place

34 Suncheon Bay

Imagining America and the “Other” European Cities Reimagined Reflections of Korea’s East and Central Asian Neighbors Beyond Exoticism: the Evolution of “Exotic Scenery”

Special Interview

42 Fiction 60 Nonfiction 70 Children’s Books

75 Guy Sorman and President of LTI Korea Kim Seong-Kon

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Theme Lounge

38 PSY, Horse Dancing with the World

Reviews

Vol.18 Winter 2012 A Quarterly Magazine for Publishers

42 PUBLISHER _ Kim Seong-Kon EDITORIAL DIRECTOR _ Kwon Sehoon MANAGING DIRECTOR _ Lee Jungkeun EDITORIAL BOARD Kim Su-yeong Kim Yonghee Kim Dongshik Kim Yeran Yoon So-hee EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Kim Sun-hye

MANAGING EDITORS Cha Youngju Lee Chae Eun EDITORS Kim Stoker Krys Lee ART DIRECTOR Choi Woonglim

DESIGNERS Kim Mijin Lee Jaehyun Jang Hyeju PHOTOGRAPHER Lee Kwa-yong

Spotlight on Fiction

45 A Trip to Mujin by Kim Sung-ok

Steady Sellers

59 Dragon Raja 68 Love of a One-Eyed Fish

Overseas Angle

69 Book Lover’s Angle: Theresa Hyun 77 Kim Sung-ok: A Literature of and for the Self

New Books

79 Recommended by Publishers

Meet the Publishers

84 Yolimwon 86 87 88 90

Afterword Contributors Featured Authors Index

PRINTED IN _ Sinsago Hi-tech Date of Publication 2012. 11. 19

list_ Books from Korea is a quarterly magazine published by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. All correspondences should be addressed to the Literature Translation Institute of Korea at 108-5 Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea 135-873 Telephone: 82-2-6919-7714 Fax: 82-2-3448-4247 E-mail: list_korea@klti.or.kr www.klti.or.kr www.list.or.kr Copyright © 2012 by Literature Translation Institute of Korea ISSN 2005-2790

Cover art Kyung Hyounsoo Front cover: debris fusion#1, 130.3x162.2cm, acrylic on canvas, 2012 Back page: debris fusion#2, 130.3x162.2cm, acrylic on canvas, 2012

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Vol.18 Winter 2012

Trade Report

Princess Deokhye To Be Published in Japanese

Princess Deokhye Kwon Beeyoung, Dasan Books 2009, 360p, ISBN 9788963700342

While controversy over historical records brews between Korea and Japan, the rights to the novel Princess Deokhye was bought by Kanyou Publishing Company in Japan. The Japanese version of the book is set for publication in early 2013. Kwon Beeyoung’s Princess Deokhye was hailed by the press and bookstores as “The Book of the Year” in 2010 and was a bestseller for an extended period in Korea. Princess Deokhye was born as the youngest daughter of King Gojong in May 1912. The novel tells the tragic life story of Princess Deokhye who was forced to marry in Japan where she lived a tumultuous life. The book, though based on a real historical figure, is fiction; but for Korean readers, it is not just an ordinary novel as it has forced them to look back on Korean history with renewed interest. As such, the book has been adapted for the theater and into a radio play. Princess Deokhye the novel, along with the news

that old images of the actual Princess were discovered, have rekindled a life story that seemed long forgotten. In addition, there are plans for Korea and Japan to jointly produce a film version of the book. Currently, director Hur Jinho, who directed Dangerous Liaisons with Jang Dong-gun and Zhang Ziyi, is set to direct. The production team is preparing to release the film early next year in Japan and Korea simultaneously, at which time the book will also be published in Japan. At present, countries in Asia such as Indonesia and Thailand have bought the rights to Princess Deokhye, but with the planned publication of the Japanese version, countries in the Middle East and Europe are also showing great interest. by Richard Hong

Jeong You-jeong’s Seven Years of Darkness To Be Published in Germany Jeong You-jeong’s Seven Years of Darkness has received high accolades for having both literar y va lue and mass appeal, selling 300,000 copies in Korea where the competition in the literary market is fierce. It is now slowly making its presence known in the overseas publishing market. The novel was published in Korea in April 2011 and in a short time was well received by readers. The book also gained attention as the rights for the film version sold for a high price last year. And as the publishing world was getting ready for the Frankfurt Book Fair, the rights to Seven Years of Darkness was sold in the European market. Interest was high for the book to be published in German. Unionsverlag, the publishing company based in Zurich responsible for publishing the works of the 2012 Nobel Prize winning author Mo Yan, Maya Angelou, and other worldrenowned authors, has bought the rights to Seven Years of Darkness. Therefore, the 4 list_ Books from Korea

Vol.18 Winter 2012

book will make its European debut in Germany. Even before the sale in Europe, the book was making headway in Asia. The publishing company Post Books in Thailand had already secured rights to the book and the Thai edition is currently in the works. In addition, this fall, The Vegetarian by Yi Sang Literary Award winner Han Kang, had its rights sold to France, Spain, Poland, and China, adding to the already translated and published editions in Japan and Vietnam. Furthermore, it will likely be published in many more languages as excitement for the book hasn’t died down. Publishers from other countries continue to show interest, including Brazil and Italy. by Joseph Lee

Seven Years of Darkness Jeong You-jeong EunHaeng NaMu Publishing Co. 2011, 524p, ISBN 9788956604992

News from LTI Korea

LTI Korea Hosts 2012 Seoul International Writers’ Festival

press conference

The Literature Translation Institute o f K o r e a h o s t e d t h e 2 01 2 S e o u l International Writers’ Festival from October 29 through November 2 in Seoul and Jeju Island. The festival, which entered its fourth run, was successfully held with 20 invited writers from home and abroad sharing their insights under the theme of “Reality + Imagination.” LT I Kore a st a r ted t he bien n ia l festival in 2006 to help Korean writers enter foreign ma rkets. The Korea n writers who participated in the event were: novelists Jung Young-moon, Kim Yujine, Kim Tae-yong, Yun I-hyeong, Choi Jae-hoon; poets Kim Ki-taek, Choi Jeongrye, Shim Bo-seon, Jin Eun-young, and Kim Yi-deum. Foreign writers also joined the festival: novelists Jean Philippe Toussaint (Belgium), Philippe Besson

a panel discussion

(France), Uthis Haemamool (Thailand), Jakob Hein (Germany), León Plascencia Ñol (Mexico); poets Jennifer Kwon Dobbs (U.S.), Fay Chiang (U.S.), Ivy Alvarez (U.K.), K. Srilata (India), and Johannes Göransson (U.S.). Each Korean and international writer was paired up to foster exchange and push the boundaries of world literature. T he w r iter s v i site d Jeju I sl a nd on October 29 and 30 and had the opportunity to learn about Korea as they enjoyed Jeju’s pristine nature and experienced the local traditional culture. On October 31, the writers participated in the main event in Daehangno, the center of Seoul’s culture and arts, and interacted with the audience. The main event, composed of the discussion session “Free Talks,” reading, and book sales, was

successful. On T hu r s d ay Nove mb e r 1 t he audience for the reading was standing room only. Indian poet K. Srilata, who was paired up with Korean poet Kim Yideum and participated in the Free Talk, said, “Poet Kim Yi-deum and I have different writing styles, but we learned a lot from each other.” She added “The program was well organized from Jeju Island to Seoul. The destinations and interpretation service were outstanding. It was a great opportunity to become friends with writers of different languages.” The 2012 Seoul International Writers’ Festival concluded on Friday November 2 with a farewell party. We expect that the international writers’ festival will help highlight Korean literature in the literary world.

a reading

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Vol.18 Winter 2012

Bestsellers

What We’re Reading Fiction

Nonfiction

I'll Be Right There

If the Waves Belong to the Sea

You Succeed as Much as You Play

Shin Kyung-sook, Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. 2010, 400p, ISBN 9788954611275 Lyrical and sentimental, Shin Kyung-sook’s seventh novel is a romance that searches for the meaning of youth and love despite a tragic personal history. Shin’s unique style elevates the sentimentality of love, loss, sorrow, and the wounds of youth.

Kim Yeon-su, Jaeum & Moeum Publishing Co. 2012, 328p, ISBN 9788954428224

Kim Chung-woon, Book21 Publishing Group 2011, 224p, ISBN 9788950933050 This book investigates Korean society’s fundamental flaw of being the world’s best at work but the worst at enjoying life. Kim argues that a lack of communication skills can be overcome through leisure and entertainment. He defines the psychological value and deeper meaning of entertainment, happiness, and leisure, reminding us of the value of a genuine competitive edge in a society where anyone can pursue trifling yet various forms of entertainment.

The Store That Sells Time Kim Sun-young, Jaeum & Moeum Publishing Co. 2012, 265p, ISBN 9788954427173 Winner of the first Jaeum & Moeum Young Adult Literary Award, The Store That Sells Time is a heartwarming mystery. Claiming to sell passing time, the store works like a detective agency to resolve its client’s issues. Requests vary from recovering a stolen digital tablet to becoming a mailman from heaven. This promising novel cut opens up new possibilities in young adult literature as it comforts and provides hope to the weary while unfolding mysteries.

Award-winning author Kim Yeon-su tells the story of a woman who was adopted to the U.S. when she was an infant and now visits Korea with her American fiancé. Searching for her lost past, she travels through Korea and encounters the tales of numerous people. In search for the truth about her birth, the author meditates on the existential issues of relationships.

Life Unperturbed Eun Hee-kyung, Changbi Publishers, Inc. 2012, 268p, ISBN 9788936433925

This book demonstrates Eun Hee-kyung’s cynical worldview based on the premise that genuine communication between human beings is impossible. This worldview is revealed in the dry, explicit discourse between decadent writers, poets, publishers, reporters, film directors, housewives, and fan clubs.

Seven O'clock Morning Meeting for Jilted Lovers

My Wound Is a Stone, Your Wound Is a Flower

Baek Young-ok , Jaeum & Moeum Publishing Co. 2012, 432p, ISBN 9788957076774

Ryu Shiva, Forest of Literature 2012, 146p, ISBN 9788993838220

In her second novel Baek Young-ok, author of Style and A Very Ordinary Romance, writes about urbanism and recounts a story of love in the city, broken hearts, and parting lovers. Stories about love, relationships, and breakups are told from three different perspectives.

Through simple, light language Ryu Shiva’s third collection of poetry contemplates various religious and philosophical reflections. His first publication in 15 years, the language is pure and reserved— restrained but with a linguistic sensibility in touch with life and religious salvation. It is reminiscent of life’s simple wisdoms which have been forgotten. It draws truth seeking meditation from ordinary objects and regular occurrences.

EunGyo Park Bumshin, Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. 2010, 408p, ISBN 9788954610681

Things You Find When You Empty Your Mind Kim Sang-woon, Book21 Publishing Group 2012, 362p, ISBN 9788950936495 The author of the bestseller Watching, Kim Sangwoon realizes the truth in “all these things are not my own” and recommends that we empty ourselves. From opening up, giving up bodily obsessions, emptying our mind, to abandoning greed, through various case studies and the writers’ personal experience, this book shows us how to liberate ourselves.

Putting Wings on the Elephant Lee Oisoo, Hainaim Publishing Co., Ltd. 2011, 416p, ISBN 9788965743019 This essay collection by Lee Oisoo seeks to energize and bring hope. Lee’s peculiar wit and lively writing style deliver revelations that awaken the sleeping hope in our hearts. Composed of five chapters, this book features stories of living fully every day, and focuses on the power of love, a proactive attitude in life, confidence, and wisdom.

A renowned poet in his late 70s, a follower of the poet’s work, and a naïve 17-year-old high school girl form a love triangle. Caught between the conflicting passions of the two men, EunGyo becomes entangled in the problems of body and love. This novel poses questions about youth, aging, literature, desire, love, and death.

Seven O'clock Morning Meeting for Jilted Lovers

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If the Waves Belong to the Sea

Putting Wings on the Elephant

These totals are based on sales records from eight major bookstores and three online bookstores from July to September 2012, provided by the Korean Publishers Association. The books are introduced in no particular order.

Children's Books Favorite Recipes for Weaning Babies

How to Use Mom

Helping Each Other

Kim Jung-mi, Recipe Factory 2010, 302p, ISBN 9788996347200 Korea’s child rearing power-blogger Kim Jung-mi features favorite baby weaning food recipes. This book is rich with recipes for the transition to solid food, which is crucial in the weaning process but rarely featured. There are also well-liked baby foods for different ages, food for when the baby has a cold, takeout food, and healthy baby food.

Kim Seong-jean, Changbi Publishers, Inc. 2012, 108p, ISBN 9788936451332 This book appeals to young readers by suggesting that they can design and assemble their mothers just like dolls or robots. By switching the roles of mother and child, and as the child explains what a mother’s role is, the story illustrates the process of becoming a true family unit.

Baik Suk; Illustrator: Yoo Aero Borim Press, 2012, 50p, ISBN 8943304501 Helping Each Other is an illustrated book inspired by the children’s poem by Baik Suk. Every event that a frog experiences is narrated through a series of variations. The rhythmic, repetitive sentences are similar to a game of catch and the illustrations are friendly and heartwarming.

Leafie, a Hen into the Wild

Bookworm

Hwang Sun-mi; Illustrator: Kim Hwan-young Sakyejul Publishing Ltd. 2000, 200p, ISBN 9788971968710 Leafie, a hen that has been cooped up all her life destined to only lay eggs, broods a dream of hatching an egg. She escapes from the henhouse, leads a dangerous existence in the wild, and begins her journey as a mother by raising an egg and fulfilling her motherly desire.

Ahn So-yong, Borim Press 2005, 288p, ISBN 8943305842 Bookworm is the story of Joseon era scholar Lee Deok-mu, and his friends. Called a book-reading fool, Lee was an impoverished scholar who struggled to survive, but led a beautiful life of profound knowledge and friendship.

Intimately Lee Hyori, Bookhouse Publishers 2012, 289p, ISBN 9788956055947 A musician, entertainer, and style icon, Lee Hyori’s blissful life with her dog Soonsim is captured in this essay book. The book peeps in on the story of Lee’s life changes: speaking for animal rights and becoming a vegetarian. It reminds us that we all have a Soonsim waiting for us and that there is an opportunity to become happy together.

King or Beggar

The Tip of the Needle Jung Min, Gimm-Young Publishers, Inc. 2012, 296p, ISBN 9788934956402 A scholar of classical Chinese and the humanities, the author resolves the issues of how to establish oneself in the world of conflict and where to recover one’s lost self. Divided into four units, Expressions of the Mind, The End of Learning, Moaning in the Mud, and Means of Governing, it provides broad insights for governing oneself and viewing the world.

100 Stories of World Culture Heritage Park Hyun-cheol, Samsung Publishing 2012, 208p, ISBN 9788915080782 This book tells 100 stories of world heritage sites which form the history of humanity. It features sites from the church and Dominical Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, the palace and gardens of Versailles, to the Saint Catherine Monastery.

The Tip of the Needle

Kim Yeong-ju; Illustrator: Goh Gyong-sook Jaimimage Publishing Co. 1999, 43p, ISBN 8986565528 Jongmin’s parents own a Chinese restaurant, but as the new kid in school Jongmin falls victim to bullying. This book tells how he wisely overcomes his outcast status by playing and forming friendships.

The Bad Boy Stickers Hwang Sun-mi; Illustrator: Kwon Sa-woo Woongjin ThinkBig Co., Ltd. 2009, 95p, ISBN 9788901068596 What makes a child good or bad? This book, a story of a child who revolts against the good kid and bad kid stickers while speaking out against unjust teachers, criticizes the results-oriented education system.

Confucius’ Bakery Kim Sun-hee; Illustrator: Kang Gyeong-su Junior Gimm-Young Publishers, Inc. 2012, 159p, ISBN 9788934956082 This children’s book shares Confucius’s teachings about living a virtuous life. The child characters who are troubled with school or friendships become wiser through their conversations with Mr. Confucius the baker.

How to Use Mom

King or Beggar

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Vol.18 Winter 2012

Publishing Trends Lee’s Songs on Earth is a complex unfolding of interactions between love and sin. The novel features invariably guilt-stricken characters, and replays scenes repeatedly in which the dead leave unfinished work for the living to finish. In Hailji’s Visitor, the author’s writing style unrestricted by any traditional craft makes this novel read unlike any other. In sum, his experiments in fiction have created a unique work. The Korean society as portrayed in Visitor is so humiliating. No other sarcasm toward the vulgar and depraved society is hardly as poignant as this novel. Pyo’s The Gold Rush is a graphic description of the world of casinos and gambling. Set in the world of casinos from a coal town in Gangwon Province to Macao, the Philippines, and Las Vegas, this novel portrays people daydreaming about “hitting the jackpot.” Kim’s If the Waves Belong to the Sea is a dialectic exploration of the scandal and love revealed as an adoptee searches back to the secret origin of her birth. It takes a multi-layered approach to the existence and inner world of humans as it explores tragic truths surrounding love.

2 1

by Kim Young-burn

Nonfiction

1. Songs on Earth Lee Seung-u, Minumsa Publishing Group 2012, 368p, ISBN 9788937485763 2. Visitor Hailji, Minumsa Publishing Group 2012, 236p, ISBN 9788937485787

The Kingdom of Forests

The Gold Rush

If the Waves Belong to the Sea

Hyun Kil-un Spinning-wheel Publishing Co. 2012, 268p, ISBN 9788988653531 Pyo Myoung-hee Jaeum & Moeum Publishing Co., Ltd. 2012, 304p, ISBN 9788957076798 Kim Yeon-su Jaeum & Moeum Publishing Co., Ltd. 2012, 328p, ISBN 9788954428224

Fiction

Established Authors Shine From July to September this year, the Korean literary community saw the publication of a series of novels by established writers, including The Kingdom of Forests by Hyun Kil-un, Songs on Earth by Lee Seung-u, and Visitor by Hailji as well as another group of established yet slightly younger writers including The Gold Rush by Pyo Myoung-hee and If the Waves Belong to the Sea by Kim Yeon-su. For a start, Hyun’s The Kingdom of Forests is a satiric allegory of human society, a fable of trees in the woods who crown one of their own as king in order to wage political campaigns against the master of the woods. It borrows the real image and situation of the woods to poke fun at politics and people’s behavior. But the author’s ultimate message is not about struggle, deception, or control. It is about the power of the woods. In other words, the author is drawn to the vitality of the woods themselves, and their viability with which even strife and dispute is integrated into the process of growth. 8 list_ Books from Korea

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Implications of Critical Biography Boom Writing a critical biography is a serious endeavor that goes beyond a simple chronicle of a person. It must capture the spirit of the times and view history in its proper context. Critical biographies are extremely difficult, however, largely because the undertaking is possible only when the entire society is passionate about recording every important detail about itself. No wonder, then, that British and American critical biographers tend to spend at least 10 years conducting extensive research. South Korean publishers began to notice the commercial potential of critical biographies shortly after Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life was published in the local market. The biography turned into an international cultural product, a development that naturally steered the public’s attention to the particular nonfiction genre. Not long after that Korean publishers scrambled to introduce new titles in the genre. Publishing houses rushed to publish titles on foreign personalities rather than Koreans. For many local readers, biographies are supposed to portray special, talented, and historically important people. Another factor at work is that Korean biographers did not pay much attention to local movers and shakers. The trend began to change when the A Single Spark: The Biography of Chun Tae-il was published in the local market, prompting publishers to focus on Koreans. All of this has helped improve the overall image of the critical biography. Several critical biographies have been published this year, ref lecting the latest trend. Notable foreigners featured in the latest critical biographies are E. H. Carr, Xi Jinping, Herbert von Karajan, and Sima Qian. Meanwhile, well-known Korean leaders covered by biographers in the genre include Yu In-ho, Park Gwanhyeon, Rhee Syngman, Kim Dae-jung, Lee Wan-yong, and Roh Moo-hyun. The number of critical biographies devoted to portraying Koreans is on the rise. This is a welcome development, proof

1. A Single Spark :

The Biography of Chun Tae-il

Cho Young-rae Chun Tae-il Memorial Foundation 2009, 340p, ISBN 9788996187424

2. The Biography of Yu In-ho Cho Young-rae Person & Idea Publishing Co. 2012, 543p, ISBN 9788959062232

3. An Early Morning Locomotive: 3

The Biography of Park Gwan-hyeon

Choi Yu Jeong, Sakyejul Publishing Ltd. 2012, 290p, ISBN 9788958286387

that Korean authors in diverse fields are vigorously accumulating documents and data and scrutinizing achievements and failures from different perspectives. With the advent of the knowledge and information society, the significance of keeping records is being recognized. In addition, not all biographers depict their subjects in a positive light. Some titles highlight a person’s negative aspects, while others offer conflicting assessments. Critical biographies on persons who get largely negative reviews such as Lee Wan-yong or divisive subjects such as Rhee Syngman are being published in a sign of improving tolerance in Korean society at large. More critical biographies are expected to hit the bookstores in Korea. After all, there are countless figures that deserve the public’s attention in consideration of their footprint in history. It is no exaggeration that the boom in critical biographies illustrates the need to allow different views on historical figures.

family violence. Monster Boy (Munhakdongne Publishing Corp., 2012), written by Jeon Seonghee, is more realistic and revealing than any other fairy tale. Jeon gained fame with School of Lies (Munhakdongne Publishing Corp., 2009) that captured the 10th Munhakdongne Children’s Book Award. The sad story portrays how violence and abuse and complete indifference destroy the humanity of a child, and how a single act of love can save the child. Park Ji-ri, who won the 8th Sakyejul Literary Award with Together As One (Sakyejul Publishing Ltd., 2010), a humorous tale of twin brothers concerned about their short stature, recently published Manhole (Sakyejul Publishing Ltd., 2012), a story which explores a father’s violence and human existence. The important motif of the novel is a chasm that cannot be filled, something similar to the black hole from which nobody can escape. The concept is in line with Jacques Lacan’s concept of “lack,” referring to the fundamental human condition that all humans must face. The novel zeroes in on the dark reality of family violence handed over from generation to generation, from the first-person perspective of a teenage boy who commits a murder. While the two titles above handle the violence of fathers in a serious manner, Kick the Empty Can for the Future! (Moonji Publishing Co., Ltd., 2012) is a lighter take on violence by a mother. When mothers cannot fulfill their social desires due to marriage and childbirth, they tend to project such desires onto their children. Such mothers end up as parasites, always monitoring their children’s acts and preventing them from growing up properly. Whereas fathers engage in physical violence, mothers use clandestine, subtle psychological violence on their children. The tale focuses on the violence of mothers and calls for both the mother and child to become independent from each other. by Yu Youngjin

by Jang Dongseok

Children's Books

Reflections on Family Violence Violence has long been the subject of investigation among researchers interested in literary genres. Particularly worrisome is that children and youth are more vulnerable to violence due to their age. No wonder the damage they sustain is far greater and lethal than for adults. Any violence children experience tends to leave a deep psychological scar that can reshape their lives. Unlike adults, children and youth often become the victims of violence perpetrated by their parents or other close family members. Since the violence comes from a family member, children find it extremely difficult to seek outside help. Family violence also rarely gets reported; the scars are unbearably deep and traumatic. In recent months, a host of titles have been published on the topic of

1 2 1.

Monster Boy

Kick the Empty Can for the Future!

Jeon Seonghee Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. 2012, 208p, ISBN 9788954618946

3. Manhole Park Ji-ri, Sakyejul Publishing Ltd. 2012, 275p, ISBN 9788958286240

Shin Ji-yeong; Illustrator: Jung Moon Ju Moonji Publishing Co., Ltd. 2012, 200p, ISBN 9788932023427

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Special Section

Creating the World in Korean Literature

Imagining America and the “Other” While imagining the world of the “other,” four novels, Black Flower, Deep Blue Night, “Forest of Promise”and Legends of Earth Heroes take a look at how Koreans in the United States and Mexico navigated their way once they arrived on the other side of the world. 1.

Around the turn of the century, Korean fiction used as fodder the shock and experience of geography and language, the politics of a racially divergent "other," economy, history, and culture, which led to a marked hybridity in literature. To Koreans who had great pride in their "one race, one language" identity, and unwavering desire for a unified nation that could overcome differences, the "other" that crossed geographical, cultural lines, and further, assimilated on this side of the border gave Korean literature the formidable task of representing "otherness." This article follows the experience of Korean immigration and the diaspora in both American continents and investigates the means and routes through which each place has been fictionally reconstructed in Korean literature. This article will trace the Korean perception and imagination of other nations and its components—politics, economy, history, and culture—as geographical places that are distinct from Korea.

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As Kim Young-ha shows in his novel Black Flower (2003), the U.S. and Mexico have shaped the lives of Koreans in both direct and indirect ways, considering the cause and effect of Korean's modernization. The U.S. has had an overwhelming influence on Korea and its people in many ways since Japan's colonization of Korea, the country’s liberation and division, to its present. While Mexico's influence over Korea is not as obvious as that of the U.S., the Koreans who fled Korea during the period of Japanese colonization experienced being outsiders as "henequen" in none other than Mexico. Since the 1960s when Korean students in the U.S. increased in number, the Vietnam War broke out, and American bases in Korea and the camp towns surrounding them began to draw public interest, Korean fiction has been representing the U.S. as a symbol associated with issues of Korean democracy and dictatorship as well as the capitalistic way of life. These depictions, however, were limited in that they were conscious or subconscious images of the U.S. from the perspective of Korea and Koreans. Very few works during this time were based on real life experience in the U.S., not even those based on short visits. Among these few works was Choi In-ho's novella, "Deep Blue Night" (1982). This story is notable as an early impression of the U.S. through the eyes of a Korean writer. "Deep Blue Night" is partly based on Choi's experience traveling to the U.S. as an escape from the shock of Chun Doo-hwan continuing a military dictatorship following the death of dictator Park Chung-hee, and Choi’s personal doubts regarding his life as

Black Flower Kim Young-ha Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. 2003, 356p, ISBN 898281714X

2. Legends of Earth Heroes Park Min-gyu, Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. 2003, 187p, ISBN 9788982816796

3. Obstacles That Loved Me Choi Ihnsuk, Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. 1998, 270p, ISBN 898281146X 4. Deep Blue Night Choi In-ho, Jisikdumi 2007, 213p, ISBN 9788971240830

a writer. A grim portrait of the writer himself, this novella is also a fictional travel story that follows the journey of the protagonist Jeong Jun-hyeok and a Korean singer whose career halted when he was caught smoking marijuana. As the two travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles by car, Jun-hyeok finds that the "desperate fury and pentup animosity" that has been hanging over him in Korea has followed him to California, and that the "tongue of fury" continues to travel with him. The trip is an escape and an exile from the protagonist's anger, which translates into aimless soul searching within himself. Jun-hyeok enjoys the instant pleasure he feels as he is speeding down the highway, but the feeling never lasts. The two men pay little attention to the small American towns and natural scenery that they zip past. “What do I care about America's prosperity, freedom, the toy soldiers, beautiful gardens, grand mansions, hot dogs, and ice cream sundaes? Its deserts and snow-capped mountains? His heart had no room for anything other than the fury about to burst within him." The significance of Los Angeles as a destination that is "made up and does not actually exist in the world" is reminiscent of the setting of Waiting for Godot. The story ends with the protagonist climbing down a cliff when the car breaks down, and hoping for a renewal of life as he faces the vast ocean. In Choi's story, the U.S. cannot materially or mentally replace his emptiness and anger. The U.S. is the "end of the world" in that it is the last place of exile for an emotional refugee, as well as the "beginning of the world" where life begins anew. While Choi In-ho's protagonist drives fast along

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the California coastline, Choi Ihnsuk's protagonist in the novella “Forest of Promise” (Obstacles That Loved Me) walks slowly through the streets of New York City like a flaneur from a third world country symbolically oppressed by the U.S. Choi portrays the U.S. as the "center of the world" that rules the world with the material volume and mass it represents. "Forest of Promise" is the story of a man named Dae-yeong, a former dedicated revolutionary who travels to New York City to meet his divorced wife and daughter as a necessary procedure in running for a seat in the perennially hopeless Korean National Assembly. As a revolutionary from a third world country, Dae-yeong's first impression of New York is an unsettling "cave of monsters." As New York is "the soul of the world," the U.S. is the "Rome of this era" and "the intersection of the world." "That is to say, America is the world; a world that runs on dollars. All you need here are dollars. Dollars literally make thousands of changes and control politics, society, culture, and science. People should see for themselves what it's like to be converted into dollars." The protagonist walks through the streets of New York alone and feels the awesome power of America and the unequal relationship it has with Korea. The power of the U.S., for example, is perceived through the protagonist's observation of the curious, relaxed gaze of the New Yorkers sitting in a 52nd Street movie theater watching a film from a third world country that was funded by the U.S. This outsider's perspective, however, is turned on its head when Dae-yeong meets his daughter, Yun-kyeong, who is a single mother raising the child of an African-American man. While the reference to list_ Books from Korea

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Hansel and Gretel in the novella hints that the dark magical forest that the two fairytale children wander through is akin to Dae-yeong in New York, the "cave of monsters," to his daughter, on the other hand, the city is a forest of hope where she may search for a new life and nurture her dreams. The fact that people continue to live and hope in this cave of monsters is just as important as the critical perspective of a third-world intellectual. Park Min-gyu's Legends of Earth Heroes, a more fantastical representation of the U.S., is a satire of the American cultural imperialism that has been internalized by a generation of Koreans who grew up watching animated TV shows starring American superheroes such as Superman and Batman. Legends of Earth Heroes follows the rise and fall of a poor anti-hero called Bananaman, a Korean man who tried to become a "policeman of the world" and work for the U.S. but was turned down. The protagonist, whose suicide attempt is thwarted by Superman, reinvents himself as Bananaman at the Hall of Justice, a training facility for superheroes. Unfortunately, Bananaman is a derogatory term for an Asian who worships the culture and life of a white person: "yellow on the outside, white on the inside." With Bananaman's efforts to be inducted to "the center of the world" dashed, he returns to the "margins of the world," Korea, and makes a living as an English teacher. Reflected in this tragic biography of Bananaman is the ridiculous yet sad portrait of a generation of Koreans who grew up admiring American culture. A message in this novel that deserves attention is not the justice that the police of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;imposes, but that the very people oppressed by this justice are the ones who show unconditional enthusiasm for all things American. In the novel, Bananaman is swept away in a tsunami on his way to Havana, Cuba for a vacation with Aqua Man, ruler of the seas. He is rescued by and taken care of by the Mexican Zapatista guerrilla army, the very same army that staged an armed uprising in January 1994 against NAFTA. Bananaman asks one of the villains who doesn't know the meaning of justice but who rescued and looked after him, "Why did you join the guerrilla army instead of farming?" Marco, the assistant commander of the guerrilla army replies, "We picked up our guns because we wanted to farm." Zapatista, incidentally is an echo of Zapata, as in Emiliano Zapata, the farmers' hero who rebelled against the labor exploitation of the hacienda henequen farms about a century ago. Kim Yi-jeong, the protagonist of Kim Young-ha's Black Flower, is the only Asian soldier in the Mexican northern army led by Pancho Villa, who was a revolutionary comrade of none other than Emilio Zapata. How did a former subject of the collapsing Korean dynasty end up participating in the Mexican Revolution? In 1905, 1,033 Koreans boarded the Ilford, a British ship headed for Mexico in search of a new life. For these Koreans, Mexico was far away at the end of the world, but it was also the beginning of the world, and a hope for a new beginning. But the 1,033 Koreans were scattered among various henequen farms and suffered under brutal labor exploitation. Some managed to survive, their fallen country

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increasingly a distant memory, while others perished. The representation of Mexico in this novel is, according to the great Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes in The Buried Mirror: Reflections on Spain and the New World, one that is fighting a revolution against the exploitation of the hacienda. The subjects of a country that disappeared "like a drop of ink in water" have no choice but to join the revolution. But an important question for the nation-less Koreans who are thrown into one of the bloodiest moments in the history of Mexico is: "Can a country disappear forever?" Other questions necessitated by the revolution that generated hundreds of thousands of casualties were: "Did this happen because they did have a country or because they did not have a country?" Or â&#x20AC;&#x153;Was this fate unavoidable either way? We all die as a citizen of one country or other." But Black Flower points out the irony in this sobriety. Toward the end of the novel, the Korean survivors agree to build a New Korea at Tikal, Guatemala, a heritage site of the once great Mayan civilization that has long since perished. Tikal represents the surviving Koreans' futile impulse to build a country. New Korea disappears almost as soon as it is established, and the Koreans disperse. Thus, in Black Flower, Mexico is presented as a historical backdrop where the ironic tragicomedy repeats itself between the end of the world and the beginning of the world.

Through this article, I have sought to reconstruct the fictional representation of countries, such as the U.S. and Mexico, that had a close relationship with Korean since its modernization. This examination inspires the speculation that an identity is not a result of avoiding hybridity, but the result of hybridity. We live in an age where globalization is forced on us in the absence of a global understanding. A literary sensibility that embraces and rises to the challenges of the imagined worlds of otherness is perhaps the truest act of fostering global understanding. by Bok Dohoon

Special Section

Creating the World in Korean Literature

European Cities Reimagined Works set in the so-called old world of Europe bring not only a modern perspective to the Korean characters that find themselves in cities such as Berlin, London, and Paris, but also a fresh perspective on the lives they left behind in Korea. The 1990s saw great advances in Korean political democracy. The collective demand for political democracy was mostly satisfied in this period that came at the end of half a century of political unrest and military dictatorship. Outside of Korea, the dissolution of socialism in the Eastern Bloc in the late 1980s caused many Koreans to lose faith in or abandon their political ideals. This change in the political environment, consequently, greatly affected the daily lives of the Korean people. The 1988 Olympic Games marked the shift of Korean society into a highly consumerist one. People spent more money, in more spaces, and in different settings than before. It became more common to do business overseas, as well as to travel abroad for pleasure. These societal changes gave birth to a new generation of globally-minded writers that began incorporating their overseas

experiences into their work. More writers began writing about travelling or living overseas and gaining fresh perspectives on life outside the narrowly defined bounds of the Korean peninsula in pursuit of more universal values. Never before has the setting of Korean literature been expanded so greatly as in the work of these writers whose writing depict countries ranging from Germany and France to England. Ko Jong-sok’s short story “Requiem for a Dead Sister” dates from the years of rapid societal change in the 1990s. Taking its title from the 8th century monk Wolmyong’s famous hyangga, a poem of two to five couplets mourning the death of his sister, this story centers on the feelings of remorse upon the death of a cousin of the protagonist, a former reporter now studying in Paris. After wandering the streets aimlessly after hearing the news, the protagonist is at the Père Lachaise Cemetery when he realizes what her death means to him. His cousin was neither a revolutionary nor a fighter, unlike the Communards buried in Père Lachaise that sacrificed their personal lives for a greater cause. While the horrifying Gwangju Massacre that occurred when his cousin was in university awakened her social consciousness, she did not give herself over to radical activism but chose the quieter path of teaching at night school while studying to become a doctor. The protagonist, however, realizes that the ordinary life

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1. Baridaegi Hwang Sok-yong, Changbi Publishers, Inc. 2007, 301p, ISBN 9788936433581 2. The Field of the Stars Gong Ji-young, Changbi Publishers, Inc. 2004, 264p, ISBN 9788936436803

Requiem for a Dead Sister

The Old Garden (2 Vols.)

Koh Jong-sok Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. 1997, 246p, ISBN 8982810498 Hwang Sok-yong Changbi Publishers, Inc. 2000, 331p, ISBN 8936435906 (Vol.1)

his cousin led was truly a great one. It was made great by her selflessness and small acts of kindness that she practiced every day of her life. The Communards buried in Père Lachaise are revolutionaries, fighters, and politicians who wanted to change the world. They stand on the side of the collective, the greater good. The protagonist’s cousin, on the other hand, was merely an individual who practiced small acts of kindness in her everyday life, regardless of the changes in the outside world. Unlike the revolutionaries and fighters that become heroes regardless of whether their cause succeeded or not, his cousin will never be remembered by history. However her kindness to all those in her life including her patients, even up until the moment of her death, makes her life as heroic as any other. It is revealing that this story was written in the 1990s when the individual rose above the collective, revolutionary, and ideology-oriented mindset of Korean in the 1980s. Its defense of the individual and ordinary life in the face of collectivism and ideology comes to life in Paris, the bastion of modernity and the French Revolution. Only in the foreign space of Père Lachaise does the protagonist finally gain insight into the reality of Korean society. The city of Berlin as a setting in Korean literature functions as a space of political freedom unimaginable in Korea, as well as a place that has achieved that faraway dream: reunification. This geopolitical environment influences the 14 list_ Books from Korea

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general perception Koreans have of Berlin as well as the lives and fates of the Korean characters living there. In short, Berlin is reconstructed as a space that represents the outcome or resolution of a nation’s division. Gong Ji-young’s The Field of the Stars features characters whose lives are directly linked to Berlin. The book is the direct result of the author’s year-long sojourn in Germany. Her Berliners series represents a different sort of literary potential than Hwang Sok-yong’s The Old Garden, in which Berlin is a post-Cold War city that has moved beyond leftist ideology towards a more organic view of the world. To Gong, Berlin is a place where the past and present meet, inspiring pain and remorse as well as a new way of life that cannot be reached through a narrower, more prejudiced view of the world. Berlin is a place to test out alternate ways of living and thinking. In Gong’s work, Berlin appears as a melting pot of people haunted by anxiety and fear. It is the habitat of those exiled from their homes, the place where people of different nationalities and ethnicities meet and fall in love, and the space where those who have lost faith and love discover themselves anew. In her work Berlin does not mirror one kind of ideology but stands for a microcosm of life itself, free of any political or nationalistic concerns, where this kind of life flows free and gives birth to alternate ways of life. This is why it is possible to compare and contrast the values, customs, and manner of life in faraway Seoul with that of Berlin, to reflect on similarities and differences and gain new insights. Berlin is where the wounded may gain distance from the time and space that they once occupied and create a new life for themselves. After the turn of the century, Korean literature set in Berlin completely departs from the narrative of Berlin as an archetypical bastion of political ideology. Young people that came of age in the era of globalization are free of the political preoccupations of the past, pursuing instead individualistic, nomadic, and artistic lifestyles. Bae Suah’s The Essayist’s Desk depicts Berlin as a modern city like any other, not particularly political, but as a place where individuals such as the protagonist choose to make their life. In this novel Berlin is a space where it is possible to find one’s true self apart from the constraints dictated by society. The protagonist’s driving impulse is to erase all the “unclean” outside factors that interfere and infringe upon the independent, autonomous self. Bae’s Berlin embodies a place where the individual may cut off all ties with the mundane world as long as one is living in society, and actually practice a life of undisturbed isolation. This kind of lifestyle, in Bae Suah’s case, is made possible by making one’s life in another country. Choosing the foreign backdrop of Berlin for the setting of this story has little to do with exoticism or the author’s personal experience. In this novel the city of Berlin, with its characteristic atmosphere of intellectualism embodied by its long ties with philosophy and music, functions as a space where the author might practice “the technology of self.” Shin Kyung-sook’s Lee Jin is a period drama featuring the affair between a French diplomat and a Korean dancer in 19thcentury Joseon, the last dynasty of Korea, when the political

and cultural onslaught of Western powers began eroding the country’s feudal society. The protagonist of this novel, Lee Jin (alternately spelled Yi Jin), is based on a historical figure that appears in the memoir En Corée of the second French counsel to Korea, Hippolyte Frandin. Lee Jin fell in love with the French counsel and followed him to France, becoming the first Korean woman to set foot in that country; unfortunately, she returned to Korea to commit suicide. This novel paints the tragic fate of a woman from a country stuck between feudal and modern values that ill-prepared her to deal with the ups and downs of modernity. The demise of the 500-year-old Joseon dynasty and the rapid shift toward a modern society completes the historical premise of the novel that sets Paris as the place where the protagonist gets her first taste of modernity. This part is described in detail in the second volume of the novel. The experiences that Paris has to offer are multicultural, from the arcades to the museums and other aspects of Western civilization that the protagonist has never encountered. Lee Jin’s Paris experience, in short, could be summed up as the shock of encountering new cultures and capitalism. Indeed, her observations of the streets of Paris all point to the potential of modern capitalism realized to its fullest in such forms as the arcades, gas lamps, and department stores. This is a space completely different than what the protagonist experienced in Joseon, a society where advancement towards modernity was prohibited. In Lee’s eyes, Paris is a place where the freedom to change one’s station in life is a given. At the same time, however, it constantly reminds the protagonist of her position as a woman from an insignificant country in East Asia. The protagonist goes to the Louvre and visits art galleries in Paris, but it is when she witnesses real people from Africa being exhibited in Boulogne Forest that she realizes just how much power is wielded by Western imperialism and how tenuous a position many weaker countries occupy. Through the eyes of Lee Jin, an intelligent woman from a weak East Asian country, Shin Kyung-sook exposes both the positive and negative sides of Paris as a modern space, in the dazzling accoutrements of modernity and the barbarity of imperialist colonialism in the third world. As for modern Korean literature that examines the universal themes of migration, expanding its cultural and geographical setting to Europe, look no further than Hwang Sok-yong’s Baridaegi. In this novel Hwang tackles the systemic nature of social oppression experienced by a woman protagonist from North Korea, who crosses the border to China, then ends up in England, raising the question of how to overcome conflict and division in the 21st century. For Korean literature to resonate with foreign readers it is not enough to expand across wider geographic and cultural boundaries; more writers must write about current themes that have universal appeal. This novel does precisely that, positioning itself to appeal to a wide audience by dealing with global issues and incidents that have captured the interest of readers around the world such as neoliberalism, international migration, the North Korean diaspora, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and terrorism in London. After the protagonist moves to England, the birthplace of

5. The Essayist’s Desk Bae Suah, Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. 2003, 198p, ISBN 9788982817786 6. Lee Jin (2 Vols.) Shin Kyung-sook, Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. 2007, 293p, ISBN 9788954603225 (Vol.1)

Western modernity, she meets characters that are significantly different than when she used to live in China, forcing her to experience the most pressing issues in the world on a much more personal level. Most of the people that Bari meets in London are other migrants, illegal immigrants, or refugees that came to the city not entirely by choice. In London she learns how to coexist along with and eventually embrace these people. Her marriage to Ali, a Muslim, is a prime example of crosscultural diversity in a postcolonial society made possible by the country’s long-established history of international migration. The real world has some catching up to do, however, and the timeline of the novel after their marriage progresses to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, that symbolic event of 21st century division and conflict. In this novel London is depicted as a place where its inhabitants seek to move beyond exclusivity and discrimination towards solidarity and communication, and find hope beyond conflict and division. Korean literature today goes beyond the geographical bounds of the Korean peninsula. In short, Korean literature is expanding its imaginary landscape and depicting ever more diverse geographies, tribes, nationalities, and societies. by Park Sungchang

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Creating the World in Korean Literature

Reflections of Korea’s East and Central Asian Neighbors Korea is linked with countries in East and Central Asia both historically and geographically, so it is no surprise that these regions play a prominent role in Korean literature. Located in East Asia, Korea has constantly influenced and been influenced by other countries in the region. In fact, to say that these countries have exchanged influences is not enough to describe the complex relationship they have had. Korea’s relationship with the Ming and Qing dynasties of China was servile for a long time. In the 13th century, Korea was ruled by the Yuan Dynasty established by the Mongols and was colonized by Japan in the 20th century. Koreans, who began moving to the Russian Maritime Territory from the end of the 19th century, were relocated to Central Asia by Stalin’s policy of forced migration. The works introduced in the following are recent Korean literary works that have been set in Japan, China, Mongolia, and Central Asia.

Lee Jang-wook, “Tokyo Boy” King of Confession Lee Jang-wook began his writing career as a poet in 1994 and is currently active as a writer and a critic. “Tokyo Boy” is the first story in his collection of short stories, King of Confession. Members of a mystery book club travel to Japan to trace the steps of a mystery writer who lived in the Taisho period. Their journey ends without much success but their return flight gets delayed due to a sudden storm. They end up spending the night in a shabby hotel in a back alley of Tokyo. As they sit in the hotel lobby that is wet due to a downpour, one member suddenly murmurs: “Is my Yuki really dead?” The club member begins to talk about a woman named Yuki who was born to a Japanese father and Korean mother. 16 list_ Books from Korea

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Yuki’s hometown was Yokohama. She moved around the world with her family, following her father’s job, and met the club member in Korea. After her parents met a tragic death, Yuki came to Japan with him to look for the memories of her childhood. Together they traveled to Kyoto and then to Nara, only to learn that her grandmother has passed away. He says that her existence slowly began to fade away after that, and then he finally confesses that he strangled her to death in room 102 of that very hotel. However, the club members and the hotel owner cannot find any traces of Yuki in the hotel and are at a loss for words at hearing such an absurd story. It is not clear whether Watanabe Pou, the Japanese mystery writer who appears in this story, really did exist. It may also be that the woman named Yuki the man remembers exists only in his fantasy. We all fade away like a “cloud on a grey day” unless we are remembered by someone. Using mystery, “Tokyo Boy” explores how people’s desires are crippled today because they cannot care for other people despite wanting to be recognized by others. The setting of a hotel in the back alleys of Tokyo during heavy rains intensifies the dream-like atmosphere of the story.

Pyun Hye-young, Ashes and Red Pyun Hye-young’s Ashes and Red begins with a quarantine officer grimacing after checking his temperature. The main character of the novel is famously skilled in catching rats and is dispatched to a country called C. An epidemic has spread across the country C and to make matters worse, people are living in fear of an impending earthquake. After arriving in C, the protagonist is suspected of killing his wife and has to go on the run. He falls from the fourth floor of an apartment building to the bottom of the underground sewage system, and eventually goes back to work as a professional quarantine officer. This novel is based on a social atmosphere where a great

fear of new types of contagious diseases like the avian flu, the swine flu, and mad cow disease has gripped the entire world. As more and more complicated and difficult medical terms are used to describe the situation, ordinary people, who lack accurate information and have to rely on the government and the media, become more anxious. Though the country where the novel is set is simply called C, Pyun has already revealed in various interviews that this country is in fact Japan. The earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011 and the subsequent explosion at the nuclear power plant resemble the world governed by fear as it appears in the novel. The way Japan has relied on nuclear power despite their terrible trauma caused by nuclear bombs shows, symbolically and tragically, how people today live their lives in daily fear and anxiety. Pyun named the country C, a universally anonymous name, to say that such fear and anxiety is not limited to any specific country but exists everywhere.

Kim Yeon-su, The Night Is Singing K im Yeon-su’s The Night Is Singing is ba sed on t he Minsaengdan Incident that took place in the Chinese region of Jiandao in the 1930s. A few Koreans who had been living in the Jiandao area formed a pro-Japanese political group called Minsaengdan. The group was small and after a short while, it dispersed. However, the Communist Party of China decided that Korean members within the party were linked to this group, and framed many members as spies, arresting and killing them. It is estimated that some 500 people were killed as a result of this incident. Most of the sacrificed had resisted Japanese imperialism in Korea, moved Jiandao, and turned to Communist ideology, which was in vogue at the time. What ended their lives was not Japanese imperialism but doubt and misunderstanding from their own comrades. Kim Yeon-su narrates this historical incident through the interwoven lives of seven characters: four young men Bak Doman, Choe Do-sik, An Se-hun, and Bak Gil-lyong; their friend a modern woman named Yi Jeong-hui; railway surveyor Kim Hae-yeon who was in love with Yi Jeong-hui; and Yeo-ok who worked at a photo studio in Longjing. Yi Jeong-hui was secretly collecting information on the Japanese army that had been stationed in Jiandao. When her activities are discovered, she takes her own life after leaving a message to Kim Hae-yeon to flee. Kim Hae-yeon is arrested and interrogated. After he is released, he wanders around in shock and ends up working at a photo studio in Longjing where he meets a girl named Yeo-ok. The photo studio is also linked to a revolutionary group where Yeo-ok has been working as a contact person for the group. Kim Hae-yeon and Yeo-ok try to leave to Seoul but they are attacked by a punitive expedition. As a result, Yeo-ok loses her right leg and Kim Hae-yeon barely manages to save himself. Kim Hae-yeon then leaves to inform the revolutionary group about the punitive expedition but is suspected of working for Minsaengdan and is arrested. As a result, he is once again thrown into the turmoil of tragic history. The Night Is Singing explores love, betrayal, dreams, and failures among the young people who were members of the

Communist revolutionary group in Jiandao, the area between Korea, China, and Japan.

Cheon Woon-young, Farewell to the Circus Farewell to the Circus is Cheon Woon-young’s first novel set in Korea and Yanji, China. Yun-ho’s father died when he was young and his mother had to have one foot amputated due to diabetes. His older brother In-ho had an accident when he was trying to show Yun-ho a trick when they were children and as a result, lost his voice and became brain damaged. Yun-ho feels guilty about his brother’s tragedy and also has the responsibility of taking care of him. In order to marry off In-ho, Yun-ho takes him to Yanji in China to meet Lim Hae-hwa, a Korean living there. In-ho and Hae-hwa have a simple wedding in her hometown and come back to Korea. In Yun-ho’s narration, he says he has come to feel gratitude and even affection toward the woman who has married his brother and is kind to his mother. In Lim Hae-hwa’s narration, she promises herself that she will be happy in South Korea but it becomes clear that she is wary of Yun-ho’s glances. Once they are back in Korea, Hae-hwa’s struggles to adapt to Korean society and Yun-ho’s concern that his brother might reject him unfold. After their mother passes away, Yunho leaves home and goes back and forth between Korea and China to sell smuggled goods. Left in Korea, In-ho is usually nice to his wife but sometimes becomes irrational and abuses her. After enduring continuous violence, Hae-hwa leaves home without any plans. In-ho later goes back to China to find Hae-

Dzud-Poor Saints (2 Vols.) Kim Hyung-soo Jaeum & Moeum Publishing Co., Ltd. 2012, 360p, ISBN 9788957076033 (Vol.1)

2. King of Confession Lee Jang-wook, Changbi Publishers, Inc. 2010, 283p, ISBN 9788936437121. 3. Ashes and Red Pyun Hye-young, Changbi Publishers, Inc. 2010, 260p, ISBN 9788936433734

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hwa but failing to find her, jumps off the ship on the way back to Korea. All three characters love each other in their own way but fail to communicate and create the rapport necessary to be close to one another. Farewell to the Circus portrays the unstable and lonely lives of people that resemble a tightrope walker on a single rope walking high up in the air.

Kim Hyung-soo, Dzud-Poor Saints Kim Hyung-soo’s Dzud-Poor Saints is about a boy named Temujin who lives in the plains of Mongolia and the nomadic life he leads until he becomes Genghis Khan, the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. Though Genghis Khan is the main character of the novel, the focus is not on the biography of a hero but on the life of nomads in the 13th century. The title Dzud-Poor Saints is a natural disaster that hits the dry steppes of Mongolia. Dzud is called white dzud caused by heavy snowfall, black dzud caused by draught, snowstorm dzud, and mirror dzud that covers the land with ice. The nomads in the novel adapt themselves to nature while fearing the natural disaster called dzud. When the tribe leader Yesugei dies, his tribe disperses. Yesugei’s son Temujin and his family are also routed out by the tribe’s second in command and live on the plains struggling against nature. After Temnujin kills his half-brother Behter with an arrow, his life is burdened with guilt. The continuous occurrence of dzud makes life on the plains even harder.

Then a man named Bo’orchu, son of Nakhu Bayan who is the spiritual leader of the nomads, comes to Temujin. Bo’orchu has excellent skills with horses and Temujin comes to feel a brotherhood with him that is stronger than blood. As the two join forces, Temujin decides to follow in his father’s footsteps. He begins to walk the path of an emperor by winning people’s hearts and uniting the tribes. A Korean writer staying in Mongolia to write about the history of the Mongolian steppes is unusual. Author Kim Hyung-soo says he wanted to portray a history of civilization rather than talk about a specific hero or a country.

Yun Humyong, “The White Boat” (1995 Yi Sang Literary Award Anthology)

Yun Humyong’s “The White Boat” won the Yi Sang Literature Prize in 1995, Korea’s leading literary prize. At that time it had only been a few years since Central Asian countries achieved independence from the former Soviet Union. With the breakup of the USSR, it was revealed that many Koreans had come to live in Central Asia due to Stalin’s forcible relocation policy in the 1930s. Yun’s story is based on this historical event. The first-person narrator of “The White Boat” thinks about Central Asian countries like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan while sitting under a cypress tree. He receives an article, which was written by a woman named Mun Ryuda from the Korean Education Center in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and he becomes interested in the lives of Koreans living in Central Asia. The protagonist then plans to visit Central Asia while traveling in Russia. He travels through Almaty and reaches Ushtobe, a small city where Koreans who were forcibly relocated from various places in eastern Russia first arrived in 1937. By accident, he learns that a teacher at the Korean school knows a woman named Ryuda. With the teacher, he goes to Lake Issyk Kul where Ryuda and her older brother Vitali live. Vitali’s friend Mikhail tells him about the novel The White Boat written by a Kyrgystani writer. The story follows a boy who wants to go across the lake in a white boat. When he arrives at Lake Issyk Kul after many complications, the protagonist sees the Tian Shan Mountains covered with snow reflected on the lake and meets Ryuda under the shade of a cypress tree. What he sees there is a white snow-covered mountain and a woman named Ryuda, but he also finds the history of the Korean people who had to live far from home. by Choi Sungmin

1. The Night Is Singing Kim Yeon-su, Moonji Publishing Co., Ltd. 2008, 345p, ISBN 9788932019000 2.

Farewell to the Circus Cheon Woon-young Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. 2011, 290p, ISBN 9788954614399

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3. The White Boat (1995 Yi Sang Literary Award) Yun Humyong, Munhaksasang Co., Ltd. 1995, 450p, ISBN 9788970121611

Special Section

Creating the World in Korean Literature

Beyond Exoticism: the Evolution of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Exotic Sceneryâ&#x20AC;? Once the realm of the exotic and the imagined, remote locations have become central characters in their own right as writers use their personal experience to craft meaningful stories.

Prologue With the rise of foreign travel and emigration, life in a foreign country as depicted in Korean literature is no longer just a topic, but a theme of its own. Foreign space has evolved from merely background scenery to a natural living space of everyday life. In the past, works that dealt with travel or emigration painted a somewhat abstract and alienating picture of foreign life. But of late, these depictions have grown more detailed and realistic. Writers have even broadened their geographical scope to include areas such as the Middle East, Africa, and the Himalayas, which are less popular destinations for Korean travelers and expats. These once foreign and abstract places are gradually turning into homes.

Jeon Sung-tae, Border Crossing Some of the most common questions Koreans are asked when abroad are: "Are you Japanese?" or "Are you Chinese?" When they answer, "I'm Korean," they receive a variety of follow-up questions related to K-pop, Korean athletes' performance in the Olympics, and relations between North and South Korea. Whatever the questions may be, the truth remains that nonKoreans still do not know much about Korea. Jeon addresses the sensitive issue of the foreign perception of Korea through a man's travelogue, "Border Crossing."

The protagonist, Park, comes across travelers from many different countries during his journeys through Southeast Asia. A Japanese and a German person ask politically sensitive questions about topics such as the starving children in North Korea and the Japanese colonial rule of the peninsula. Park feels pressure as he becomes an unwitting spokesman for his country by answering these questions. But when Jeon meets a Japanese woman named Naoko, he has a much more interesting conversation. They discuss their childhoods and the small details of their daily lives; Park feels close enough with Naoko to spend the night with her. But the man Naoko was travelling with was, contrary to Park's assumption, not her father but her boyfriend. Park spends the night with Naoko feeling as though he is experiencing a turning point in his life, a cultural breakthrough of sorts that proves it is possible to transcend the historical and political barriers between Korea and Japan through intimacy. But she refuses to show him her true colors and leaves him in the end. Park learns that the border called nationality is one that is even harder to cross than status or social class, but also learns through his experience with Naoko that the border can also collapse in an instant. However, Park also sees in his inability to ask Naoko to stay with him that, in this age where globalization is taken for granted, the hardest border to cross is actually the one in his heart.

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Special Section

Hae Yisoo, Jellyfish Hae Yisoo spent a fair stretch of time studying in Australia and is also well-known for his writings based on hiking in the Himalayas. In the title story "Jellyfish," Hae tells the story of a man who becomes a high-end tutor for a charming teenage girl suffering from "a sort of personality disorder or communication disorder that renders her completely insensitive to the needs or situations of other people or things." The girl lays down strict ground rules from the very beginning, such as "no personal questions," and "do as I say" that unnerve the tutor. However, the tutor humors the girl's audacity by taking a simpler, direct way of communicating with her. He uses tactics such as giving her marine life stickers as a prize each time she completes a task. These stickers are a means of connection between the shy tutor and the uninhibited girl. Hae's other works on foreign travels include "My Kenya Story," which relates anecdotes from his travels through Kenya, and "Intro to Altitude Sickness," his Himalayan travelogue. Another important theme in his stories is the hyper-educated unemployed who must battle loneliness and poverty as they study abroad. Hae Yisoo always keeps a world map in his wallet, thinking about his next journey. He portrays the anxiety and curiosity of people in unfamiliar territories through lighthearted narratives.

Kim Yunyeong, Tarzan Cambodia is a popular tourist destination for Koreans, but few literary works have dealt with Cambodia in detail. Kim Yunyeong’s "Tarzan" is the story of a Korean tour guide at Angkor Wat. The protagonist, a tour guide who on the side is working towards reaching his dreams, meets a peculiar character named Kim Majang-dong. The tour guide feels very much at home at the mysterious but spooky Ta Prohm where people often lose their way. He encounters Kim at Ta Prohm climbing trees, swinging from branch to branch like Tarzan. Kim used to own a makchang (pig intestine) eatery in Korea, but lost everything in a failed marriage. He married late to a woman whose vanity and extravagance ruined him. As a last resort, Kim traveled to Ta Prohm where he went missing. The protagonist sees Kim—who looks like Tarzan or the Wolf Man—blissfully swinging from trees, and is moved by the sight. At first it seems that Kim has lost the race for survival after working so hard his entire life. But at Ta Prohm, while less than human in appearance, Kim appears to be a happy Tarzan. Kim Yunyeong tells the tale of this 21st century Tarzan through a fast-paced narrative.

The Bridge Between Korea and Palestine. “The Golden Dome,” the title story that comes from the term for Islamic martyrs’ tombs, is a story set in a refugee town. The golden domes that were once worshipped by Muslims as the ideal are now considered wretched graves of souls who perished in acts of revenge and terrorism. A few antiwar foreigners take up lodging in a neighborhood in Palestine targeted for destruction by Israel because Israel is less likely to bomb a house or slaughter its occupants when there are foreigners. But when the Israelis seem on the verge of attacking the house, the foreigner protagonist becomes terrified. The image of the six family members kissing each other on the cheek, exchanging their last goodbyes as the tanks are standing by is particularly harrowing. The brother of the boy suicide bomber who strapped explosives to himself and attacked a restaurant, taking six people with him, attempts to explain his younger brother’s motives. “My brother’s death is a stop sign. Stop. Please stop. How could my brother dream of what he’d be in 10 or 20 years when he didn’t even know if he’d be able to go to school the next day, or whether or not he’d be able to see his friends again? Nothing was for him to decide. Everything was up to the occupying Israeli troops. He was only 18, but he had no hope.” The Palestinians want nothing more than this: a world in which they can decide their own future and experience the small, ordinary joys of life. What they want is no different from what the rest of us want.

Park Hyoung-su, Nana at Dawn Nana at Dawn is based on Park Hyoung-su’s experience in Thailand. Park is known for his unique sense of humor as well as his intelligent narrative style. The main character, Leo, meets a woman named Ploy during a layover in Thailand on his way to Africa. Drawn to her charms, Leo never makes it to Africa and instead stays as an outsider on the streets of Thailand. Leo’s place of travel, in other words, becomes his place of dwelling. The setting of the novel is Soi 16, the red light district that developed around Nana Station. In addition to the enchanting Nana, a prostitute, Nana at Dawn portrays many other interesting characters making their living on the streets of Soi 16. Park Hyoung-su taught Korean at a university in Zhuhai, a Chinese city located between Macau and Hong Kong, some years ago. Every month, he took a plane down to Bangkok to mingle with the locals, wear what they wear, and eat what they eat. His experience from those days comes to life in Nana at Dawn.

Oh Soo-yeon, The Golden Dome

Jung Mi-kyung, Star of Africa

Oh Soo-yeon is known for works based on her own experience as an anti-war activist. Oh traveled to Iraq and Palestine in 2003 as part of a Korea-Iraq Anti-War Peace Group and began to write stories about the two countries upon her return to Korea. She published Don’t Die, Abu Ali: The Record of the Iraqi War in 2004 and Tears of Palestine, a collection of stories by Palestinian writers, in 2006. She is currently a member of

In Star of Africa, one of the main characters, Seung, travels to Morocco with his daughter, Bora, to find a man named K, who stole his money and wife. Seung works as a tour guide for Koreans in Morocco by day and devotes all his free time to hunting down K. He does not have time to raise Bora, who is leading a secret life as a henna tattoo artist in Jemaa el Fna, the Place of the Dead. A Moroccan boy named Baba has a

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crush on Bora, who shows no interest in him. Even though Seung uprooted their lives and suddenly relocated them to Morocco, Bora does not ask her father a single question—not about her mother’s whereabouts, or even the truth behind this man named “K” whom Seung is desperately seeking. On the days when Seung goes into the desert, Bora stays at home alone eating roasted laver. Baba makes a living selling fruit during the day in Jemaa el Fna and performing globe-swallowing magic tricks at dusk. Baba is willing to buy Bora anything to win her over, but Bora does not give him the time of day. Designer Laurant asks Baba to look after one of his belongings for a moment, and Baba wants permission to show Bora around Laurant’s beautiful garden in return. But when Laurant unexpectedly dies, Baba steals the object and disappears into the desert. Laurant is a French designer rumored to be the owner of the most beautiful secret garden north of the Sahara. He is an indiscriminate collector of all things beautiful, who abhors all things that are not. Addicted to beauty, he is not above engaging in unconscionable acts to possess something he deems beautiful. A fortuneteller warns him that beauty will one day be his ruin, and the prophesy comes true in the end. Mustafa, Baba’s father, teaches Seung Moroccan and helps him settle down, but sells the object Seung entrusted him with to Laurant. When Laurant suddenly dies, Mustafa sets out in search of Baba who took off with the object. And so, this story is a tale of people who constantly wander in search of something.

Epilogue Settings for Korean stories set abroad have diversified in recent years. These stories go beyond a simple abstract and fictionalized globalism, presenting readers with vivid accounts of the hardships of life abroad and the life-changing experience of finally laying roots in foreign soil. No longer just tales of longing and nostalgia for foreign lands, or of beauty and riches, recent fiction set in foreign locales portrays lively locals who live as we do and sometimes live in even greater poverty, suffering, and oppression. Through these stories, we learn that cosmopolitanism is not just about empty cries for world peace but meeting, conversing, and sympathizing with others all over the world. by Jung Yeo-ul

2 4

1. Star of Africa Jung Mi-kyung, Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. 2010, 285p, ISBN 9788954611558

4. Border Crossing Jeon Sung-tae, Changbi Publishers, Inc. 2005, 236p, ISBN 8936436848

2. The Golden Dome Oh Soo-yeon, Silcheon-munhak Publishing Co., Ltd. 2007, 334p, ISBN 9788939205826

5. Tarzan Kim Yunyeong, Silcheon-munhak Publishing Co., Ltd. 2006, 319p, ISBN 8939205405

3. Nana at Dawn Park Hyoung-su, Moonji Publishing Co., Ltd. 2010, 406p, ISBN 9788932020587

6. Jellyfish Hae Yisoo, Jaeum & Moeum Publishing Co., Ltd. 2009, 352p, ISBN 9788957074626

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Interview

A Distinguished Man of Letters Kim Byong-ik

Prolific and influential, Kim Byong-ik has made his mark on every aspect of the literary world. Since his retirement, he has remained as engaged as ever reading every day and even staying in touch with changes in pop culture. Kim Dongshik: What I was the most concerned with as I prepared for this interview was how I should introduce you. You have been engaged in quite a variety of fields, as a journalist, publisher, professor, literary critic, translator, and cultural administrator, among others. I think I should introduce your profile for the readers of _list. You, Mr. Kim Byong-ik, were born in 1938 in Daejeon, and graduated from the Department of Political Science at Seoul National University. You began to work as a journalist for the Dong-A Ilbo in 1961, participated in the production of 68 Literature, a literary magazine, in 1968, and launched Literature and Intellect, a quarterly journal, with Kim Hyeon in 1970. In 1975 you were dismissed from The Dong-A Ilbo for your leadership in the freedom of press movement, and in the same year, founded Moonji Publishing Co., Ltd. and took up your post as the director. In 1988 you served as the chairman of the board for Korean Publishing Research Institute, a visiting professor at Inha University in 2001, and as the first chairman of Arts Council Korea in 2005. You are a journalist who strove for freedom of press in Korea, a publisher who established Moonji Publishing Co., Ltd., one of the major publishing companies in Korea, a literary critic who has made ceaseless efforts to investigate the field of Korean literature, and a cultural administrator who has worked to promote culture and art in Korea. It’s been several years since your retirement, but you have not ceased in your efforts. Recently, you published Understanding and Sympathy, a book of essays. What else have you been up to? Kim Byong-ik: I’ve been writing serially for the Moonji webzine. I have more time now that I am retired, so I’ve been reading and rereading books I’d been wanting to read but didn’t 22 list_ Books from Korea

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have time for. I’m not reading for any special purpose or use— you could call it humanistic reading, or reading for pleasure, as Kim Hyeon, the critic, calls it. I take excerpts and make notes as I read. In the West, there’s a way of reading called “marginalia.” Marginalia refers to the notes the reader makes in the margins of the book. I think my way of reading classic works, taking excerpts, and adding comments is similar to marginalia. I’ve read the complete works of Dostoevsky, Thomas Mann, and Albert Camus in this way, and I’ve been publishing what I’ve written in the process in a magazine. KD: I admire your continuing passion for reading and writing. Aside from literature, what do you read mostly? Could you tell me a little bit about something you’ve read recently? KB: Kevin Kelly’s What Technology Wants, the Steve Jobs biography, and Denis Brian’s The Curies come to mind. Lately I’ve been reading some light, science-related books for fun. No one’s there to rush me, or ask me to write. I’ve been reading at my leisure, enjoying the freedom of my later years. KD: You’ve been writing your whole life, and engaged in fields related to books. What are your thoughts on books and writing? KB: Come to think of it, I read books, write books, and make books. You could say that I’ve done nearly everything that has to do with books (laughs). I think we need to look at books and writing today from a perspective of history of civilization. I believe we are going through the biggest change in the text culture since Gutenberg. It seems that fundamental changes come according to the leading media of the day, or media related to writing. People read e-books instead of paper books, type on the keyboard instead of writing with their hands, and write on the computer instead of paper. I think in that process of such changes, people have come to take on a different attitude in dealing with texts. There’s a difference between what people wrote letter by letter when paper was scarce, and what they write on the computer monitor, that is easily revised. In the process in which digital media and writing came together, texts became much too common, and the value of writing has become generally depreciated. The democratization of

Interview

Literature seems to be heading towards trivialism. KD: You have continued to seek the raison d´être of literature in the information age since the 2000s. In 2005, you published a book of criticism titled, Still, Literature Must Go On. Where can we find a new possibility for literature in this information age? KB: As I said earlier, I don’t really expect that literature can have as great an influence as it did in the early 20th century. I think literature in the information age should seek a new form as it communicates and cooperates with other cultural genres, such as film, drama, and musicals. As Steve Jobs brought together design and technology, literature should be brought together with other cultural arts.

literary critics Kim Dongshik and Kim Byong-ik

knowledge is a positive phenomenon, but I think respect for knowledge itself has become greatly undermined. You could say it’s the end of the days in which people read a paper copy of War and Peace. It’ll probably be difficult to find people reading thick paperbacks of challenging classics. So there has been some criticism on the general method of reading in this digital era—the “staccato method,” for instance, in which you skip over things as you read, or the “F method,” in which you pay attention only to the beginning of a paragraph. Personally, I think two methods of reading are necessary. I believe it would be best if these two methods co-existed—a humanistic way of reading, which involves reflection, and digital reading for information. KD: You’ve been writing reviews on Korean literature since the 1960s. This is a very broad question, but could you share your thoughts on the past and present of Korean literature? KB: From the early 20th century to the 1970-80s, literature in Korea was the integration of intellectual culture. It was the mentor of life, and the center of intellectual awareness. Korean literature centered around the themes of nationalism during the colonial era (1910-1945), separation and war after the liberation in 1945, and interest in the marginalized in the industrial era after the 1970s. And after the 1990s, it experienced the digital civilization and postmodernism simultaneously. A problem arose in the process. Literature became marginalized, authors became lowered in rank, and the value of intellectual expression became more relative. Such phenomena are not peculiar to Korea, nor are they problems inherent only in literature. They are changes according to changes in the time and civilization. It seems inevitable that literature will lose its authority in the future as the center of intellectual culture and the mentor of one’s life. Historically, there are fields of study that have taken the lead. The center has moved from theology to philosophy, then to science, literature, and now, information. There are times when I feel pessimistic about literature. James Joyce and Marcel Proust produced works that are very experimental but whose writing methods reveal the era. But now, nothing is new. 24 list_ Books from Korea

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KD: You mentioned literature that communicates with the arts, which reminds me that you’ve always been openminded about other cultures. When you were a journalist, you designated the culture of the young generation, represented by acoustic guitars and jeans, as the youth culture, and made important statements about its cultural significance. You’ve always observed the changes in a new era and made efforts to keep an open mind about them. I remember what you wrote about the rock band Jaurim. Do you like listening to rock? KB: I don’t really like rock music (laughs). Rock is like a stranger to me. But even if it doesn’t suit me, I’ve always respected and admired people working in that genre. An open mind is the beginning of self-improvement, and learning comes from others. KD: You’ve played an important role in Korean literature being introduced abroad. Could you tell me about the introduction of Korean literature abroad? KB: I traveled to various countries, which has nothing to do with my ability to speak foreign languages (laughs). In 1982, I participated in a forum hosted by Sweden and Finland. I went with Yi Cheong-jun, the novelist, and Chong Hyon-jong, the poet. With the 1988 Seoul Olympics ahead, the Korean government was starting to have a growing interest in the Nobel Prize for Literature. The questions I received at the forum were, Is there a Korean script? Is there a native Korean language? Is there literature in Korea? and so forth. Nothing was known about Korea and Korean literature. In 1992, literature exchanges were held with Germany and Japan, under the sponsorship of the Paradise Foundation. I thought Germany would have a perspective similar to that of Korea on literature, because they had also experienced division. I thought experiences such as separation, dictatorial rule, and postwar poverty would resonate with them. But they weren’t interested in Korean novels dealing with topics such as separation, poverty, and dictatorship. Instead, they showed great interest in experimental poems by poets such as Kim Hye-soon and Oh Kyu-won. I fully realized that there was a gap between the topics we were interested in, and the ones foreigners were interested in.

KD: I went to the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2005. As you said, I felt that there was a great gap between the literature that’s highly esteemed in Korea, and the literature foreigners are interested in. KB: During our exchange with Japan, we shared works dealing with the Korean War and political dictatorship. The writers from Japan all fled after reading the statement (laughs). I came to understand that our painful experience doesn’t always arouse sympathy, and current and universal themes are important as we advance abroad. Bearing in mind communication with those abroad, I think works that are not “Korean” in nature will be more readily accepted. LTI Korea was established in 2001. You could sum it up in this way. In the 1980s we let those abroad know that there’s a native Korean language and script; in the 1990s, that there’s literature in Korea; in the 2000s, that there are writers in Korea; and in the 2010s, that there are literary works in Korea. The success of Shin Kyung-sook’s Please Look After Mom can be understood in such a historical context. KD: The Korean language is a language of a minority group which consists of only 70 million people. How can we get past the parochial nature of Korean literature? KB: It was through Goethe’s works that we came to know German literature. By reading the works of Goethe, the writer, we became interested in Germany and German literature. The opposite is true, however, in Korea. We introduced our country abroad, and then readers abroad come to read works of Korean literature. I think it’s time that we introduce the works first. As I said, there is bound to be a gap between our perspective and those abroad. We had great pride in epic novels such as Land and Taebaek Mountain Range in the 1990s. But with more than 10 volumes in many cases of epic novels, the process of translation was very difficult. A novel in a single volume, to be considered for translation, was difficult to find. Yi Cheongjun’s This Paradise of Yours and Bok Koh-ill’s In Search of an Epitaph were about the only ones. I also think it’s important to secure methods of communication on various levels in order to introduce Korean literature abroad. Translation is important, of course, but it must be backed up by media reviews and academic research on Korean literature. Exposure through local media and mentions by renowned critics are necessary. Recently, Korean pop culture has spread throughout the world through K-pop. I hope that the literary culture of Korea will become widely known as well. As is always the case with the acceptance of a foreign culture, the advance of Korean culture abroad will also be a gradual process. KD: For Korean literature to break away from parochialism, it seems that a ref lection on the raison d’être of Korean literature and on the general problems of the modern society is vital. This is what crossed my mind as I listened to you. KB: Just as there is no nationality in science, nationality is not a top priority in literature. The top priority in literature, I think, is the human issue. We read Tolstoy not to learn about 19th century Russia. We don’t read Proust to learn about 20th century France. We read them to learn about people, to

understand human existence and the inner pains that come with it. In the case of Shin Kyung-sook’s Please Look After Mom, as well, I don’t think it appealed to foreign readers because it was a story about a mother, written by a Korean woman. I think the relationship between a mother and her children, and the sentiments involved, provided the possibility of communication. Presenting the fundamental aspects of life on a level in which they can be communicated—I believe that is the role of literature. Even if literature is fated to lose its power, the importance of narrative, I believe, will remain. Narrative will undergo variations and transformation, but it will survive through various cultural genres, for at the root of narrative is the human life. I published a book of criticism titled The Threshing of Memories. I think culture and art exist for the common memory of mankind. The world that’s given to us directly in our experience is meaningless in itself. It needs to take on meaning. Literature is a means of giving meaning to the world through language. And giving meaning to literature, that is criticism. As I mentioned before, I’ve been taking excerpts and making comments as I read. I think you could call it my way of giving meaning to the world and literature (laughs). KD: Since your first book of criticism, Intellect and AntiIntellect (1974), you’ve maintained a critical attitude on the fall of intellectuals, and awakened the importance of introspection and reflection through the intellect. You have also fought to defend the value of the intellect and literature, while being open to changes in the era. I am confident that your writing and attitude on life will be an example to younger writers and intellectuals for a long time to come. Thank you for your valuable insight. I wish you well. by Kim Dongshik

2 1. The Threshing of Memories Kim Byong-ik, Moonji Publishing Co., Ltd. 2009, 412p, ISBN 9788932019987 2. Understanding and Sympathy Kim Byong-ik, Moonji Publishing Co., Ltd. 2012, 376p, ISBN 9788932023618

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Excerpt

Still, Literature Must Go On by Kim Byong-ik [……] What kind of a place does literature have in our lives and culture today? First, the mainstream of culture has been shifting from a culture of text to a culture of images. Second, computers and the Internet have taken the lead in and been dominating our everyday lives. Third, cultural industries have been growing rapidly. And fourth, traditional culture and art, including literature, have been adjusting to, or rather, succumbing to the logic of the new market economic system. In other words, our civilization is shifting from an analog civilization to a digital one. The world has become a compound of big capital and science, and exchange value has far more power than effective value. Amid such great changes, the culture of traditional text is declining, the virtue of humanism is disappearing, the gap between the rich and the poor is getting bigger, speed and change are in demand in a trend of fetishism, and the ecological diversity of culture is diminishing. Literature, of course, is not exempt from such changes. The signs are already there, and literature, the mainstay of the textual culture, the central figure of the arts of an analog era, and the last bastion of the spirit of humanism, is being shaken at its foundation. In sum, authors have long since surrendered the dignified seat of teachers of humanity, and their honor and authority as creators are in decline, which will probably lead to not only the loss of dignity as authors, but of their master craftsmanship as well. In other words, the fall of the author, not the “death of the author” as spoken of in France in a higher sense, can occur as a social phenomenon. The fact that civil servants or doctors can be poets or ordinary citizens can write novels reveals the positive phenomenon of the democratization of literature, but more insidiously, there is also the self-

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destructive phenomenon of the loss of literary authority. If such trends continue, authors will become mere providers of ideas in the cultural industry, probably for movies and games, or in other words, become non-creative, functional intellectuals. Traditional writers, of course, and novelists, in particular, will continue to write and publish, but they will be doing so as producers of consumptive literature bound by the market function, as spoken of by Bourdieu, having lost their artistic autonomy, not as respected creators of serious literature. It is important to consider what kind of work will result when literature is created not by a master creator but by a person skilled in the cultural industry, subject to the market economy. Such consideration will expose changes in literature, in terms of quality and status. It is easy for literature in an era of digital civilization to center around the theme of sex, or be a stimulus of thrill or fantasy. Such literature will lead to a standardization of readers’ sensibility, away from the eros and civilization spoken of by Marcuse, to a one-dimensional sexuality. The writing style will be rhythmic and descriptive. It will lead readers not to reflect and contemplate, but to read fast, absorbed in the pleasure of reading, and then forget what they have read—in other words, consume the work. Such literature will be disposable, like a canned drink— produced through market research, circulated through the advertisement and distribution system, read once on the subway and discarded. These popular works of literature will be accessed by readers through the Internet. They will leave substantially less room for traditional publishers and bookstores, will be much cheaper than books today, and will be cultural products through contact, not through possession, as noted by Rifkin. The less it costs to purchase a text, the greater will be its reach, but what is to be gained from it will be just as cheap. In short, literature will be part of the cultural industry, as one of the many visual and audio products, such as images and games. From these, you probably couldn’t expect the sense of mystery that the readers of the analog era had about literature, or the desire for wisdom, romantic dreams, and critical awareness. I did agree that such expectations on artistic works could be satisfied through film and television, not only through literature, but I must admit it was out of a

feeling of resignation regarding literature. I was speaking from a gloomy outlook that says that in an era in which literature is no longer possible, people’s cultural appetite must be satisfied by something other than texts. And we could perhaps say that literature will continue to exist, though not in the same form as in the past, and that it will perhaps be in greater demand in a different form, and accepted more widely. Some may refute this, saying, isn’t the literature you speak of a literature of an obsolete era? When times change, people and their lives change as well, leading to a natural change in culture and sentiment, so isn’t it outdated for you to insist on the analog literature of the past? Yes, when I say “literature,” I’m talking about two conflicting kinds of literature—literature I want to avoid, and literature I want to advocate; literature in the new systems of civilization and literature as an asset of humanity that has accumulated through tradition; literature that is to be consumed as a disposable product, and literature that is to have a place deep in ourselves, with its eternal classic spirit, transcending time and society. And the literature I speak of when I say “Still, literature must go on,” is literature as a lasting cultural asset of mankind that can overcome the strain of changes in civilization, untainted by time. I insist that this literature, solemn and painful, leading humans to reflect and dream, must survive as a textual art, and by doing so, move within ourselves as our mind, consciousness, feelings, and dreams. To distinguish this kind of literature, let us call it “serious literature.” This serious literature must continue to exist amid the threats of the world, civilization, life, and human desires that seek to uproot it completely by its stem, leaves, flowers, and fruit. It is surrounded by powers that seek to tear it down and beat down upon it. Serious literature, in this state, must be rescued as people in danger are rescued. This rescue effort becomes very important because such literature has unchanging value, and meaning that should not be destroyed; it will be a struggle against the powers of the civilization that are the new paradigms of the 21st century. We must make this effort because inherent in literature is the passion for creation and the virtues that make humans what they are. We must guard it like the spirit of freedom before a totalitarian power, and the ideal

of equality must be sought amidst the corruption of the market economy. The role of such literature is to defy the functionalism that objectifies humans, the orientation toward speed that turns people into machines, and the standardization that destroys the diversity of mankind. The ref lective thinking, creative inspiration, dream of transcendence, and humane virtues that serious literature fosters in us are an everlasting source of the noble spirit of mankind. Sadly, however, a master artist seeking to create serious literature in the digital civilization of the 21st century is doomed to a life of loneliness, poverty, and pain. He will be lonely because no one will make a serious effort to read his works, poor because he is marginalized from the exchange value system of the market economy, and will suffer because he has chosen a path of poverty and hardship over one of wealth and pleasure. But because of such loneliness, poverty, and pain, the path becomes noble, honorable, and meaningful. In other words, literature must exist for nobility, honor, and meaning, and must in itself be these things. The hardship that serious literature undergoes is in itself an indication of why it must exist, and why we must pursue the path that leads to it. The fact that those of you who are here today are here, instead of at a ballpark or a movie theater, or at home watching television or drinking at a bar, means that you are taking part in a noble experience. Through your participation, whatever your reasons may be, you are saying that still, literature must go on. translated by Jung Yewon

Still, Literature Must Go On Kim Byong-ik, Moonji Publishing Co., Ltd. 2005, 320p, ISBN 8932015791

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Interview

In Defense of Philosophy

Kang Shin-joo, Philosopher Kang Shin-joo is one of the most popular authors in Korean publishing today. He has written over seven books since 2010 and published a total of 18 books since 2003. After receiving his PhD in Chinese philosophy, he has emerged as a bestselling writer in the humanities with his accessible works of philosophy for the general public. He is also a popular lecturer and columnist. Pyo Jeonghun: Your books have been hugely popular with the general public. Is there anything in particular that inspired you to write for this kind of audience? Kang Shin-joo: First I would like to thank all of those who have read and responded to my work. I cannot say how much it means to me as an author to have this kind of response. I do not think I would be able to keep on writing without it. As for how I got started, I was always trying to write about the reality of everyday life even when I was studying for my degree. I was limited by the formalities of academic writing, but I tried to make my writing as vivid and realistic and possible within those limitations. So to me writing for the general public comes quite naturally, in a sense. Pyo: You’ve written seven books since 2010. That’s over two books a year. What’s the secret of your productivity? Kang: I lecture a lot, and when you give a lot of talks about a given topic you have the makings of a book right there. The good thing about giving lectures is that you get a live response from the audience. And then you take that feedback and incorporate it in your work to make it better. No two audiences will give you the same feedback. I learn a lot from all of these different responses. Also the way I write is very fast, once I do all the research on the topic I want to write and have a clear direction of where I’m going. Once you begin writing in a very concentrated way, it shouldn’t take more than a month to finish a book. I’m not of the belief that the longer you stay with a piece of writing the better it will be. What matters is how much thought you have

given to the topic, how strongly you feel about it. Writing a book is not just about imparting knowledge, it’s the process of baring your deepest, darkest thoughts and feelings. Pyo: So would you say the same about lecturing? Kang: Yes. I never use PowerPoint for my lectures. For me the priority of a lecture is raw emotion, not knowledge. Sometimes I will let myself get carried away or use curse words in a lecture. And sometimes the audience will be emotionally resistant to that kind of behavior. That only fires me up and I try even harder to overcome that resistance. That’s when you get to that kind of spark, a sense of connection that is both intellectual and emotional. It’s not easy to convey the same kind of feeling in a book, but that’s the general idea. P yo: Spea k ing of book s, I was ver y impressed by Philosophy VS Philosophy. It’s not just a history or introduction to philosophy, and it covers so much ground with both Western and Eastern philosophers. Kang: It’s the most rewarding book I’ve done so far. As somebody who studied philosophy I feel like I gave it my all in this book. The book is quite thick but it took me about five months to finish the whole thing. What makes it different from other histories of philosophy is that I state my preference for this or that philosopher very clearly. If I think that “this philosopher is not a good person” or that “this philosopher had a lot of issues” I honestly write what I think. Of course I give my own reasons to support my argument. I think that humanities cannot be an objective discipline. There needs to be a clear value judgment. To say that “there are many ways to interpret this philosopher” is just irresponsible. Of course it is possible to interpret the work of somebody in many ways. But you should make it clear that “this is the way I think this should be interpreted.” To write a history of philosophy as a string of facts without interpretation and value judgment is irresponsibility masquerading as objectivity. list_ Books from Korea

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Interview

“I feel deeply responsible to live the way I write. You can write to change lives, but you only get that kind of writing by living life.”

philosopher Kang Shin-joo and literary critic Pyo Jeonghun

Pyo: I see that you feel strongly about staying true to your thoughts and decisions. What kind of responsibility do you feel as a philosopher and a writer? Kang: I feel deeply responsible to live the way I write. You can write to change lives, but you only get that kind of writing by living life. Considering this dialectic relationship between writing and life, writers have the responsibility to live up to their own words. The important part here is that you need to have your own dream. Of course everybody has their own dream, but most of the time their dreams are really dreams that society has impressed or forced upon them. A lot of what we consider to be our desires are the desires of other people. We like to say, “be true to your emotions,” but unfortunately that doesn’t happen a lot of the time. You become a puppet of the system to which you belong. I believe that philosophy can offer you a way out of that, a way of thinking that gives you the distance to put the whole system in a parenthesis. Pyo: Do you consider yourself a philosopher, from that point of view? Kang: Yes, I do. These days all the different academic disciplines are divided into specialties. There is an argument to be made for specialization, but it has also fragmented the way we think about or define human beings and the world. And those are the most diverse, complex subjects there are! You need to be able to see and define all of that from an inclusive point of view. I believe that philosophy can accomplish that. That’s what I’m thinking of when I call myself a philosopher. I’m someone who doe s phi losophic a l act iv it ie s, not philosophical research activities. All of my lectures, books, and articles fall under that umbrella. Pyo: Reading your work, I see someone who is well-read in

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literature. Did you enjoy reading literature from an early age? Kang: Not really. I don’t think I really began reading literature until after I studied philosophy. To me, the greatness of literature comes from its depiction of people that are different from us, showing that other people think and feel and live in a different way. I don’t think there is anything as effective as literature to do that. Philosophy is mostly a unified system. The goal of philosophy is to be able to contain and explain everything with one system. But that’s just that, a single system. It’s very hard to leave those boundaries. And even if you do there’s another philosopher who wants to create a new system to do the same. Literature is different. There are so many different worlds in literature. I often quote poetry in my books—in poetry there’s no such boundary to speak of. So it’s quite hard to read. It’s actually quite easy to read philosophy once you get down the rules and the concepts and the structure. But the world of poetry is not built on rules and concepts and structure. And it’s certainly not built on information and data. Those are things you study, but poetry is made up of rhythm and sound and feeling. It’s not something you study, it’s simply something you read. Pyo: So would you agree that you could philosophize about a literary text, a poem? You’ve written about poetry in For Kim Su-Young (Imagination1000 Publishers) and The Pleasure of Reading Poetry Philosophically (Dongnyok Publishers), which have been great successes. Kang: Certainly. I think that reading one of Kim SuYoung’s poems can result in a very rich and rewarding philosophical experience. I consider him to be the first poet to have proven that it is possible to write poetry in Korean. That is why I gave For Kim Su-Young the subtitle, ‘The Pride of Korean Humanities.’ In a word, Kim Su-Young’s work is

about freedom. He was consistently at war with the oppressive regime of the time, consistent in his pursuit of freedom through his poetry and other writings. How is it possible to pursue freedom in the humanities, through humanities? Look no further than Kim Su-Young. Pyo: Is there any other author besides Kim Su-Young that you care about as much? Kang: I would say Franz Kaf ka is my favorite foreign writer. Kafka is such a horrible writer to read, to be honest. Don’t you think? Have you ever seen anybody who reads Kafka to be cheered up? You feel horrible because you feel the massive, totalitarian oppression of the individual so clearly in his work. This kind of emotional reaction is what I consider to be literature’s strongest and most positive suit. It is what makes you think, how do we overcome this oppression, or how can we be free. As for Korean writers, I would say Choi In-hoon. Choi Inhoon’s work is literature that has arrived at a clearly defined, humanistic point of view of the world. One of his best known works, The Square, is a masterly depiction of how an individual cracks under the political reality of Korea, a divided nation. As long as Korea remains a divided country, so will the kind of situation referenced in Choi In-hoon’s literary creation. Pyo: What would you say from a critical point of view about Korean literature in general today?

I would like to see more Korean writers put themselves out there. Kim Su-Young put it this way. “Is there pain before the pain of language?” Meaning that the pain you experience comes before the pain of language, the act of writing. The pain becomes a measure of your depth as a person and as a writer. The pain of language comes after that. I see a lot of Korean writers these days, however, whose work is a pretense of pain. They need to step it up and take chances, real-life chances. Pyo: What are you working on these days, and what are your future plans? Kang: I’ve been thinking a lot about political philosophy, about democracy. More specifically I’m thinking about capital, the state, family, love, that kind of thing. All of these are important themes in life and philosophy. I want to connect these thoughts with things I’ve been reading and write it up when I’m ready. I’m also working quite hard on my Return of the Hundred Schools of Thought (Sakyejul Publishing Ltd.), which is supposed to be published in 12 volumes. So far the first and second volumes have been published, in a series that is virtually everything I learned studying Chinese philosophy. I’m actually my happiest when I’m writing. It’s the time I value the most, the freedom to think and write without having to deal with anything else. by Pyo Jeonghun

Kang: I am not a literary critic, nor do I have anything nice to say about the language used in literary criticism these days. I think that literary criticism is, on the most basic level, saying what you feel about a work of literature and giving a source for or naming where that feeling comes from. Too much criticism written these days, however, is just bits of literary and critical theory strung together in the most pedantic, incomprehensible way possible.

1. Philosophy VS Philosophy Kang Shin-joo, Greenbee Publishing Company 2010, 928p, ISBN 9788976823434 2. For Kim Su-Young Kang Shin-joo, Imagination1000 Publishers 2012, 508p, ISBN 9788996870609

3. Return of the Hundred Schools of Thought Kang Shin-joo, Sakyejul Publishing Ltd. 2011, 320p, ISBN 9788958285809 4. The Pleasure of Reading Poetry Philosophically Kang Shin-joo, Dongnyok Publishers 2010, 432p, ISBN 9788972976097

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Excerpt

Philosophy VS Philosophy by Kang Shin-joo 1. Every year when I teach philosophy to college freshmen, I like to begin with the same words. “You are about to make a decision. Are you going to spend your first year in college as a 19-year-old, or are you going to spend it as a one-yearold? The decision is up to you.” The students are not quite sure where this is going, but I go on. “At this moment you are the product of your home life, your school life, what you have seen and heard in the media all your life. Whatever idea you might have of yourself is a composite of all these things. This is an inevitable outcome, considering that you were children with little power over your education. Institutionalized education, by nature, exists not for those who are about to be educated but for those who are in charge of educating you. Of course, they will assure you that it is for your own good. Do you see why I want you to begin your first year of college as a one-yearold? Now you finally have the chance to create yourself. By taking this decision, you are assuming agency over your own life.” The students who have been paying attention ask how they might achieve this goal. I always reply with the following words: “To reclaim agency of your life, you must forget everything you have learned and all your memories of the past. And you must build new memories, memories that affirm your life.” Or in other words, we are ruled by our memories. The problem is that we have two kinds of memories. One the one hand we have miserable, depressing memories that make us despair of our lives, and on the other hand we have happy, joyful memories that allow us to lead challenging lives. Consider the law of conservation of energy. When our lives are gloomy and depressing, the amount of positive energy we lose is going to somebody else. There are many reasons that our lives might be depressing, such as childhood scars of emotional abuse or

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financial hardship; the political oppression of everyday life; consumerist sensibilities encouraged by the media; and conservative lessons learned from and reinforced by schools or other organizations. When we allow these memories to dominate us, we feel that we have no power over our lives. At the cost of the energy we have lost, a select few will gain and wield excessive energy and power. If we want to live the life we desire, we must conquer the memories that hold us down. Only then can we hope to recover our joy, our spirit, our happiness in life. This is why history exists as an academic discipline. History is the study of memory. One note of caution, however; just as with memories, there are two kinds of histories. There is the kind of history that makes it possible to have happy memories, and then there is the kind of history that breeds depressing memories. The history of philosophy is no exception. If we take a look at the history of philosophy, countless philosophers have celebrated liberty and happiness, but others have attempted to justify keeping the status quo, putting the stability of a community or country over the happiness of the individual. It is possible to write a history of philosophy focusing on the former kind of philosophers or the latter. Any humanist, that is, anybody who wishes for the most desirable outcome for mankind, would try to compile a history of the former kind of philosophers. I know I would. However it is not enough to restore the happiest memories of our past if we truly want to build a more hopeful future. For the sake of our happy memories, we must be capable of combatting the logic of those philosophers who breed depressing memories. A debate is not about deciding which side is the winner. What is more important in a debate is the ability to convince the anonymous majority watching the debate but not participating in it. That is why we must expose those philosophers that have written off the future of mankind as a lost cause, expose the fallacy of their logic. Only then can we keep the majority of our neighbors from falling for the defeatist logic of these philosophers. This is my motivation for writing this book. I have tried to resurrect those philosophers that promise we have a desirable future and happy memories to look forward to, and expose the internal logic of those philosophers who are equally sure that only depressing memories and a grey future await us.

The rivalry I have depicted in this book stems from the fact that there is philosophy in which we can find hope, and philosophy in which we will find despair. 2. [……] 3. On a personal note, I found writing Philosophy VS Philosophy to be a very meaningful experience. In a letter to his close friend Gershom Scholem dated January 20, 1930, Walter Benjamin writes, “But what I primarily want to talk about now is my book, Paris Arcades. […] to tell you the truth, it is the theater of all my conflicts and all my ideas […]” These are the words that came to me when I finished Philosophy VS Philosophy. Of course this does not mean that my book is on the same level as the unfinished Paris Arcades, now published as The Arcades Project. I am not so arrogant I would claim to approach Benjamin’s brilliance. Writing this book, however, allowed me the priceless experience of revisiting all the books I read in my 20s when I fell in love with philosophy. The musty pages were full of faded highlights, underline marks in ballpoint pen, and notes in miniscule writing. What was it that preoccupied me so much in my 20s? Many of the notes that I jotted down on the margins now feel embarrassingly immature, while others offer glimpses of thought so complex I have trouble following them now. ‘Encounter (偶),’ ‘Tao ( 道 ),’ ‘Spring (春),’ ‘Nothing (無),’ ‘Being (有),’ ‘creation,’ ‘coincidence,’ ‘time,’ ‘externality of relations,’ ‘communication,’ ‘language and the subconscious,’ and ‘autonomous solidarity.’ I was struck, however, to find these seemingly random thoughts progressing in a consistent direction and forming the basis of how I think today. Like Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, I ruminated over my old thoughts and comments, polishing them. Of course, I also read new books. Moving back and forth between my past and present reading, most of the major philosophers began to emerge out of my thought process onto the pages of this book. In 20 years of studying philosophy, I have on occasion glimpsed that forest called the history of philosophy. It is only after writing this book, however, exploring that forest as exhaustively as I ever will, do I clearly appreciate

the position of the Eastern and Western philosophers that exerted a profound influence over me, for good or for bad. The other by product of this book is that I gained a better understanding of myself. Perhaps this outcome is a natural one. It is only after determining one’s surroundings, the stream to the east, the acacia tree to the west, and the jutting peaks far away in the south, that one’s character and mode of being become clear. As I was writing this book old memories of my school days surfaced from time to time, the recollection of which is now a happy experience. My childhood years of desperate poverty, the seething rage I felt as a teenager when the completely drunk school drill instructor beat me up, the ever-present cloud of tear gas that loomed over my university campus in the 1980s, seeing the economy built by a developmental dictatorship screech to a halt as a grad student in the 1990s…Now that the craze of neo-liberalism is sweeping over Korea I spend my time writing books and giving lectures about “the non-domineering and non-dominated libertarian spirit,” “forging a solidarity of happiness through new encounters,” and “the difficulty of relating to and loving others.” If it were not for Philosophy VS Philosophy, who knows how long it would have taken for me to recover all of this lost time? In this way the book has been a blessing for me. A professor of mine once gave me the following piece of advice: “You will only find something new to study after pouring out everything you know in writing.” He added that a well will spring new water only when you take out so much water you can see the bottom. After finishing Philosophy VS Philosophy, I experienced a kind of meltdown. Like a well gone dry, like a well that is not a well, my mind went into a temporary state of blankness. It was both a terrifying and awesome experience. The epilogue that you are reading now, as a matter of fact, was written over 15 days after the main body of writing was completed. For 15 days I could not write a single line, nor could I think of anything new. It may seem like not such a long time, but it was a lonely period spent in fear that I would never write again. Fifteen days after, however, it feels like that period of blankness was just my well filling up again. If dashing off this epilogue is any indication, that is. The carnival is over and it is time to begin a new life. translated by Cho Yoonna

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The Place

The Secret of Suncheon Bay

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Located in the far south of the Korean peninsula, the coastal wetland of Suncheon Bay lies amidst a forest of reeds and a type of halophyte that changes color seven times throughout the year. The bay is an ecological park where migratory birds stop to rejuvenate and rest in the rich saltwater flats.

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The Place

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 5 a.m. in the morning. I pedal my bike hard. My hair is damp and my face is covered with drops of water although Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve only been riding briefly. The fog shrouds all things from me, and thereby allows me to be completely alone; the fog turns all existing things into an island. Penetrating this fog, I am headed toward Suncheon Bay. The sound of the wind whizzing by my ears indicates the speed of my ride. I left the city behind me and it is quiet, still deep in slumber. The east stream, which runs through the heart of the city, merges from the darkness like a snake. Alongside the bike lane, there is a forest of reeds. It seems that the reeds have not awakened from their sleep either. They have not shaken off the darkness and remain damp in the fog. The reeds persevere in silence, one that was brought about by a tranquility that is not disturbed even by the breeze. When I reach Suncheon Bay after racing along the east stream, I shall be far away from this chaotic world. But I hope I can experience the freedom that isolation provides. What I like about the freedom I feel in the opaque fog is the absence of the smell of violence. I like this freedom that comes from profound solitude and tranquility. Instead of the ravishingly beautiful Suncheon Bay during the day, I prefer the mist-filled Suncheon Bay of the dawn without a soul around. Suncheon Bay is made up of a tidal flat that is surrounded by ria-(like) shoreline of about 39.8 kilometers. And on this tidal flat, one can find a 30,000 pyeong reed forest. The sea starts where the forest ends. But a vast tidal flat surfaces when it is low tide. On this tidal flat, there is a water pathway that remains hidden in seawater. That which is revealed by what was hiding is more astonishing than it is beautiful. Just like the river that harmonizes with the surrounding mountains as it curves, the pathway of the sea too runs naturally in accordance with the lows and highs of the tidal flat. The tidal flat is a moving river. It is the river beneath the sea. This water passage demonstrates the beauty of the invisible one who is devoted to its work. The life energy of the tidal flat lies in this water passage. Suaeda japonica Makino, a type of saltwater plant, blooms in the tidal flat of Suncheon Bay. Starting out as a young bud in 36 list_ Books from Korea

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the spring, then transforming itself into a red and burgundy hue when summer passes and autumn arrives, this plant changes its color a total of seven times. Forming a colony in the vast tidal flat, the Suaeda japonica offers a different palette of wardrobe for each season. And toward the sunset when the day comes to a close, it shines even more luminously in red with the color of dusk, thus amplifying the beauty of Suncheon Bay. The reed forest, which forms yet another colony on the tidal flat, looks like it is almost touching the horizon. Gazing at the vast forest of reeds, it appears as though the whole world has come together here. It looks like they are standing shoulder to shoulder, endlessly swaying in the wind, yet standing upright, communing with silence. The reeds blow where the wind blows, never defying anything, surrendering to providence; they become part of the oneness in order to give birth to a greater beauty, not once resisting anything in its humblenessâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the subservience of the reed to the laws of nature is what makes the reed truly beautiful. No, to put it more precisely, it is not about beauty but adhering to the truth when one yields to the cosmic way. Only men refuse to follow the truth and instead, want to rule over nature. I think I now know a little about what the subservience of the reed signifies. That is why I am ashamed when I behold the reed. I am shameful of the time I spent in defiance of the love that was given to me, and having written poetry without years of surrender. At one time, I viewed surrendering as submission. I sang of how I wanted to die, imperiously, rather than live on my knees. However, I now believe that encountering death is not a shameful act, and surrender, too, must be a part of the truth somewhere in its depths. The name Suncheon means obeying the way of heaven. That is why the name of the city itself strongly signifies a place where people adhere to the order of nature. The beauty of surrender and humility, as they are manifested by the vast reed forest of Suncheon Bay, thus complete the meaning of its name. Like its name, Suncheon is a beautiful ecological city that has co-existed in harmony with nature, and Suncheon Bay clearly proves it. At last, I have arrived at the dock, the central part of Suncheon

Bay. The fog is even thicker than usual. I park my bike and begin taking a stroll through the reed forest. It feels like the mist is permeating through the pores of my face and my body. It is refreshing. In the midst of layers of fog, all that is within 100 meters of my view belonged to me. Like a lost child, I walked along only on the path that was visible to me. This reality, which has severed everything from me, has become my world. I am content with this hour, with this reality of mine. As I walked through the fog, A Trip to Mujin, a novel by Kim Sung-ok, a writer from Suncheon, came to mind: “No human power could disperse it before the sun rose and the wind from the sea changed its direction. You could not grab it but it was clearly there. It engulfed you and separated you from all distant things. The fog, the Mujin fog, that its people meet every morning, that makes them ache for the sun and the wind.” Mujin, which means “fog dock,” is the setting of the novel A Trip to Mujin. The author seems to have transposed the very landscape of the Daedae Port in the reed forest of Suncheon Bay into his story. He seems to have wanted to state that in order to overcome one’s uncertain grasp of reality, as though one is trapped in the fog and the paradoxes of life, one can only thoroughly live out these uncertainties and contradictions. Going upstream toward the city, one will come across the Kim Sung-ok Museum and adjacent to it, shrouded in the mist, is the Jeong Chae-bong Museum, which is dedicated to the famous children’s writer. I crossed the Mujin Bridge that leads to the tidal f lat. Underneath the bridge, the water divides the tidal flat and makes a path. It is the water from the east stream that passed through the heart of the city early in the morning. While going over the Mujin Bridge in the fog, I felt like I was leaving behind the mundane world. There, at the end of the reed forest, dense with fog, is the Yongsan Observatory. But because of the thick fog, I decided to imagine it instead of climbing to the top. One can enjoy a panoramic view of Suncheon Bay from the observatory. The reed forest in the distance is formed like a body of round islands. Like small floating islands against the wave, the reed forest sways to and fro. It is an indescribable kind of yearning that the fluid round shape of the reed forest elicits. It is derived from the softness in the curvature of the reed forest and the simplified, flattened landscape as seen from high up—sort of like your gentle and kindhearted older sister who lives in the country. It is a yearning for all that is humble and sincere—a yearning for what we are being consistently deprived of because of the fast pace, competitiveness, and materialism brought about by capitalist urbanization. It is a fundamental yearning for humble things. Suncheon Bay itself is about this yearning. I paint a ship sailing away from Suncheon Bay as well as the birds that soar high above; I’m startled by the sound of this ship in my mind. It is quite enjoyable to use the inner screen of my imagination. To instantly visualize images, which are solely for myself to screen, is equal to the joy of writing. Drawing in my mind the scenes of Suncheon Bay that one might view from the observatory, I walked further along in the fog. Here and there in the forest I could hear the birds that had risen early; shaking off the dampness from their feathers, they are probably remembering their dreams from the night before. They are maybe thinking of another long journey that they have to take. Many birds from Suncheon Bay migrate to Siberia or Australia depending on the season. Suncheon Bay is a mid-point stopover for these migratory birds to rest their weary bodies. It

is a resting place for them to replenish their bodies that have lost half of their weight from flying across the ocean. Suncheon Bay provides the best possible layover and food for these fatigued birds. With abundant prey that the enormous tidal flat proffers, and the comfortable sleep that they can get amongst dense reeds, Suncheon Bay has become a most luxurious hotel for the birds. In short, it is a veritable oasis for them. Approximately 160 different kinds of migratory birds are found in Suncheon Bay. Among them, there are 17 that are registered in the international treaty CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), including the Saunder’s gull, the stork, the blackfaced spoonbill, the Swinhoe’s egret, and the hooded crane; and also birds such as the Saunder’s gull, the tadorne, the gray-tailed tattler and 15 others, which are officially listed in the Ramsar Convention (the 1971 Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as a Waterfowl Habitat). The hooded cranes, of which there are only about 10,000 left in the world, also prepare for their winter in Suncheon Bay. There is plenty of prey to feed on in the low and high hills around the tidal flat and the quiet surrounding farming villages and agricultural lands. Moreover, the area remains uncontaminated thanks to the profuse inflow of seawater from the islands in the outer sea. Surely, Suncheon Bay is a paradise for the birds that migrate from Australia all the way to Siberia. For them it must be the best place in nature. Birds have to fly from when they are born until they die. Flying is what their life is about. They exist not for destinations like Australia or Siberia but because they must fly. That is because life is not about a purpose but the process. What could be the destiny of birds that must flutter their wings until the day they die? Do they know themselves? If it isn’t the purpose of people to get old and meet death, then what actions are we too destined for? Do we live our lives, aware of what that is? These are the questions I always ask myself when I see soaring birds at Suncheon Bay. But the answer I always get is one I do not understand. Chirp, chirp. What flies must fly. Chirp, chirp. That which walks is what walks. Chirp, chirp. I stop walking and look around to see that the fog has been somewhat lifted. Before long, the tidal flat will show itself and one will be able to see the Suaeda japonica on the surface, like a carpet of red. The flock of birds will ascend to the sky from the red rug along the water passage. And a blazing fire will gradually rise from the sea at the edge of the tidal flat. The reeds will brush against each other, and the sound of people will carry across the tidal flat, the reeds, and the flock of birds. The fog will disappear and another day at Suncheon Bay will begin. I push the pedals of my bike hard and ride toward the city, leaving Suncheon Bay behind me. by Park Dookyu

Kim Sung-ok Museum

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PSY Theme Lounge

Horse Dancing with the World With the unprecedented success of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gangnam Style,â&#x20AC;? Korean singer PSY has burst onto the global stage. But will his success last? And what does this mean for the future of K-pop and the Korean Wave?

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Can you think of any other Korean person as famous as PSY right now? He is probably the best known and most beloved Korean celebrity in the world at the moment. So much so that when Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt met PSY, he said, “Because of you Korea is gaining attention from the world. You are Korea’s hero.” The influence of PSY’s “Gangnam Style” on the world stage is still going strong. The song has been No.2 on the Billboard charts, the most coveted music chart by musicians around the world, for seven straight weeks. No other Korean singer has ever achieved this remarkable feat. Many people thought that PSY’s popularity would die down after a week but his song reached No.1 on the U.K. charts, which is considered even more difficult to break into and much more conservative than the Billboard charts. The Korean Wave, or Hallyu, led by K-pop, was already becoming hot but this is different. PSY has succeeded in breaking into mainstream Western society. He has managed to be influential in America and Europe, not in places where Korean pop culture has traditionally been popular like Japan, China, or Southeast Asia. Although people outside of Korea do not understand the lyrics, they are singing along to them. It is no longer strange to see videos of tens and hundreds of people gathered in a college setting or in a stadium doing the horse dance together. Students in Oregon with the “Oregon Style,” Cornell students with the “Cornell Style,” London’s “Trafalgar Square Style” and other videos parodying “Gangnam Style” have been made and shared on YouTube. In other words, “Gangnam Style” has become a global style.

Surreal Success Achieved in Two Months It all started when PSY’s album was released on July 3rd, and the video was uploaded on YouTube on July 15th. It would only take two months after that for PSY to sign with Scooter Braun, the talent manager who discovered Justin Bieber, and the song to rise to No.2 on the Billboard charts. Scooter Braun told a Korean news agency in an interview that he first watched the music video through a Korean friend. Within six to nine days of the album release the video was viewed 1,200,000 times. As soon as Braun watched the video he said, “Find that singer. I have to sign him so that the rest of the world knows who he is.” He also added, “It’s just a matter of time before PSY becomes a world star. Everyone should feel the happiness and fun his music brings.” The reaction at home in Korea was also extraordinary when the song was first released. The fact that his video portrayed a style that was not Gangnam at all, known as Korea’s Beverly Hills, worked. In the video, we see places that are totally

Theme Lounge

unrelated to Gangnam such as the underground subway, neighborhood kids’ playground, and the sauna. PSY sings that he’s “Gangnam Style” but we don’t see any markings of Gangnam in the music video like the fancy European cars or muscular, fit bodies that are part of the district’s landscape. Gangnam is humorously portrayed at a time when society’s inequality is increasing. The area has always been loved by some and resented by others. People all over Korea started to let go of their preconceived notions about Gangnam to create a variety of parodies calling them “___ Style.” Videos such as “Hongdae Style,” “Ajumma Style,” or “Catholic Church Style” were some of the popular videos created by ordinary people expressing themselves. The Korean music industry is monopolized by singers in their teens and 20s, so for PSY who is 35-years-old and has been in the industry for 12 years to create such a sensation is even more incredible. However, what ultimately propelled “Gangnam Style” onto the world stage was the fact that the music video was uploaded for free viewing on YouTube. This was possible because PSY decided to forego copyright fees. Starting with Scooter Braun, other celebrities began referencing the music video on Twitter: Tom Cruise, Katy Perry, and even the Nobel Prize recipient in economics, Paul Krugman. With the help of YouTube and other social networking sites, PSY’s music reached an audience level that was previously unimaginable. As of November 13, the music video has been viewed more than 700 million times. It broke the 700 million mark in less than three months. It also stands as the first most viewed YouTube video in history. This is a record held not only by the first Korean artist to achieve this but also by the first Asian artist. The music video is also listed as the most “liked” (2.14 million) video in the Guinness Book of World Records.

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PSY has made many international television appearances as well. He was on the MTV Video Music Awards, NBC’s Ellen DeGeneres Show, Saturday Night Live, and the Today Show. Good Morning America even held a special show at New York City’s Times Square, complete with flying helicopters, devoted to PSY without his actual being there. He appeared on the Ellen Show and taught Britney Spears how to do the horse dance, pointing out beforehand that the dance is all about “Dress classy, dance cheesy.” This particular Ellen Show had its highest ratings ever. In Australia, he came on the famous audition program, “The X-factor Australia.” Although he hasn’t made any TV appearances to date in Europe, his song has become extremely popular there as well, especially in England and France. One Korean professor who has lived in France for 20 years remarked that this is the first time that an Asian artist’s song has been all over the television and radio airwaves. “Gangnam Style” reached No.1 as the most downloaded song on iTunes in America, England, and in 30 other countries. The song hasn’t reached No.1 on the Billboard charts, but along with the “Macarena,” only six non-English songs have ever taken that spot. And the only Asian artist ever to reach number one was the Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto with the song “Sukiyaki.”

What Is Behind “Gangnam Style’s” World Appeal? What is it about “Gangnam Style” that has made the fans overseas go crazy? The country that has embraced it the most enthusiastically is America; PSY’s popularity in the U.S. is much more intense than in places such as China, Japan, and Southeast Asia, where the Korean Wave has been influential in the past. (In China, YouTube is restricted by the government, and in Japan, the contentious issue over Dokdo Island was particularly strong when the song was released.) Yang Hyun Suk, head of YG Entertainment said of PSY, “PSY is different from the idol bands that dominate the K-pop scene. K-pop was popular within a niche community, but PSY has actually broken through the West’s mainstream culture.” Idol bands are visually appealing and they demonstrate great dancing abilities, but PSY offers something different with his comedic appearance and jovial horse dancing. His confident attitude and relatively fluent English skills also contribute to his popularity. In addition, because of PSY, many people have been introduced to K-pop music for the first time. One reason why the song is popular is because the song itself has a great tune. With its electronic dance pop music sound and catchy addictive melody, the song just makes people want to follow along with the dance movement. “Gangnam Style” is often compared to Spain’s Duo Los Del Rio’s “Macarena” or the song that caused the shuffle dance craze in 2011, LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem.” In particular “Party Rock Anthem” is similar in that it has a cheesy element, catchy melody, and fun dancing. “A lot of people in America say that I’m like Austin Powers,” said PSY. In some ways, you can say that America’s kitschy B-class humor fit well with PSY’s unique comedic sense of style. The humorous music video, PSY’s uncelebrity-like appearance, the song’s simple tune and refrain, and PSY’s clown-like personality are all reasons why the song is such a success. But the biggest factor behind the song’s bona fide hit is YouTube. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that without YouTube there wouldn’t be the worldwide cultural phenomenon that “Gangnam Style” has become. The music video spread with viral intensity. Afterwards it gained more fame as fan parodies

began to get uploaded. The videos were of fans’ reactions to the video or people doing the horse dance or the fans’ own “___ Style.” As more fans uploaded videos from all around the world, the original song became even more popular. As a result, YouTube is forcing the music industry to rethink the changing consumer behavior. What makes YouTube so important is that its purpose is to openly share videos. Therefore, when people watch a music video today, they don’t simply enjoy it but they play with it and use it as a source of inspiration for their own video creation that they then share with the public. While people search online hoping to find something fun, music is now part of that “fun” that the masses on YouTube sift through. You can say that K-pop is the perfect content for that kind of media with its simple melodies and hooks and wellchoreographed dance movements. K-pop is tailored for collective consumption. If you look at how popular rock festivals and other music festivals are becoming, music is evolving into something beyond what is just for audio or visual pleasure. It is now drawing in people because they can take part in it. Music has become a tool for people to play with and use to express themselves.

Hallyu’s Qualitative Transformation With the success of “Gangnam Style,” the Korean Wave is at a turning point. PSY’s rise on the Billboard charts and entry into the biggest pop market in the world is an accomplishment that will be almost impossible to repeat. The only Korean song to reach the Billboard charts before this was “Nobody” by the girl group Wondergirls at No.76. Wondergirls, Girls Generation, and BoA, all tried their hands at breaking into the U.S. market before PSY by singing songs in English. And they all had to start from the bottom and work their way up, unlike PSY who has now signed with Scooter Braun and Universal Music. (The success of “Macarena” which stayed at No.1 on the Billboard charts for 14 weeks straight was possible because the Los Del Rio was signed with a major company in the U.S.) PSY’s rise to his current fame came after many ups and downs for the singer. It wasn’t easy for him to debut in the Korean music industry where looks matter a great deal. He was packaged as a second-rate entertainer, a singer who looked funny. He painted himself as unrefined and trashy, a guy who likes to party. His name comes from the word ‘psycho’ and he named himself PSY to mean that he is super crazy (psychotic) about music. It is also a declaration to say that he doesn’t care about what other people think of him as long as he stays true to himself. His lyrics are direct without any pretentious airs, his dancing is sexually provocative; and his music goes against the puritanical nature of Korean society. In the past, the Korean censorship board banned him from televised appearances and slapped his music with a “19 and over” warning label. In addition, he was accused of trying to dodge mandatory military service and arrested for smoking marijuana. He was able to surmount all these difficulties by capitalizing on his talent for tapping into the unreleased energies of the masses. He is a clever entertainer and a gifted singer songwriter. During a break from his promotional tour in America, PSY held a free concert at the plaza in front of City Hall in Seoul. The venue has historical significance as it was where people held prodemocracy demonstrations in the 80s and was also where people gathered during the World Cup Games in 2002. Armed with his trademark humor and prankster attitude, he performed the horse dance along with 80,000 spectators.

Will a Second Coming of PSY Be Possible? The question now remains, will PSY’s popularity outlive the phenomenon of “Gangnam Style?” Some people predict that like the “Macarena,” PSY’s fame will fade and he’ll be remembered as a one hit wonder. There are also people who question whether or not fans will remain attracted to PSY for his personality after the song is no longer a hit. His popularity is explosive in the West but there are still many people who don’t know that PSY is Korean. “This funny man, is he Chinese or Singaporean?” many still ask. There are also people who criticize PSY for trapping himself in the image of the funny Asian man. In other words, he hasn’t been able to completely escape the stereotype of Asians. The biggest lesson learned from PSY’s worldwide fame is that through YouTube and social networking sites, PSY has redefined a completely new way of producing and distributing music where a song can be adored and consumed by the whole world. It is this environment that made “Gangnam Style” a mega hit. We don’t know if there will be another PSY but the possibility is certainly there with SNS and YouTube. PSY responded to the concern that all this might be just temporary. “Though many people worry that this might all end in a moment, I will do my best in the meantime. If you think about it, nothing lasts forever.” If you look at how the YouTube video went viral, you find that there are many people who discovered PSY because they were fans of YG Entertainment first. This shows that K-pop had already reached a certain level of popularity and that PSY’s fame will not likely dissipate so quickly. Although it will be hard to replicate the success of “Gangnam Style,” the scope of K-pop music has expanded and PSY’s fame will only help it. At present, PSY plans to return to the U.S. and perform with the likes of Justin Bieber and Carly Rae Jepsen. He is also due to release his first U.S. album at the end of the year. PSY’s challenge to become a true world star is just beginning. by Yang Sunghee

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Reviews Fiction

Struggling to Affirm Life Vapor Trail Kim Ae-ran, Moonji Publishing Co., Ltd. 2012, 350p, ISBN 9788932023151

One of the reasons why Kim Ae-ran is beloved by many readers in Korea is because of her cheerful and upbeat characters that do not give up hope and persevere even under the worst of life’s circumstances. Moreover, the characters in Kim’s novels have resisted despair in their not-so-easy lives because they do not give up their positive attitude toward their existence despite their relative youth. Through reimagining the possibility of family relationships, the characters in Kim Ae-ran’s novels disclose their unique ways of affirming their lives. They are able to hold on to their hopes and optimistic views of their birth and existence. Questions such as “Why do we live?” Furthermore, “Why were we born?” “For no special reason?” “By chance?” As it turns out, the young female protagonist from Run, Pop, Run! was born by chance but despite that she finds a purpose to her life. This power of imagination, which is both heartrending and admirable, is so powerful in My Palpitating Life that it allows a 17-yearold boy who’s dying of a terminal illness to envision the moment of his conception and his birth in a beautiful manner. Readers, too, will empathize with these characters and also be invigorated with the energy to go on with life. Yet in her most recently published book, Vapor Trail, a collection of short stories, it seems that this bright and

upbeat imagination has vanished from her world. In the short story, “Goliath Underwater,” a boy survives a great flood that is reminiscent of an apocalyptic event. The boy, who is the sole survivor from a tower crane where his father had been killed, signifies the new birth of humanity but he himself does not understand why he had to be reborn in such a place. Because he cannot comprehend how he survived, he also cannot figure out why he has to go on living; consequently, the peril of being susceptible to hopelessness and despair will always be there. Another short story, “Thirty,” is def initely an epilogue to her story, “Pa s si n g t he Me r id i a n” t h at w a s published a few years earlier. However, whereas the “B-star that was passing through the meridian” was brief ly comforted by the shining star in a weary life, the character from “Thirty” is not assisted by any kind of imagination and is exposed to the harsh circumstances of her life, all by herself. The young girl who had not lost laughter and hope in the face of poverty is now, several years later, in despair at the apparent hopelessness of her reality. In spite of it all, Vapor Trail does not wholly give up hope. In “Night Over There, A Song Here,” the protagonist has lived a not very pleasant life to begin with and now, as an illegal Chinese resident of Korean heritage in Korea, he

verges on the precipice of life because of the hospital bill he owes on behalf of his wife. What represents the hopeless situation he’s in is replayed in a Chinese song, which plays from a cassette tape that belonged to his dead wife: “Where is my place?” But as long as he does not stop asking where his place is, it is not completely hopeless. Where will this question lead him? Vapor Trail is a narrative of a struggle to find that place of hope, seemingly beyond reach in a life that has become difficult to bear. by Yi Soo-hyung

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Reviews Fiction

Point of Departure The Sphinx Does Not Know Either Song Ha-choon, Hyundaemunhak Publishing Co. 2012, 344p, ISBN9788972756071

Song Ha- choon is a novel ist who is accomplished in the formal aesthetics of short stor y composition. His work cha racteristic a lly revea ls, t hrough compressed subject matter, an aspect of life in a refreshing and succinct way. The narratives in The Sphinx Does Not Know Either are based on travels and each one of the 10 short stories is influenced by a specific literary work. For example, three works that were incorporated into Song’s fictional travels include Lee Kwang-soo’s Heartlessness, which has been characterized a s t he f irst modern novel in Korea n literature, Yun Dong-ju’s “Easily Written Poem” that delineated the inner landscape of an intellectual during the Japanese colonial period, and Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex. Travel, as Kim Dongshik, the literary critic, noted, comes close to the act of reading and writing by way of having readers encounter works of literature on the trip that has triggered the travel, through overlapping them in this collection of short stories. In other words, the writer recounts

his present reality by way of encoding a specific work of literature into his short stor y, thereby presenting his unique interpretation of it, and in the process the work of fiction, which the novelist created, obtains an extra layer of depth. Another characteristic of Song’s stories is the absence of exaggeration. Take his sentences, for example. He restrains from employing any superfluous modifiers and his narrative is delivered in the tersest way possible. Even in the construction of his narrative, Song’s writing does not display any kind of dramatic exaggeration. That is to say, he does not offer any kind of plot twist that would significantly change the ambience of a story, nor does he resort to a tactic of heightening conflict among the characters. The representation of daily life, free from exaggeration, actually makes the nature of the ordinary more powerful. Song Ha-choon’s stories offer readers a chance to glimpse the essence of the ordinary without. by Song Jong-won

In Search of Time Lost Minimal Love Jeon Gyeong-rin, Woongjin Think Big Co., Ltd. 2012, 368p, ISBN 9788901148977

Jeon Gyeong-rin has continually depicted the abyss of love and desire between two people, and showed how this kind of relationship leaves an irrevocable scar. Her new book, Minimal Love, is written in her typically sensuous language and also delves into the pain lurking inside people’s interior lives. After Hui-su’s mother dies and her father remarries a woman who brought her own daughter along, Hui-su, the protagonist of the novel, is haunted by a past in which she and her brother abandoned their stepsister, Yu-ran. The unfounded fear—that the seven-year-old stepsister that their stepmother brought into the family would monopolize all the love—led Hui-su to commit a terrible deed which turns into a n indelible trauma, haunting her for the rest of her life. This incident becomes like a black 44 list_ Books from Korea

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hole that sucks all the vital energy and willpower out of her life. Little did Huisu know that when she abandoned Yuran she also relinquished her own sense of self. Until her stepmother pleads with her on her deathbed for Hui-su to look for Yu-ran, Hui-su had been going through the motions of life, going to school, getting married, a nd f inding a job. Finally in search of Yu-ran, Hui-su sets out for a barren land where it is brutally cold; there, she finds herself in an empty room where Yu-ran used to live. Huisu discovers how Yu-ran suffered from a unique malady of spasms of pain and excruciating headaches whenever she desired something; and upon finding this out Hui-su is inflicted with a terrible ache. This experience is an unavoidable fate that Hui-su has to confront in order to reclaim the life that she had lost because of Yu-ran. When spring arrives, Hui-su receives a trunk that belonged to Yu-ran

that has finally found its way home. Her lost life has at last been found. by Park Hyekyung

Spotlight on Fiction

A Trip to Mujin A story by Kim Sung-ok Translated by Eun Kyung Min

A Trip to Mujin Kim Sung-ok, Minumsa Publishing Group 2007, 405p, ISBN 9788937461491

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The Bus to Mujin As the bus curved around the mountain slope I saw a signpost that read “Mujin 10 km.” There it was sticking out of the weeds by the road, just as it used to. The people conversing in the seats behind me started up again. “So, just another 10 kilometers.” “Yes, we should arrive in about thirty minutes.” They seemed to be agricultural inspectors of some sort. Or perhaps not. In any case they were wearing short color-patterned shirts and polyester trousers, and making observations about the passing villages and fields and hills that only agricultural specialists would make in their specialized language. In my half-sleep I had been listening to them drone on in a subdued, formal tone, very unlike that of the local farmers, ever since I had got off the train at Gwangju and boarded the bus. There were many empty seats on the bus. They were saying that the bus was empty because it was farming season and nobody had time to travel. “Mujin isn’t really known for anything, is it?” They continued on. “No, nothing in particular. Funny that so many people live there.” “It could have developed into a port, perhaps, since it’s so close to the coast?” “No, you’ll see why not when you get there. The location isn’t quite right. The sea is too shallow near Mujin and you’d have to go miles out to reach a decent depth and face an open horizon.” “So it’s a farming town?” “One can’t really say it has any plain worthy of that name, either.” “But then what do the fifty to sixty thousand people in Mujin live on, I wonder?” “Isn’t that why there’s that expression, ‘by hook or by crook?’” They shared a controlled laugh. “Still, I’d say it should have at least one memorable product to be remembered by,” declared one man as their laughter faded. It’s not that there is nothing to remember Mujin by. I know what it is. The fog. When you woke up in the morning and stepped outside, there it was, an entire enemy troop laying siege on the town, as if it had spent the whole night creeping up on you. The fog had sent all the hills surrounding the town into exile in a faraway land. It was like the steaming breath of a female demon who bore you a grudge and sought you out night after night. No human power could disperse it before the sun rose and the wind from the sea changed its direction. You could not grab it but it was clearly there. It engulfed you and separated you from all distant things. The fog, the Mujin fog, that its people meet every morning, that makes them ache for the sun 46 list_ Books from Korea

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and the wind. What could be more memorable about Mujin than its fog? The bus was rattling a bit less now. I could gauge the rattling of the bus by the shaking of my chin. I was slumped in my chair, all limbs relaxed, so as the bus rattled and shook along the pebbly roads my chin would bounce along with the bus. I knew of course that riding a bus in that position would tire me a good deal more than if I were to sit rigidly on my seat. But the June wind that streamed into the bus windows, mercilessly tickling all my exposed skin, was putting me half to sleep, making it impossible for me to sit up straight. I considered the wind to be composed of an infinite number of small particles, each one filled to the hilt with sleep-inducing drugs. In that wind, I thought, there was fresh sunlight and a coolness that had not yet brushed against human sweat, also brine that told me that beyond the surrounding mountain ridge that seemed to be rushing toward the bus there lay the sea. The mixture of all these elements melted into the wind was strangely harmonious. The fresh brightness of sunlight; the cool temperature of the air, just cool enough to make your skin feel taut; the taste of brine mixed into the sea breeze. I thought to myself, if I could make a sleeping pill out of the mixture of these three things it would be a more refreshing pill than all other sleeping pills sitting on the shelves of all the pharmacies in the world. And I could be the managing director of the most lucrative pharmaceutical company in the whole world, since everybody desires a quiet sleep and it is refreshing to be able to enjoy a quiet sleep. At that thought I could not help a bitter smile. At the same time I sensed I was really about to arrive in Mujin. Every time I came to Mujin it was like this, all my thoughts were mixedup, wild daydreams. In Mujin I would find myself shamelessly, tirelessly thinking up wild ideas that never occurred to me elsewhere. Or rather, it is not that I would think up this or that in Mujin, but that in Mujin thoughts that were independently invented outside of me would force themselves into my head. “You look so worn out, I’m really alarmed. Why don’t you go stay a few days in Mujin. We can say you’ve gone to visit your mother’s grave. Father and I will take care of everything at the shareholders’ meeting. Go take a break, and by the time you come back, you will be the managing director of Taehoesaeng

Pharmaceuticals.” When my wife had suggested this trip in all good will a few nights ago while stroking my pajama collar, I had not been able to stop myself from complaining under my breath the way children do when they are forced on errands against their will. I did so out of reflex, because my past experience had taught me that in Mujin I could never help losing myself. Not that I had visited Mujin that often as an adult. But the few trips I took to Mujin were always occasioned by my need to escape from a failure in Seoul or, in any case, to make a kind of fresh start. It was not at all an accident that I went to Mujin when I needed a fresh beginning. Not that new courage would automatically well up in me once I was back in Mujin, or that new plans would spring up effortlessly. On the contrary—in Mujin I was always holed up indoors. Clothes unwashed and face all sallow, I would idle away entire days there. During my waking moments an infinitely long file of hours would pass me by, mocking me as I stood limp and helpless; during my sleep unending nightmares would whip my prostrate body. If I were to draw up scenes of myself in Mujin, they would be scenes of me snapping at the elderly folk tending to me or masturbating to chase away delusions and insomnia, smoking nasty cigarettes that caused my tonsils to swell, waiting anxiously for the postman, or doing something related to these things. Of course this is not all I recall about Mujin. In the streets of Seoul, when I would stagger at the cacophony mercilessly assaulting my ears (when my ears suddenly turned to the world outside), or when, late at night, my car climbed up the paved alley to our house in Sindang-dong, I would think of the countryside where a river flows brimming with water and a grassy embankment stretches out miles to the sea: a place with a small wood and many bridges, back alleys and mud walls, schools with playgrounds surrounded by tall poplars, office buildings with small yards filled with black pebbles from the seashore, and bamboo beds sitting out on the streets at night. That place was Mujin. And the times when I felt a sudden longing for quietude, it is Mujin that came to my mind. But that Mujin was a place of comfort I had made up in my head, not a place where real people lived. What I inevitably associated with Mujin, in the end, was my own bleak youth. But this association did not always trail after me. It would be

more correct to say that, now that my bleak years are past, I am almost always forgetting Mujin. In fact, I should say that I had forgotten about Mujin even yesterday evening when I boarded the train at Seoul Station. Of course this was partly because I was busy giving my last instructions to the company employees and my wife, who had come to see me off, and I therefore had no attention to spare. But in any case the dark associations I had with Mujin were not all that vivid in my mind. Early this morning, though, when I got off the train at Gwangju and walked out of the station, a mad lady seized those memories, as it were, and threw them right in my face. The mad lady was stylishly dressed in a traditional dress made of nylon and was carrying a fashionable handbag. Her face was quite pretty and she was splendidly made up. I would not have caught onto her madness if it hadn’t been for the ceaseless rolling of her eyes and the crowd of shoeshine boys who were standing in a circle around her. Yawning with boredom, they were making fun of her. “She studied too much, that’s why she’s gone crazy.” “No, it’s because a man dumped her.” “She speaks American English really well. Want to ask her?” The boys talked in loud voices. An older, pimply boy poked at the woman’s breasts, making her cry out. Her face remained devoid of expression. Listening to her cry, I suddenly recalled a phrase from a diary I kept in a small backroom in Mujin, years ago. My mother was still alive then. The last train from Seoul had already departed. The university was shut down due to the Korean War and I had no choice but to walk all the way from Seoul to Mujin—a distance of over 400 kilometers. The trip destroyed my toes several times over. My mother shut me up in a backroom and I thus escaped from the summons for the volunteer army as well as the army draft. Even when the older students of Mujin Middle School, from which I had graduated, filed into trucks stationed in the town square, their fingers wrapped in cotton bands after their blood pledges, chanting “If I were to die and save my country . . . ,” all intent on joining the front, I was crouching in the room, listening to them march by our house. Even when the front moved north and we heard that the university courses had resumed, I hid in the backroom in Mujin. This was all due to my widowed mother. While everybody went to war, I stayed home, pressured by my mother. I hid in that backroom and masturbated. When the next-door neighbors were informed that their young son had died in list_ Books from Korea

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battle, my mother rejoiced that I was safe, and if I received an occasional letter from my friends at the front she would secretly tear it up. She knew that I would have preferred to be at the front than in that backroom. The diary I kept then does not exist now, for I burnt it later, but I recall that its contents were about my self-loathing, about how I was holding up by laughing at my own ignominy. “Dear mother, if by chance I should go mad the reasons will probably be the following, so please treat me accordingly . . .” The madwoman I saw in the train station early this morning thrust before me the memory of the days when I kept that diary. She made me feel I was nearing Mujin, and the signpost we had just passed—heaped with dust, sticking out of the dust—made that feeling all the more real. “This time it’s certain that you will become managing director. So do go down to the country for a week and take a break. When you’re the director, you’re bound to have more responsibilities.” So my father-in-law had said. Unbeknownst to them, my wife and father-in-law had actually made a very clever recommendation. It was clever of them to choose Mujin as a place for me to relax, for in Mujin I could indeed relax, or rather, I could only relax. The bus was entering the town. All the roofs of Mujin— tiled, tin, straw—were shining, gleaming silver in the strong late-June sun. The sound of hammers from the ironworks briefly invaded the bus, then faded. The smell of feces seeped in from somewhere, and when the bus passed by the hospital the smell of cresol wafted by. A slow popular tune was creaking out of the speakers in a store. The streets were empty; the people were sitting, crouched in the shade of the eaves. The naked children were tottering about in the shade. Even the paved town square was nearly empty. Only the June sun was boiling blindingly in the square. In the dead silence of that blindingly bright sunlight, two panting dogs were copulating.

Night Encounters A little before dinner time, I awoke from my afternoon nap and walked to the street where most of the newspapers had their subscription offices. My aunt did not subscribe to a newspaper. The newspaper was now an essential part of my daily life, however. Like all other city dwellers, I began and 48 list_ Books from Korea

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ended each day with a newspaper. At the subscription office I left my aunt’s address and a hand-drawn map. As I was walking out of the office I heard behind my back the voices of people whispering among themselves. They seemed to be people who already knew me. “. . . really? He looks arrogant . . .” “. . . so he’s become a success?” “ . . . a long time ago . . . tuberculosis . . .” Listening to them whisper, inwardly I waited for them to say a few words. But in the end there was no parting greeting. That was the difference between Mujin and Seoul. Forgetting their very selves, the gossips should now be falling into the vortex of whispers. Unaware of the void they will feel in their hearts when they are thrown out of the vortex of whispers, there they are, whispering and whispering and whispering . . . A wind was blowing from the direction of the sea. Compared to when I had descended from the bus a few hours ago, the streets were much busier. Students were walking home from school. Some were twirling their schoolbags around as if they found the bags a nuisance; others flung the bags on their shoulders or hugged them with their arms. Some blew bubbles with their saliva and blew them into the wind. Schoolteachers and office employees were also passing by, limp with fatigue, carrying their clinking, empty lunchboxes. Suddenly everything seemed like a charade. Going to school, teaching students, going to the office and then returning home. All these things seemed like idle play. How laughable that people should live out their lives chained to such routines. While eating dinner at my aunt’s after returning from the town center, I received a visit. My visitor was a Mujin Middle School graduate like myself, a few years my junior, surname Pak. He continued to show great admiration for me. During his schooldays he had been a so-called literary chap, and myself a manic reader. His favorite writer was F. Scott Fitzgerald. He was an unusual Fitzgerald fan, however, being such a shy, withdrawn fellow, always solemn, and so very poor. “I heard from my friend at the newspaper office that you were in town. What brings you here?” He was genuinely happy to see me. “Why, is there any reason why I shouldn’t come here?” I answered, immediately regretting my tone. “I only said that because it’s been so long since you paid us a visit. I saw you that time when I had just come out of the army, and this is the first time since then, so . . .” “I guess it’s already been about four years.” Four years ago, I had come down to Mujin after losing my job because

the pharmaceutical company I had been working for as an accountant had merged with a larger company. Actually, it is not that I left Seoul just because I had lost my job. If Hee, whom I had been living with, had stayed by my side, I would not have made that trip of despair to Mujin. “So you’ve married?” Pak asked. “Um-hm, and you?” “Not yet. People say you made a very good match.” “They do? Why aren’t you married yet? How old are you this year?” “Twenty-nine.” “Twenty-nine . . . They do say that having a nine in your age does not bode well. Still, why don’t you try this year?” “I’m not sure.” Pak scratched his head like a little boy. Four years ago means that year I was twentynine myself, the year Hee ran away from me around the time my wife’s ex-husband died. “So it’s not bad business that’s brought you here?” Pak asked, knowing something about the reason for my past trips to Mujin. “No, I think I’ll be promoted, and I got a few days off.” “That’s wonderful. I’ve heard that, of all the alumni of Mujin Middle School, you’re the one who’s turned out to be the most successful.” “Me?” I laughed. “Yes, you and Cho hyeong, who was in the same class.” “Cho? Do you mean that fellow I was close to?” “Yes, about two years ago he passed the civil service exam and started working here as the head of the local tax office.” “Oh, did he?” “You didn’t know?” “We didn’t keep in touch. Didn’t he work as an employee in the tax office here some time ago?” “Yes.” “That’s great. Shall we pay him a visit tonight?” My friend Cho was a short, dark-skinned man. In the past he used to tell me quite often that he felt inferior to me because I was tall and fair-skinned. Cho was the sort of fellow who would be most touched by stories like this: “There was once a boy who was told that the lines on his palm were very unlucky. He worked hard, digging lucky lines into his palm with his fingernails. In the end he was successful and lived a comfortable life.” “By the way, what are you up to these days?” Pak reddened. After hesitating for a short while, he mumbled, almost as if he were ashamed, that he was teaching at our former school. “Isn’t it great to be a teacher? It must be so nice to have the time to read books. I have no time, not even for a magazine. What are you teaching?” Pak seemed encouraged by my words and replied in a slightly brighter voice, “I’m teaching Korean.” “You made a good choice. I’m sure the school would have a hard time finding a teacher like you.” “No, that’s not really true. Even if you have a teacher’s certificate, it’s difficult to get a job these days because there are so many graduates of teacher’s colleges.” “Is that so?” There was no reply. Pak only offered a wan smile.

After dinner, we each drank a glass of liquor and walked to Cho’s house. The streets were very dark. As we were crossing the bridge I looked down at the dusky, dim reflections of the trees in the water. Years ago, crossing this bridge in the night, I had cursed the very same hunkering, black trees whose standing shapes looked like they might at any moment start running screaming at me. I used to wish trees would disappear from the world. “Everything is the same,” I said. “You think so?” Pak murmured. There were four guests in Cho’s living room. I was looking at Cho, who was shaking my hand so hard that he was almost hurting me. His face had become shiny with a new luster, his skin fairer than it used to be. “Come sit down. Sorry it’s so drab here . . . must find myself a wife soon . . .” But the room was not at all drab. “What, you aren’t married yet?” I asked. “No, I spent all my time poring over law books. Do sit.” Cho introduced me to the other guests who were already there. Three of them were male employees from the tax office. The fourth, a woman, was talking about something with Pak. “Hey, you two, no more secret talk. Ha seonsaeng, say hello to Yoon Heejung. He’s a friend from middle school, a manager at a big pharmaceutical company in Seoul. Ha Insook seonsaeng teaches music at the middle school. She graduated from a music college in Seoul last year.” “Hello. So you’re teaching at the same school?” I asked, looking in turn at Pak and the music teacher. “Yes,” replied Ha, smiling cheerfully while Pak lowered his face. “Is Mujin your hometown?” “No. I was posted here. I came down alone.” She had a face full of character. She had a tapered, slender face with big eyes and yellowish skin. Overall she gave a rather sickly first impression, but her tallish nose and plump lips enjoined you to abandon that impression. Her voice, steely and clear, added to the impression of her nose and lips. “What’s your major?” “I studied vocal music.” “Ha seonsaeng is an excellent piano player as well,” Pak intervened in a cautious voice. Cho concurred. “She sings really well. Marvelous soprano voice.” “Oh, you’re a soprano?” I asked her. “Yes, I sang ‘One Fine Day’ from Madame Butterfly at my graduation concert,” she said in a voice that suggested she felt nostalgic about that concert. There were silk cushions on the floor and on the cushions flower cards lay scattered about. I was indeed in Mujin. These were the cards I used to peer at with teary, half-closed eyes list_ Books from Korea

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because of the smoke from the cigarette burning into my mouth, cards with which I foolishly used to tell my daily fortune after rising late, close to noon. Or, on that day I pushed myself to a gambling table as if determined to throw myself away, cards that made me lose all sensation in my body except for my hot head and fingers. “You have flower cards,” I murmured as I took one card. I threw it down so that it made a snapping sound, then threw it down again and again. “Shall we play a betting game?” suggested one of the employees from the tax office. I had no desire to play. “Another time.” The tax office people grinned. Cho disappeared and then returned. In a short while a table with food and beer was brought out. “How long will you be here?” “About a week.” “How could you get married without even sending me an invitation? I probably wouldn’t have been able to come since I was a mere accounting clerk at the tax office back then, but still.” “Don’t follow my example, you must invite me to your wedding.” “Don’t worry. An invitation should reach you within the year.” We drank foamless beer. An employee asked, “Pharmaceutical companies make medications, right?” “Yes.” “You’ll never have worries about catching a disease.” The employees whooped with laughter and beat the floor with their hands as if they had come up with something really funny. “Hey, Pak. You’re really popular with the students. Why don’t you ever come visit? I’m only five minutes from your place.” “It’s always on my mind . . .” “I hear all about you from Ha seonsaeng, over there. Come, Ha seonsaeng. Beer doesn’t even count as alcohol, please have some. Why are you being so shy tonight? Usually you’re not this way.” “Thank you, just leave it there. I’ll drink at my own pace.” “You do drink beer, don’t you?” “When I was in college I even drank soju with my friends behind locked doors.” “My, I never knew you were a drinker.” “I didn’t really want to drink. I just wanted to see what soju tastes like.” “So how did it taste?” “I don’t know. As soon as I put down the soju glass I fell fast asleep.” They all laughed. Only Pak’s laughter seemed forced. “You know, this is what I think, what’s so great about Ha seonsaeng is that she’s always trying to tell stories in an amusing way.” “I’m not trying to be amusing on purpose. I fell into this way of talking in college.” “Aha, now here I have to say this is one of Ha seonsaeng’s faults. Can’t you say anything without adding ‘when I was in college’? Why, someone like me who never even got close to a college gate should die of despair.” “Oh, I’m so sorry.” 50 list_ Books from Korea

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“Then will you sing us a song as an apology?” “Great idea.” “Bravo.” “Give us a song.” They all clapped. Ha hesitated. “Sing for our guest from Seoul . . . That song you sang the other day, it was really fine.” Cho prodded her. “All right. I’ll sing, then.” The music teacher began to sing with a nearly expressionless face, moving her lips only slightly. The employees from the tax office started to rap the table with their fingers. The music teacher sang “Tears of Mokpo.” How much resemblance was there between “Tears of Mokpo” and “One Fine Day?” What was making a popular tune emanate from those vocal cords trained to sing arias? As she sang “Tears of Mokpo” her voice did not snap like a barmaid’s voice, or break in that manner that enlivens popular songs. Neither was there in her singing any of that plaintive complaint that such songs are full of. Her “Tears of Mokpo” was already far from a popular tune. But it was not like a Madame Butterfly aria, either. Her singing style was altogether new, a style that had never existed before. It was a style that contained not the plaintiveness of a popular song, but a much more ruthless kind of plaintiveness, a lament octaves higher than the lament of “One Fine Day.” There was in her style the scorn of the mad lady with wild hair, and above all, that smell of Mujin, the smell of decaying bodies. When she stopped singing I clapped, deliberately putting on a foolish smile. Meanwhile, perhaps it was sixth sense that told me that my junior Pak wished to leave this place. When I gazed at Pak, he immediately stood up as if he had been waiting for me to cast him a glance. Someone asked him to sit, but he declined, smiling innocently. “Please excuse me. I’ll see you tomorrow, hyeong.” Cho accompanied him to the gate and I walked Pak to the road. It was not that late but the streets were deserted. We could hear a dog barking somewhere. We surprised some rats eating something on the road. Frightened by our shadows, they scattered. “Hyeong, look, the fog is descending.” And so it was. At the end of the road, the dusky scenery of the distant residential area, sparsely studded with lights, was becoming increasingly blurry. “You like the music teacher, don’t you?” I queried. Pak put on his innocent smile again. “Is something going on between her and Cho?” “I don’t know. She’s probably one of the women Cho hyeong is considering marrying.” “If you like her, you’ll have to be much more assertive. Good luck.” “Well, not really . . .” Like a little boy, Pak fumbled for words. “It’s just that I felt sorry for her singing among those philistines.

So I just left.” Pak spoke in a low tone, as if he were suppressing his anger. “Why, it’s probably just that there is a time and place for classical music, another for popular music. Do you need to feel sorry for her?” I comforted him with my lies. Pak left and I returned to the company of ‘philistines.’ This is how people think in Mujin. The others are all philistines. I, too, think that way. The actions of others are all play, as weightless and futile as inaction. It was very late by the time we rose from our seats. Cho suggested putting me up at his place. But imagining how awkward the process of waking up in his house and leaving would be, I insisted on returning home. The employees went on their separate ways one by one, leaving just me and the woman. We were crossing the bridge. The white shape of the stream stretched out in the dark scenery, and disappeared into the fog in the distance. “At night it’s really lovely here,” she said. “Really? It’s fortunate you like it here,” I replied. “I can guess why you say ‘fortunate,’” she answered. “How much have you been able to guess?” I asked. “You mean Mujin is in fact not such an appealing place. Is my guess correct?” “Almost.” We had crossed the bridge. We had to part ways there. She needed to follow the road stretching along the stream, and I needed to take the road straight ahead. “Oh, are you going that way? Then . . .” I said. “Please accompany me part of the way. This road is so quiet, it frightens me.” Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke. I started walking by her side. I suddenly felt we had become close. Right there where the bridge ended, right when she asked me to accompany her in a trembling voice as if she were really frightened, at that very moment I felt that she had thrust herself into my life. Like all my other friends, those I could no longer claim not to know, all those friends I had sometimes injured but who had more often injured me. “When I first saw you, how should I put it, shall I say you smelled of Seoul? You seemed like someone I had known for a long time. Isn’t that strange?” She spoke suddenly. “Popular songs . . .” I said. “Sorry?” “Why do you sing popular songs? Don’t classical singers try to stay away from popular songs as much as possible?” “Those people always tell me to sing popular songs.” After responding, she laughed softly as if she were embarrassed. “If I were to tell you that if you don’t want to sing popular songs you shouldn’t go to that place, would I be taking liberties?” “Really, I’m not going back. They’re really worthless people.” “Then why have you

been hanging out with them?” “Because I was bored,” she said weakly. Bored. Yes, that must be the most accurate expression. “When you were singing that popular tune Pak left because he felt sorry for you.” I scrutinized her face in the dark. “Pak is so straitlaced.” She laughed in a high voice, as if in merriment. “He’s good-hearted,” I said. “Yes, too good-hearted.” “Ha seonsaeng, has it ever crossed your mind that he may be in love with you?” “Please stop calling me Ha seonsaeng. You’re old enough to be my older brother—my eldest brother, even.” “Then what should I call you?” “Just call me by my name. Insook.” “Insook, Insook.” I murmured her name softly. “I like that,” I said. “Insook, why are you evading my question?” “Did you ask me a question?” she said with a laugh. We were passing by rice fields. On summer nights, listening to the sound of frogs chirping in the rice fields both near and far—like the sound of an infinite number of clam shells crashing together all at once—I would realize the cries of the frogs had turned into myriad shining stars in my sensate body. On these occasions, I had the peculiar sensory experience of auditory images mutating into visual ones. Why were my sensations, in which the chirps of the frogs had become shining stars, so mixed up? I do not mean, though, that when I looked up at the stars shining as if they were about to descend on me, I felt I heard frogs chirping in my ear. As I gazed at the stars, the pitiable distance between me and a star, and between that star and other stars, became clearly visible to me, by which I mean not the scientific distance in science books. I mean it was as if my eyes were becoming more and more powerful. I used to stand still, entranced by that unreachable distance, with a heart pounding as if it would burst. Why was it that in those days, looking at the night sky studded with innumerable shining stars, I was filled with unbearable rancor? “What are you thinking of?” she asked. “The sound of the frogs,” I answered, looking up at the night sky. The stars hung dimly behind the descending fog. “Oh, the frogs. Really, I didn’t hear them at all until now. I thought that the frogs here in Mujin start up only after midnight.” “After midnight?” “Yes, they’re all I hear after midnight. That’s when they turn off the radio at the house where I’m renting my room.” “Why are you awake so late? What do you do after midnight?” “Sometimes I can’t fall asleep.” So, she can’t fall asleep. That’s probably the truth. “Is she pretty?” she asked suddenly. “You mean my wife?” “Yes.” “She is,” I replied, laughing. “You must be happy. You have money, a pretty wife, and cute children . . .” “I don’t have children, so list_ Books from Korea

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I must be a little less happy.” “Oh, you don’t have children yet? When did you get married?” “A little over three years ago.” “Why are you traveling by yourself without any particular business to take care of?” Why is this woman asking me such a question? I ended up laughing silently. She spoke in a more cheerful voice. “If I call you big brother from now on, will you take me to Seoul?” “Do you want to go to Seoul?” “Yes.” “You don’t like Mujin?” “I think I’ll go crazy. I’m going crazy. I have a lot of college friends in Seoul . . . Oh, I’m dying to go back to Seoul.” She briefly grabbed my arm, then quickly let it go. I was suddenly aroused. I frowned. I frowned and frowned and frowned. I managed to calm down. “But it’s never going to be like your college days wherever you go. Insook, you’re a woman, so unless you hide yourself in a family you’ll feel crazy wherever you go.” “I’ve thought of that. But right now I feel that I will go crazy even if I have a family. If my husband’s not someone I really like. And even if I were to find someone like that, I don’t want to live here. I’ll plead with him to run away from this place.” “But in my experience life in Seoul isn’t necessarily so good. It’s just one responsibility after another.” “Here, though, there is neither responsibility nor irresponsibility. I want to go to Seoul in any case. Will you take me with you?” “Let’s think about it.” “You have to take me, okay?” I just laughed. “Seonsaengneem, what are you doing tomorrow?” she asked. “Not sure. I should pay a visit to my mother’s grave in the morning. After that, I don’t have much to do. I might go to the shore. There’s a house there that I used to rent a room in, so I might drop by to say hello to the people there.” “Seonsaengneem, go in the afternoon.” “Why?” “I want to go, too. Tomorrow’s Saturday, so I only teach in the morning.” “Okay.” After arranging a place and time to meet the next day, we parted. I plodded back to my aunt’s place filled with a strange melancholy. When I had just snuck into bed, the curfew siren started ringing. It made a sudden, piercing sound. It went on for a long time. All things, all thoughts, were sucked into the sound of the siren. Finally everything disappeared, leaving only the sound of the siren. It seemed as if it would continue to go on until finally nobody noticed it any longer. And at that very moment the sound suddenly became weaker, breaking down until it vanished with a long moan. The only thing that revived was my thoughts. I tried to think again about the conversation I had with the woman just a short while ago. I felt we had talked 52 list_ Books from Korea

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about many things, but only a few pieces of our conversation remained in my ear. How many more pieces will become lost when the words move from my ear to my head, and from my head to my heart? In the end, perhaps all pieces will become lost. Think again slowly. She said she wanted to go to Seoul. She said those words in an anxious voice. I suddenly felt the desire to embrace her. And . . . no, that was all that would remain in my heart. But even that would vanish from the surface of my heart as soon as I left Mujin. I could not fall asleep. It was partly because I had napped. I lit a cigarette in the dark. I glared at the wall where white clothes were hanging, peering down at me like dejected ghosts. I let the ashes fall on the floor near my pillow. Somewhere I would be able to clean up with a rag in the morning. I heard the faint sound of the frogs ‘that start up only after midnight.’ Somewhere in the distance I heard a clock chime once, faintly. Somewhere in the distance I heard a clock chime twice. Somewhere in the distance I heard a clock chime three times. Somewhere in the distance I heard a clock chime four times. Soon after the siren rang out again, lifting the curfew. Either the clock or the siren was inaccurate. The siren made a sudden, piercing sound. It went on for a long time. All things, all thoughts, were sucked into the sound of the siren. Finally everything disappeared, leaving only the sound of the siren. It seemed as if it would continue to go on until finally nobody noticed it any longer. And at that very moment the sound suddenly became weaker, breaking down until it vanished with a long moan. Somewhere spouses were copulating. No. Not spouses, but a whore and her client. I didn’t know why I was having such absurd thoughts. After a while I slid into sleep.

The Long Embankment Stretching Out to the Sea That morning a light dewy rain was falling. Before breakfast I opened up my umbrella and walked to my mother’s grave on a hill near the town. I rolled up my trousers above my knee and bowed down on my knees in the falling rain. The rain made me into a very filial son. With one hand I pulled out the long leaves of grass growing on the grave. As I was pulling out the grass I imagined my father-in-law doing his best to make me managing director, laughing noisily as he paid visits to the people who would be voting. The thought of my father-in-law made me want to crawl into the grave.

On the way back I decided to take a detour along the long road by the embankment covered with fine grass. The blowing wind had turned the drizzle into a white haze. The scenery shook in the rain. I folded up the umbrella. As I was walking along, I saw students gathered in noisy groups on the grass by the water, beneath the sloping embankment. They were students walking to the town school from other villages. There were a few elders mixed in, also a policeman in a raincoat, squatting on the embankment slope and smoking as he peered into the distance, and an old woman who was muttering “tsk, tsk” as she pushed her way out of the student crowd. I made my way down the embankment slope. As I passed the policeman I asked, “What happened?” “Someone’s committed suicide,” the policeman answered without interest. “Who?” “A woman from town who worked in a bar. There are always a few who commit suicide in early summer.” “Oh.” “That woman was a malicious bitch, I didn’t think she’d kill herself, but I guess she was human just like everyone else.” “I see.” I went down to the water and pushed my way into the student crowd. The dead woman’s face was turned toward the water, so I couldn’t see it. Her hair was done in a permanent wave and her arms and legs were thick and white. She was wearing a thin red sweater and a white skirt. It must have been cold late last night. Or perhaps she had been fond of those clothes. Her head was lying on white rubber shoes with a blue flower print. She had dropped a white handkerchief in which she had wrapped something. It lay at a short distance from her limp hand. The white handkerchief was drenched with rain and did not blow in the wind. Many students had waded into the river to look at the dead woman’s face and were standing in the direction of the embankment. Their blue uniforms were reflected upside down in the water. Blue flags were standing guard by her dead body. Lust for the dead woman stirred within me. I left the scene in a hurry. Passing by the policeman, I said, “I don’t know what she’s taken, but perhaps there’s a chance even now . . .” The policeman retorted, “Women like that take cyanide. They don’t take a few sleeping pills and create a noisy spectacle. We should be thankful for that, at least.” I remembered that I had daydreamed about making and selling sleeping pills on the bus to Mujin. If I could make a sleeping pill out of the mixture of the fresh brightness of sunlight, the cool temperature of the air, just cool enough to make your skin feel taut, the brine mixed into the sea breeze . . . but did this sleeping pill not exist already? Suddenly it struck me that the

reason I had tossed and turned in my bed, unable to fall asleep last night, might have been to see the dead woman through her last living moments. It must be that just when the siren lifting the curfew had sounded, she had swallowed the sleeping pill, and only then I had managed to slip into sleep. Instantly I felt she was a part of me, a part of my body that pained me, that I nonetheless had to take care of. Taking up the folded umbrella, I shook off the raindrops as I walked home. A note from Cho at the tax office was waiting for me. “Drop by the office if you’re not busy.” After breakfast I went to the tax office. The light rain had stopped but the sky remained dark. I thought I could see through Cho’s intentions. He must want to show me what he looks like sitting in the head office. No, perhaps I am twisting things around. I decided to think again. Is he satisfied with the life of a superintendent of a tax office? Probably he is satisfied. He fits in here, in Mujin. No, I decided I should think once again. To know someone well—to act as if one knows someone well is, from the perspective of that other person, a misfortune. The person we feel entitled to criticize or at least judge is only that part of the person we think we know. Cho was fanning himself, dressed only in his undershirt, his trousers rolled up above his knees. I thought he looked shabby, and pitied him for seeming so proud of sitting on his swivel chair covered in white. “You’re not busy?” I asked him. “Me, I don’t have much to do. Apparently all it takes to occupy a high post is to keep muttering you will take responsibility.” But he was not at all idle. Many people came in to ask him to stamp his seal on their documents; yet more documents were piled onto his desk to await his decision. “We’re rather busy because it’s Saturday, and also the end of the month,” he apologized. But his face was proud to be so busy. Busy. Busy, without even the time to be proud of being busy. That was me in Seoul. So could one say that here in Mujin, people were clumsy at living? They were even clumsy at being busy. I then thought to myself, to be clumsy at what one does, whatever that is, even at stealing, for instance, is pitiful to watch and gets on the nerves of the person watching. Above all, we are relieved to see something handled smoothly. “By the way, is Ha seonsaeng from last night going to be your bride?” I asked. “Bride?” He asked in a high voice, laughing. “You think she’s the best I can do for a bride?” “Why, what’s wrong with her?” “You clever dog, you snatch up a widow with lots of money and connections, then tell me you’d be glad list_ Books from Korea

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to see me hitched up with a skinny music teacher from no one knows where?” He laughed away, in paroxysms over his own speech. “With your job, isn’t it okay even if the woman has no money?” I asked. “Still, it’s not like that. If there’s nobody on my side of the family to pull me along, there should be someone from my wife’s side,” he replied. From the tone of his voice, it was clear that he saw me as a co-conspirator. “You know, it’s a really funny world. As soon as I passed the civil service exam, I started getting so many requests from matchmakers . . . but they were all worthless. It’s damnably insolent of women to think they can fund their marriage with their vaginas.” “So you think the music teacher is another one of those women?” “A very good representative. She’s been chasing me around so much she’s become very tiresome.” “She seemed quite intelligent.” “Intelligent, sure. But I checked her family background and her family’s completely unconnected. Even if she were to die here there wouldn’t be anybody at all distinguished to come fetch her dead body.” I suddenly felt the desire to meet her soon. I felt she could be somewhere dying away. I wanted to go see her soon. “That foolish Pak knows nothing and is in love with her,” Cho said with a grin. “Pak?” I pretended to be surprised. “He sends her letters and she shows them to me. Pak is writing me love letters.” My desire to meet her vanished. But a few moments later I again wished to go meet her. “Last spring I went with her to a temple. I tried this and that but, clever thing, she insisted that she absolutely couldn’t before getting married.” “So?” “I ended up thoroughly embarrassed.” I was grateful to her. At the time we had agreed upon, I went to the place I had promised to meet her, the embankment stretching out to the sea. I saw a yellow parasol in the distance. That was her. We walked side by side under the cloudy sky. “I asked Pak several things about you today,” she said. “You did?” “What do you think was the most important thing I asked?” I had no idea. A moment later she chuckled lightly. “I asked what your blood type was.” “My blood type?” “I have this strange belief about blood types. I wish people conformed exactly to the personality represented by their blood type—isn’t it all in the biology books? Then there would be only a few personality types, and you would be able to count them on your fingers.” “How does that count as belief? I’d say it’s a wild hope.” “I end up believing in what I hope for, that’s my personality.” “What blood type does that correspond to?” “A blood type called ‘foolish.’” In the hot, humid air we 54 list_ Books from Korea

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laughed painfully. I stole a glance at her profile. She had stopped laughing now and was looking straight ahead with her big eyes, her nose moist with sweat. She was following me like a small child. I took her hand in mine. She seemed surprised. I quickly let go of her hand. After a moment I took her hand again. This time she was not surprised. Between my palm and hers a faint breeze managed to squeeze by. “How will you manage if you go back to Seoul without any plans?” I asked her. “I have such a sweet big brother there, I’m sure he’ll do something to help,” she said with a bright smile, looking at me. “There will be lots of marriageable bachelors around but . . . don’t you think it would be better to go to your hometown rather than stay in Seoul?” “Better to stay here than go to my hometown.” “Better stay here then . . .” “Oh, seonsaengneem, you’re not going to take me with you after all.” She thrust my hand away, her face crumpling. In fact, I did not know my own self. In fact, I had passed the age when one stands before the world with sentimentality or pity. In fact, as Cho had said just a few hours ago, I was someone who, in the end, thought it a stroke of luck that I had ended up with a ‘rich widow with connections,’ even if that had not necessarily been my intention. I felt a different love for my present wife than the love I bore for the woman who had run away from me. Still, walking along the embankment stretching out to the sea beneath the cloudy sky, I took the hand of the woman by my side. I explained to her about the house that we were going to look for. A long time ago, I had rented a room in that house for a year in order to clean out my dirty lungs. My mother had already passed away. A year spent by the sea. In the letters I wrote that year, people could easily find the word ‘desolate.’ A shallow word, a dead word that had lost the ability to touch people’s hearts. But at the time there had been no other word to use. The tedium I felt while walking on the white sand in the morning, or the emptiness that filled me as I wiped off with my palms the cold sweat pouring down my brow after a daytime nap, the distress of waking from a nightmare in the middle of the night and pressing down with one hand the pounding in my rushing heart while listening to the pitiful cries of the night sea—such feelings had latched onto my life like so many hard oyster shells that I had substituted for them what now seems like a phantom of a word, ‘desolate.’ In a dusty city where the sea lies beyond the imagination, what would that person caught up in his busy daily routine have been able to think or imagine after receiving from an expressionless postman my letter inscribed

with the word ‘desolate’? Suppose I had sent that letter from the coast and then received it myself in the city, would my city self have been able to sympathize with the state of mind in which my coastal self had staked so much on that word? Or would that have been necessary at all? But to be accurate, even back then, when that past self of mine approached the desk to write those letters, he had dim doubts and suppositions similar to the ones I am now having, and I think he knew that the answer to the question was ‘No.’ And yet he wrote letters in which he had inscribed ‘desolate’ and at times he mailed off in all directions postcards on which he had roughly sketched a blue-black sea. “What kind of person do you think wrote the first letter in the world?” I asked. “Ah, letters. Nothing brings so much happiness as a letter. Really, who do you think it was? Probably someone lonely like you?” Her hand stirred in mine. I thought to myself that her hand was saying, “And like Insook.” I responded, “Yes.” We turned our faces to each other and smiled. We arrived at the house we were looking for. It seemed as if time had not touched the house or the people in the house. The owners treated me like my past self and so I became my past self. I brought out the presents I had prepared and the couple who were the owners let us into the room I had occupied in the past. In that room, I stole angst away from her, as you might steal a knife from someone running to you in despair, ready to sink the knife into you if you did not steal it from her hand. She was not a virgin. We opened the door again and lay there for a long time in silence, looking at the rough waves of the sea. “I want to go to Seoul. That’s all.” She finally spoke after a long pause. I was drawing a meaningless picture with my finger on her cheek. “Are there good people in this world?” I relit the cigarette that the sea breeze blowing into the room had extinguished. “You’re chiding me, aren’t you? Without a heart that is willing to consider other people good, there would be no good people in the world.” I thought of us as Buddhists. “Seonsaengneem, are you a good person?” “As long as Insook trusts me.” I thought of us once again as Buddhists. Still lying down, she came closer to me. “Shall we go to the beach? I’ll sing for you,” she said. But we did not get up. “Can we go to the beach? It is so hot here.” We rose and walked out. We walked on the sand and sat on a rock from which we could not see any houses. Beneath the rock we were sitting on, the waves were spraying foam they had secreted away. “Seonsaengneem,” she called to me. I turned my face in

her direction. “Have you ever had the experience of disliking yourself more and more?” She asked with a false cheerfulness. I searched my memory. I nodded. “Once a friend who had slept next to me told me that I snored in my sleep. I really wanted to run away.” I told her the story to make her laugh. But she just nodded quietly, without smiling. She spoke after a long time. “Seonsaengneem, I don’t want to go to Seoul.” I asked her for her hand and held it in mine. I held her hand in a strong clasp and said, “Let’s not lie to each other.” “It’s not a lie.” She smiled. “I’ll sing you ‘One Fine Day.’” “But today is not a fine day— it’s overcast,” I said, thinking of the two people separating in that song. Let us not separate on overcast days. Let us extend our hand and, if there is someone who takes that hand, let us pull that person close, close, a little closer. I wanted to tell her, ‘I love you.’ But the awkwardness of the words chased away my impulse to say them to her. It was dark in the evening when we returned from the shore. A little before entering the town we kissed on the embankment. “Just to let you know, I’m just going to enjoy a fine love affair while you’re here this week,” she said as we separated. “But I’m stronger than you, so I think you won’t have a choice, I’ll be dragging you to Seoul,” I replied. When I returned I discovered that Pak had paid me a visit during the day. He had left three books with a note, “So that you will not be bored while you are in Mujin.” My aunt told me that he had said that he would be back in the evening. I told her that I did not wish to see anyone, using fatigue as an excuse. She said she would tell him that I had not returned yet from the shore. I did not wish to think about anything. Anything. I asked my aunt to buy me some soju and drank it until I was drunk and fell asleep. I woke up very briefly in the early morning. My heart was beating with anxiety for a reason I could not decipher. “Insook,” I tried murmuring. Then I fell back asleep.

You Are Leaving Mujin It was late morning when my aunt shook me and woke me up. She handed me a telegram. Lying on my stomach I opened it up. “Need to attend meeting on 27th. Return immediately. Young.” The 27th was the day after next. Young was my wife. I lay my throbbing forehead down on my pillow. I was breathing heavily. list_ Books from Korea

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I tried to calm my breathing. My wife’s telegram was showing me more and more clearly all that I had thought and done since coming to Mujin. It was all because of prejudice, my wife’s telegram told me in the end. I shook my head in disagreement. It was all because of the freedom granted so often to travelers, said my wife’s telegram. I shook my head in disagreement. Time will erase everything in your mind, said the telegram. But there will be a wound, I shook my head. We argued for a long time. So I devised a compromise. Just once, just one last time, let me affirm this town of Mujin, the fog, the going-madwith-loneliness, the popular tune, the suicide of the barmaid, the betrayal, the irresponsibility. Just one last time. Just once, and then I promise to live within the limited scope of the responsibility that I have been given. Telegram, hold out your smallest finger. I will hold out mine and hook it around yours and promise. We made a promise. But I turned around and wrote a letter, avoiding the eyes of the telegram. ‘I have to make an unexpected return. I wished to pay you a visit to tell you in person about my departure, but conversation has a way of leading us in unexpected directions, so I am writing instead. I will be brief. I love you. The reason is, because you are my own self, at least my past self that I still have a vague love for. Just as I have made every effort to drag my past self into the present, I will do everything to bring you into the sunlight. Please trust me. And when I contact you after making preparations in Seoul, please leave Mujin and come to me. I think we will be able to be happy.’ I read over the letter after writing it. I reread it. Then I tore it up. Sitting in the rattling bus, at some point I looked out and saw a white signpost by the road. On it were written in clear black letters, “You Are Leaving Mujin. Good-Bye.” I burned with shame. (1964)

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About the Author Born in Osaka, Japan in 1941 and raised in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, Korea, Kim Sung-ok graduated from the Department of French Language and Literature at Seoul National University. He made his literary debut in 1962 when his short story “Practice for Life” won the Hankook Ilbo New Writer’s Award. In the same year, he founded The Age of Prose, a small literary magazine, along with his friends, such as Kim Hyeon and Choi Ha-rim. Kim launched into a literary career by publishing the short stories “Geon” and “Fantasy Notebook” in the magazine. Throughout the 1960s, he continually published short stories, including “Yeoksa,” “A Trip to Mujin,” and “Seoul-1964-Winter.” In the 1970s, however, he began winding down his writing career while intermittently publishing short stories such as “The Moonlight of Seoul, Chapter 0” and “Our Low Fence.” Kim received the Dongin Prize in 1965 for the short story “Seoul-1964-Winter,” the Yi Sang Literary Award in 1977 for the short story “The Moonlight of Seoul, Chapter 0”, and The National Academy of Arts Award (Literature) in 2012 for his significant contribution to the arts.

Reviews Fiction

The Evolution of Faction The Investigator (2 Vols.) Lee Jungmyung, EunHaeng NaMu Publishing Co. 2012, 289p, ISBN 9788956606187 (Vol.1)

Lee Jungmyung, famous for The Painter of the Wind and The Deep Rooted Tree, is the last word in Korean “faction,” or fiction based on fact. Nearly all of his works make the bestseller list within days of publication, and are adapted for television or film. The translation rights for Lee’s The Investigator, his latest opus, were sold overseas even before it came out in Korea. The Investigator is ba sed on Yun Dong-ju, Korea’s most well-loved poet. Set in 1944, when the end of Japanese colonialism was drawing near, the story begins when a Japanese prison guard is found dead in a corridor of the infamous Fukuoka POW camp. The protagonist, another prison guard at Fukuoka who helps his mother at her used books store and dreams of becoming a writer, is assigned this murder case. One of the murder suspects is a young prisoner from Joseon: No. 645, Yun Dong-ju. The case starts out as a simple murder case, but the more the prison guard investigates, the more he learns of the

shocking secrets of Fukuoka, such as the massive breakout the prisoners are plotting, and the inhumane Japanese militarists who plan to turn the prisoners into scapegoats. To some extent, The Investigator reads like the Korean Shawshank Redemption. Just as Andy frees his fellow inmates from the prison that hold their souls captive, Yu n Dong-ju te ac he s h i s i n m ate s a different kind of freedom, one that cannot be taken away from them. Yun does not succeed in escaping as Andy does, but his beautiful poems live on in the hearts of Koreans everywhere who wish to free themselves from the suffocating shackles of fate. Yun may have died in incarceration, but his poems are immortal and free. The Investigator thus captivates readers with its bold imagination and engaging narrative, and resurrects Yun Dong-ju as a new revolutionary of the 21st century. by Jung Yeo-ul

Secrets the Woods Tell They Went to the Forest in the West Pyun Hye-young, Moonji Publishing Co., Ltd. 2012, 366p, ISBN 9788932023113

They Went to the Forest in the West is a story about people who walked into a labyrinth symbolized by a forest. One day, Yi Gyeong-in, a forest manager, disappears into the forest and his younger brother Yi Ha-in, who is a lawyer, begins to search for him. As he follows Gyeong-in’s steps, he discovers that his brother’s successor, villagers, and all the employees at the forestry research center deny Gyeong-in’s existence completely. However, by doing so, they end up exposing a secret that exists between them. Around this time, Yi Ha-in dies of a hit and run accident. While part one consists mainly of the search for the missing brother, part two and three show how the search is postponed indefinitely. This is because the truth of the event is wrapped in mystery and circumstances take place where the characters cannot be

sure of their actions. T he person at t he center of t his uncertainty is Yi Gyeong-in’s successor and the main character of the novel, Park In-su. He is an alcoholic who has been cast out by society and an incompetent father cut off by his family. As his addiction gets worse working at the forest and as he begins to hear things, his family loses faith in him and leaves him. In-su trembles in fear because of the unknown noise that seems to come from the forest. The secret of the forest seems to be unveiled when it is revealed that Mr. Jin at the research center and his retired friends have been carrying out large-scale illegal lumbering. However, one secret leads to a bigger secret, with the forest sealing the secret at the end. by Yang Yun-eui

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Reviews Fiction

Desire on the Run Love Runs Sim Yunkyung, Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. 2012, 360p, ISBN 9788954618816

Lacan says that if a person gives into all of his or her everyday desires then that person is either extremely selfish or has not yet matured. But is it easy for a person to stay extremely selfish or immature? For the most part, desire and money is interlinked in society, so perhaps someone who has a lot of money could be as selfish as he or she wants to be and less mature than other people. Sim Yunkyung’s novel Love Runs is about people who are faithful to their desires and remain immature. Hannah had everything she wanted. She monopolized the love of her family ever since she was a child. Her father was a man who had started off poor selling items from his truck then amassed a fortune, and Hannah’s mother had both beauty and intelligence. Also in Hannah’s life was her husband, an honest and caring man who graduated from a prestigious university and held a job at a major company. There was nothing that Hannah lacked in her life. She was 39-years-old and yet still acted immature when she suddenly faced a crisis. In his old age, Hannah’s father decides

Battle of Hearts Decoy Bae Myung-hoon, Bookhouse Publishers 2012, 302p, ISBN 9788956055978

If Bae Myung-hoon’s previous novel, Divine Orbit, was about the world then his new book, Decoy, is about people; more specifically, it is a story about the human heart. The narrator is a person that worked for the government as a secret assassin for 11 years; his first love, Kim Eun-gyeong is the daughter of a powerful man; and Eun-su, a reputed genius, worked with the narrator as his partner but was purportedly murdered by the organization when he left. Under orders from his organization, the narrator ends up seeing Eun-gyeong play the role of a corpse on stage in the Czech Republic, and Eun-su, who had vanished. The novel is imaginative and has a well-constructed narrative, but Decoy is ultimately a glimpse into the heart. In the course of tempting, deceiving, 58 list_ Books from Korea

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and controlling each other in order to attain what each character wants, what is emphasized is not impeccable logic but the uncontrollable ways of the human heart. Eun-su’s feelings toward the narrator, and the narrator’s love for Eun-gyeong, are what in the end propel the tightly woven narrative forward. The novel is not about the world, but really about the characters and how they operate. Decoy delves into serious themes, such as tendencies versus action, life and death, and love and evil; it offers an inroad into the abyss of the human heart through a story set in an endlessly cold and grim winter. by Cho Yeon-jung

to divorce her mother so that he can marry a woman who is the same age as Hannah’s brother. Her father’s credit card that she uses is set to expire soon, her brother’s debt is increasing by the day, and her husband is transferred to a branch far away, allowing them to only see each other on weekends. At one time Hannah was able to spend to her heart’s content using her father’s unlimited credit card, and, now, her life is coming apart. Then one day, Hannah finds love. She falls in love with the director of the hospital where she takes on a part-time job. The reason why she doesn’t resist this situation is because she has never learned to suppress her desires while growing up. Love Runs forces us to think about the nature of desire through the naïve character, Hannah, who unrestrainedly gives in to her desires. The novel’s pacing is quick and entertaining, but what the story ultimately tells us is that for people of means it is easy to give into their desires while people without cannot afford such an indulgence. by Cho Yeon-jung

Steady Sellers

Origins of the Korean Fantasy Novel Dragon Raja (8 Vols.) Lee Young-do, Goldenbough, 2008 207p (Vol.1), ISBN 9788960172708 (set)

In the history of Korean novels, Dragon Raja is classified as a unique work. As showcased by the first-ever Korean novel, The Story of Hong Gil-dong, readers can easily find Korean authors who use their imagination to create a world of reality and fantasy filled with exotic adventures and characters brandishing words and magical powers. Traditionally, friendship, love, struggle etc. with imaginary creatures such as Dokkaebi(Korea hobgoblins), Golden Pig, and the Dragon King of the Sea have been infused into a rich repertoire in Korean novels. Lee Young-do, who wrote Dragon Raja, departed from this tradition and adopted the fantasy genre largely created by J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings to pursue his own style, resulting in a thrilling and truly new novel for Korean literary circles. Dragon Raja was first serialized on

an online community through Hitel in 1996. Lee had never published before; he had never stepped out of his hometown of Masan, a southern coastal city, since studying Korean literature and graduating from a college in the provinces. Once the novel’s serialization got off to a start on the online network, its popularity soared. The number of views exceeded a record one million, while thousands of users rushed to log on to read the latest installment at m id n ig ht when it wa s ava i l able. Whenever there was a delay with the latest installment, hundreds of readers posted vigorous complaints on the community message board. Encouraged by the huge online success of the novel, GoldenBough, a unit of one of the country’s largest publishers Minumsa Publishing Group, decided to publish the series as a print edition. This turned out to be a blockbuster hit at local

bookstores. The series sold a million copies when it made its formal debut and set many records, establishing itself in the history of Korean novels. About 10 years have passed since the publication of Dragon Raja, but the novel remains in the top 10 list of popular books at college libraries. This “on-line to off-line literary phenomenon” is now commonplace across the globe, but the origin of this trend in Korea was kicked off by Dragon Raja. Further evidence that the novel is its own phenomenon is that it has been included in high school textbooks. The novel has also been adapted into an on-line game; users in Japan, China, the U.S., and Taiwan have been enjoying the game for over a decade. There are comics and radio drama versions as well offering a primary example of OSMU (one source multi-use) for Korean publishers. Translated versions are also popular. The Japanese version sold some 700,000 copies and the Chinese version in Taiwan ran up sales of 200,000 copies. The debut of the Chinese version in mainland China is also planned. The greatest charm of the novel is that author Lee almost perfectly replaced Tolk ien’s romantic k night archet ype with his own world of Korean humor. Throughout the novel, Lee pokes fun at those who pursue power and control, and mocks moral hypocrisy with the help of tantalizing sexual deviations. This is, in fact, part of a longstanding tradition found in Korean pansori, an epic operatic genre. The adventure of Hoochie and his friends generates plenty of humor, a source of great pleasure for readers and a critical reminder for the misplaced and misguided rules and norms plaguing the reality. The adoption of a Western fantasy format and its cultural modification and innovation is the hallmark of Dragon Raja, Korea’s pioneer fantasy novel. This transformative endeavor has been the key mission of Lee Young-do. In The Bird That Drinks Tears, another novel by Lee Youngdo, the world stemming from Tolkien’s f a nt a s y pl at for m h a s b e en re duc e d to a minima l, new worldview ba sed on the infusion of Korean myths and other legends emerges. Lee successfully incorporates a Western genre into his work and goes a step further by crafting a unique literary world in The Bird That Drinks Tears. This is why the novel has been widely read and loved by readers in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. by Jang Eunsu

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Reviews Nonfiction

A Map of Memory The Map: A Record of Civilization KBS documentary production team, Jungang Books 2012, 336p, ISBN9788927803546

I was raised in the city, and acquired my knowledge of culture through books. Standing amid towers and high rises, I can’t tell east from west. Perhaps it is bold, then, to state that wherever I go, I won’t lose my way. But in fact, owing to the maps service on my Smartphone, I can describe the layout of foreign cities I’ve never visited, down to the locations of parking lots. Perhaps of any invention, it is this maps service that has had the biggest impact on humankind in the early 21st century. At a second’s notice, I can conjure up any travel route in the world right in the palm of my hand. What is the source of this magic? The book under review, The Map: A Record of Civilization, traces 2,000 years of cultural memory. A production team from the public broadcasting system KBS spent a year traveling to 35 countries filming a documentary, which appeared in four installments in the spring of 2012. It was so popular that its contents were published in book form. When the documentary was being planned, the writers’ first worry was whether the story of an ancient map would be suited to the medium of television. This map, a veritable code to history, may stimulate the imagination, but no broadcasting service would be so reckless as to attempt transferring the resulting flights of fancy to the screen. Through the boundaries on a map,

one can see to what extent a historical civilization expressed its imagination. Fascinating tales may be spun from these marks, possibly going beyond the bounds of what a book or a television program can convey. But the filmmakers gave tangible visual form to the secrets of civilization contained in the map. And the book is more vividly written due to its having been rendered onscreen. The opening scenes in the documentary are about a Joseon map drawn in 1402, known as the Honilkangniyeokdaeguk map. This name indicates that it shows the capital cities of all countries throughout history. Dating back 600 years, it is the earliest map of Africa and Eurasia in existence. Scholars were stunned to find that the southernmost tip of Africa was marked and labeled on it 86 years prior to the European discovery of the Cape of Good Hope. A late 16th century copy of the map, which seems to have been pillaged during the 1592-1598 Japanese invasion of Korea, is currently held at Ryukoku University in Kyoto. How did Joseon, a small medieval kingdom in the Far East, come to produce a world map that identifies the source of the Nile, a spot discovered by British explorers only much later, in the 19th century? Using this amazing map as a guide to the secrets of medieval civilization, we set off on a surprising journey across time.

To summarize, the Joseon map of 1402 is partly the legacy of the fallen Mongol Empire. The Mongols inherited aspects of Islamic civilization when they established their empire, and sea routes pioneered by the Arabs are marked distinctly on their maps. And going back to the Arabs, how did their merchants have the audacity to travel across the seas? Islamic civilization embraced classic texts from Greek antiquity. Ultimately, it wa s information from Claud ius Ptolemy’s work Geography that was handed down over 2,000 years, passing through the Islamic civilization and the Mongol Empire to reach a small country in the Far East. Divided into four volumes, reflecting the format of the documentary, this book takes the reader on a thrilling voyage through time. The documentary filmmakers were experts in the language of film, communicating dense material through concrete images shot on location around the world. After successfully completing the work, they reconverted the video imagery into words for this book. Through this process, the account has become more life-like. by Bae No-pil

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Reviews Nonfiction

A Hot Spot Revisited Ladies of Myeongdong: The Birth of the Modern & Contemporary Women's Space Kim Mee-sun, Maeumsanchaek, 2012 224p, ISBN 9788960901414

Myeongdong has recently become one of the most loved tourist attractions among foreign visitors to Korea. Though it is now a huge shopping area, it used to be the hot spot in Korean society between 1953 when the Armistice Agreement was signed and the end of 1970s when it faced decline due to the development of the Gangnam area. Myeongdong was the center of finance, commerce, culture and arts, and consumer culture. However, Myeongdong could not have become the center of Korean society without women. Ladies of Myeongdong attempts to look at the characteristics of Myeongdong through a feminist lens. Kim analyzes and explains how Myeongdong functioned as a place of liberation and escape for women in modern Korea. She portrays the lives of women who were active in Myeongdong and whose lives were based there, and approaches women’s history in Korea from various aspects such as consumption, labor, and culture.

Everybody Loves a Crime Crime Fiction Kim Yong-eon, Kang Publishing, 2012 324p, ISBN 9788982181757

From Arsène Lupin, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Edgar Allen Poe, and Ellery Queen to Cornell Woolrich, crime fiction evolved into various forms over the years. Those who love reading have been immersed in the world of detective fiction and the mind games played between the detective and the criminal at least once in their lives. However, many people tend to lose interest quickly and regard crime fiction as easy entertainment. How did such perceptions of crime fiction as something cheap and simple come about? Crime Fiction, categorizes the whodunit format into two categories. The first group belongs to those stories set around solving the puzzle of “Who committed the murder?” which was popular from the end of the 19th century to the 1920s, especially in Great Britain, as detective fiction. The second category are the novels that evolve around the question of “Why did 62 list_ Books from Korea

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the murder take place?” which have been widely written about in the U.S. since the 1920s, as hard-boiled fiction. Kim Yong Eon uses “crime fiction” as a general term that comprises both. This book looks into the origins of detective and hard-boiled fiction and how they have changed to suit a wider readership within the broader category of crime fiction. Using her experience a s a former reporter at a film magazine and a genre literature magazine, Kim traces and dissects the origin of crime fiction like a detective: crime fiction was born as a type of urban literature and developed into hard-boiled fiction hand in hand with capitalism. Various lives of urbanites are reflected as they are in crime fiction, and detectives will continue to be reborn as long as mysteries in cities continue to take place. Kim’s interpretation makes it clear why crime fiction continues to have such wide appeal. by Richard Hong

Myeongdong is a multifaceted space: a place that served as a symbol of urban c u lt u re bet ween t he 1950 s a nd t he 1960s; a base for youth culture that was symbolized by acoustic guitars and beer in the 1970s; and a sacred ground for the democratization movement in the 1980s. Though its importance declined in the 1990s and the 2000s, it has reclaimed its popularity in the past decade. This book brings back the memories of Myeongdong that are disappearing and tells us that Myeongdong is a place to be loved by foreign visitors and Koreans alike. It is both a special guide book that helps readers travel back in time to Myeongdong’s past with black and white photos and an informative history book. by Richard Hong

Reviews Nonfiction

What's Death Without Life? Death Yim Chol-kyu, Hangilsa Publishing Co., Ltd. 2012, 353p, ISBN 9788935662074

Yim Chol Kyu, a scholar in the field of comparative literature, has written his personal thoughts about life, but entitled the book Death. Discourse and speculation about death from all nations and eras are rendered here in f lowing prose. Informing Lim’s meditations on death, that is to say, on life, are myths, stories, and philosophy from the East and West alike. With only a glance at the references, one can see that world literature and philosophy have been researched extensively. Above all, this book bears the truth of Yim’s traumatic experience of death that he has carried with him his entire life. In other words, it is more than a simple compendium of death-related stories. At 70-years-old, Yim has still not emerged from the shadow of death cast by the Korean War, which he lived through as a child. Yim experienced death as a child,

All About House Managers Welcome to Theatre Yang Woo-je, Lee Jung-ah, Theater & Man Press 2012, 270p, ISBN 9788957864258

It is safely assumed that most people have made a visit to theaters to watch a musical, drama, performance or opera at least once. Spending time at theaters is for the most part enjoyable, but these spaces are not immune to commotion and uncomfortable developments. What should be done if one confronts such an embarrassing situation? In South Korea, the preferred method is to call the top manager. When it comes to theaters, however, there is a subtle difference. Faced with troubles at theaters, you are kindly encouraged to say, “I want to meet the house manager.” This is the quickest way to deal with the problem. In addition, you might be treated as a person who is familiar with the terminology used in arts management. The book revolves around theater house managers. The title outlines who they are, what they are doing, and what qualifications are required. The authors

themselves have long honed their skills as house managers for Seoul Arts Center, one of the finest art stages in South Korea. Thanks to their background, the book illustrates not only the house manager’s role and tasks but also intriguing episodes involving the authors and the renowned theater. The book expla ins t he def intion of a hou s e m a n a g er, t he ne c e s s a r y qualifications, and the importance of service to the profession. Alan Rivett, director at Warwick Arts Center, argues that a house manager is “a host who throws a party.” Party hosts or hostesses take care of every single detail for guests: RSVPs, maps, meals, party schedules, and even farewell greetings. Likewise, house managers are required to make sure that visitors can fully and safely enjoy performances. Top-notch house managers tend to be extremely patient. There is good reason; house managers are likely to meet people from various fields and backgrounds. Their complaints, therefore, are often

t h r ou g h t he c ou nt le s s p e ople w ho sacrificed their lives during the democracy movement, and in 2009, through the politicized suicide of a former president just as he finished his term. These episodes to which the writer was a sensitive and feeling witness have been woven together into a profound, wellinformed discourse on death. Thus, this book is more than a simple collection of stories, just as books written by writers during the Second World War, or by Auschwitz survivors, transcend words and inspire awe. by Bae No-pil

complicated and cha llenging, and it is the house manager’s job to handle such problems as smoothly as possible. Emotional pressure on the party of house managers is nothing if not overwhelming. For all the obstacles, the job of house managers is rewarding and attractive, as they are in a unique position to infuse arts and management through theaters. by Han Mihwa

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Reviews Nonfiction

Boys Can Draw Too Art Has Changed My Son Choi Min-jun, ARTBOOKS Publishing Corp. 2012, 323p, ISBN 9788961961158

Most boys do not like art class. They think it is boring to sit down and draw trivial things like flowers and butterflies. So, they keep saying: “Art is boring. I will never do art.” There is, however, an art class that makes them change, saying, “I didn’t know art was so much fun. I want to do it every day!” It is Choi Min Jun’s Art Institute for Boys that offers them a tailored art education. The author discovered that boys hated art classes despite the fact that art is an excellent activity to stimulate children’s creativity. Based on Choi’s own experiences as a boy, he began thinking about the ways to bring boys into art activities. He studied differences in men and women and tried various teaching methods to make art interesting for boys. He wrote this book based on the art classes he conducted with children, and the result is a guide to art education that asserts that boys need an art education that is tailored to their needs. The author explains that until mid to late adolescence, boys tend to be more

easily distracted, be slower in language development and learning ability, and have a lower level of concentration than girls. After analyzing the differences between boys and girls, he goes on to talk about how to educate boys in order to overcome these differences. There are distinct ways to deal with the boys who like to do what they want rather than do what they are made to do. Rather than giving them a specific topic for the class, give them the materials needed and let them draw and make whatever they want. That is the way to stimulate their interest. Letting them draw or make the things they are interested in such as dinosaurs, cars, insects, and tanks is essential. Though the book is about art activities, it is a good educational guide that can be used in other areas to motivate boys.

Before You Quit Your Day Job The Struggles of a Backstreet CEO Paul D. Kang, Encounter Publishing Company, 2012 208p, ISBN 9788996767541

Who wouldn’t enjoy being called Mr. or Ms. CEO? But how ma ny CEOs actually live the lives fitting of the title? The author, who was once a business consultant and a derivatives trader now runs a social café with hopes of creating a non-capitalistic economic ecosystem again at the center of capitalism. In The Struggles of a Backstreet CEO, he introduces the cutthroat economic ecosystem all the CEOs of Korea must know. Recently, convenience stores have opened right next door to each other and fancy cafés have filled the streets. A number of new shops open every day along with the same number of CEOs. There are about eight million CEOs or self-employed business owners in Korea, comprising 28.8 percent of the economically active population. However, we need to look into their seemingly glossy but hollow lives. 64 list_ Books from Korea

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The number of self-employed businesses has recently increased dramatically because the unemployed or young people are advised to start their ow n bu si ne s s whene ver t he Kore a n economy takes a downturn. However, the indiscriminate opening of businesses has led to a fierce competition for survival and most self-employed businesses face closure. The author points out that this has made the owners of these businesses poorer than before. Paul Kang shares his own experiences of the tyranny of card companies, and discusses the reality of poor self-employed people who are born with debt and die trying to pay it back. Kang portrays good office workers who are lured by the scent of coffee, and offers alternative proposals. This book gives information to those who plan to start their own business about everything they need to know before putting their ideas into action. by Richard Hong

by Han Mihwa

Reviews Nonfiction

Roadmap to the Cosmos A Primer on the History of the Universe Lee Ji-yoo, Humanist Publishing Group 2012, 248p, ISBN 9788958625384

Humans living on Earth, a planet located in one corner of the universe, often go through a lifetime without lea rning about the mysteries of space. While its boundless vastness is incomprehensible and its constant changes are unpredictable, human curiosity is also boundless, and has been diligently applied to revealing the universe's mysteries. A Primer on the History of the Universe is written by science writer Lee Ji-yoo, better k nown by her moniker, “Ms. Meteor.” Lee, formerly a school science teacher, is married to an astronomer and has two children with whom she often talks about science. This background informs her writing as she takes readers on a fascinating journey into space. More so t h a n ot her d i scipl i ne s, cosmology requires the synthesis of a diverse body of knowledge for progress to be made. Lee walks readers through the chronological development of mankind's knowledge of space: how such knowledge was accumulated, how scientists influenced

Forests Delight All Year 12-Month Diary of Forest Observations Kang Eun-hee, Hyeonamsa Publishing Co., Ltd., 2012 296p, ISBN 9788932316345

12-month Diary of Forest Observations is an ecological diary with hand-drawn sketches meticulously recording the natural changes in a forest over 365 days. The subject of the diary is the forest located near the Jeongneung Visitor Center in Seoul's Mt. Bukhan National Park. The author drew over 130 detailed illustrations of her daily strolls in the forest throughout the four seasons. Sunlight and the flow of air, which cannot be expressed through the medium of photography, are expressed in her detailed drawings. According to Kang, although trees in the early spring still bear withered leaves on bare branches, “if one sits before the trees, touching them lightly, one can feel spring before it becomes visible. This is because within the variously-shaped branches, the nerves of trees are standing on end like those of a dancer beginning

a leisurely dance.” A s the hera lds of spring, the Korean azalea emerges with its protruding flowers, the royal azalea with its profusion of blossoms, ginger, and the Asian hazel blossom first. The forest in the summer is at its most invigorating when seen from afar, as the sky and wind help make the “impassive” trees and plants of the forest come alive. Framed by the sky while swaying in the wind, Kang describes the forest in summer as follows: “Walking down a path among the trees and plants of summer is an experience akin to falling into a cave of green.” She describes the forest in autumn paradoxical terms, as “variegated, gloomy, dazzling, and sometimes warm,” an apt description for a peculiar season. Buffeted by cold winds, frost, fa ll ra ins, a nd occasional sunshine, the forest in autumn dresses in dazzling, elegant finery. She is so captivated that she feels she cannot go a day without laying her eyes on “the forest's delightful fall colors.” Although bitterly cold winds and snow

one a not her, a nd how cosmologic a l theories were developed. Lee also explains the major debates in post-Einsteinian cosmology and how they are relevant to our lives today. Readers shouldn't worr y about lack ing prior knowledge of the field, as Lee explains the concepts behind the most important cosmological concepts. A Primer on the History of the Universe doesn't reveal new knowledge or theories about the universe, but it effectively provides a roadmap for readers who don’t have the faintest inkling about cosmology, helping them peer into the mysteries of the universe. This book conta ins deta iled information taken from such diverse fields as physics, chemistry, earth science, and biology in order to help readers learn all about space. I recommend that A Primer on the History of the Universe not be read at a desk, but shared at the dinner table with one's children, making the book a more enjoyable experience. by Jang Dongseok

are the protagonists of winter forests, life continues unabated beneath the snow cover. In the white forest of winter, snowcovered trees seem to play the role of spirit guardians. 12-month Diary of Forest Observations is a pleasant way to take in the four seasons of the forest through detailed drawings. Readers will find themselves growing closer to the forest as they progress through the book, as it gives hand-on advice for experiencing forests as well as how to write an observation diary.

by Jang Dongseok

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Vol.18 Winter 2012

Reviews Nonfiction

Stories of Their Own All Bodies Are Equal Kim Hyojin, et al., Samchang, 2012 240p, ISBN 9788966550128

“My friends seemed to think of the public bath as their playground as they sat around in groups. However, they all stopped chatting the moment I entered. Adults did not say anything in particular but looked at me with either wonder or pity. For me, becoming a woman was not a blessing but something to be avoided if possible.” As you turn the last page, your heart aches and you feel a sense of helplessness at the inability to even sympathize with the circumstances. Five women with disabilities talk about discrimination and social prejudices that they have had to endure in secret, thus exposing the darker side of Korean society. The five authors are: an idealist with highly developed intuition and insight who relies completely on crutches; a woman who is permanently bound to a wheelchair due to infantile paralysis and thinks she is useless; an unskilled laborer who takes on any job for a living because she cannot find a regular job due to a severe disability; a disabled woman who always says she

Outside the Mainstream Have We Become Alienated? Lee Jung-kook and Lim Jisun, ReadySetGo 2012, 304p, ISBN 9788997729012

Have We Become Alienated? is a ta le of socia l a lienation. During Korea’s democratization movement, activists resisted the forces of social exclusion and discrimination, but paradoxically, these forces became more entrenched when the country was swept by neo-liberalism after democracy was won. Perhaps this was the inevitable outcome. For the last f ive years of Koreanst yle conser vative r u le, t he countr y has continued to be out of step with global trends; the government’s primary policymakers have been devout followers of neo-liberalism, even as this philosophy has become much less influential due to the 2008 Asian financial crisis. Rega rd ing t he countr y’s modern history, Koreans generally agree: Korea has the distinction of having attained both industrialization and democracy. But this 66 list_ Books from Korea

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statement in fact reveals limitations of how we define success. Success is measured in terms of only two factors: the economy and politics. A human life cannot be assessed humanely using these rough yardsticks. Social marginalization and discrimination must be considered too, and unless they are made into political issues they will go unnoticed. Powerless people who have become alienated are the focus of this book. The writers and reporters for the progressive Korean newspaper The Hankyoreh have received attention for trying to attract the voices of the powerless to their opinion pages, when most newspapers print only the views of social leaders. In this book, even people who have been neglected by major labor unions have a voice, and diverse opinions from gays and lesbians, seniors living alone, and those who did not attend prestigious universities are also represented. R e a d e r s c a n u s e t h i s b o ok a s a r e f e r e nc e t o id e nt i f y s y mpt om s of

is beautiful but is not recognized by her sibling; and finally a disabled woman who despairs over her crumpling body since she turned 40. Though their bodies are beautiful and need to be loved, biased views and prejudice make it difficult for the women to respect their own bodies. In this regard, All Bodies Are Equal may be the very first book in which disabled women have spoken up. With photos portraying the bodies of disabled women that have been exhibited at a photo exhibition held since 2009 by the Disabled Women’s Network, women between their 30s and 50s, who are struggling with challenges such as infantile paralysis, spinal cord injury, osteogenesis imperfecta, and other rare conditions, share their personal stories. by Richard Hong

the illness that can be termed “Korea Disease.” For example, the root of the society’s social pathology is targeted in the piece entitled “Social Outcasts in the Workplace.” Korean companies are infamous for making new employees work long hours. The private lives of workers are entirely absorbed by the company. The phenomenon of ostracism in the workplace is a manifestation of the mental stress suffered by workers who have been robbed of their private lives. by Bae No-pil

Reviews Nonfiction

Making the Old New Interior Carpentry Through Recycling Lee Dom and Kim Keunhee, After 100 Years Publishing Co. 2012, 316p, ISBN9788997868117

Lee Dom and Kim Keunhee, a married couple, are both professional illustrators. They moved to the United States to further their studies, settled there, and began to work. After their children grew up, the couple decided to move back to Korea and stay here for about two years. They secured an apartment in Seokcho, Gangwon Province. Although their stay in Korea was not that long, the couple and their children needed furniture and other essential items. Their solution was crafting what they needed themselves, tapping into their hobby. The couple scoured recycling centers in town collecting beds, desks, chairs, and bookshelves—items that were transformed into basic parts for their inventive DIY works. The book centers upon the family’s year-long project that produced about 50 furniture items without spending extra money. For beginners or anyone interested in the DIY process, the book contains the entire carpentry process ranging from design charts to actual placement in the

Fighting Fat with Fun Dieter (3 Vols.) NEON.B and CARAMEL, Joongang Books 2012, 320p (Vol.1), ISBN 97889327802419 (set)

Dieting is one of the most important issues of modern times, especially for women. People today strive to lose weight and build attractive bodies for their health, beauty, or personal fulfillment. Compared to all the effort that is spent trying to achieve success, however, the results are usually uninspiring. There are innumerable cases of people who latch on to the latest diet for a few weeks and then quit. This comic book addresses problems such as these that plague dieters. Dieter is narrated from two different perspectives. The first perspective is the story of a 20-something banker, Shin Suji, and her struggles with losing weight. Ms. Shin has been chubby since childhood and is sick of hearing that she looks "cute" or "healthy," or that she has a "pretty face." The breaking point comes when she tips the scales at over 90 kilograms at age 25.

It's not only the looks she gets from those around her, but the danger signs that her body is sending her—dizziness, aching knees, difficulty breathing—that make her vow to lose weight. She finally signs up at a fitness center and begins her weightloss venture in earnest. The book’s second perspective comes from inside Suji's body, which is likened to a veritable country populated with citizens represented by muscles, fat, carbohydrates, w a t e r, a n d p r o t e i n . T h r o u g h t h e interactions of these “citizens,” readers come to understand the science behind dieting. Excessive focus on the events in the protagonist’s life has the potential to cause readers to overlook the hard science behind the drama of weight loss, but thanks to the story of events inside Suji's body, readers can learn the science, too. One of the interesting storylines involves the poverty-stricken citizens represented by the “muscles” who struggle to escape from the brutal domination of the thug known as “fat.”

apartment, with the help of pictures and photographs. The couple dabbled in not only large items such as a dining table and a bed but also small and creative items including a banana hanger, decorative bookstand, rotating stool, sewing machine desk, and a hat stand. Many readers would be tempted to make their own items, thanks largely to the creativity and quality of the items Lee and Kim produced. The couple’s book, is not just a typical introduction for DIY furniture; it makes a strong case for recycling furniture. The act of getting new va lue out of used items can bring about a substantial change in lifestyle and value. There are many advantages. For starters, the cost of recycling furniture is minimal. Even if the results are not satisfactory, the risks are, if anything, small. The book illustrates the very transformation of an item in the process of creating a new piece of furniture in a way that stresses the importance of owning less and leading a simple life. by Han Miwha

It's hard to find comic books that both educate and entertain at the same time. While this book contains humorous depictions of people struggling to gain control of their bodies, it is also a practical how-to guide for those who plan to go on a diet. The WebToon site affiliated with this comic book is filled with comments from appreciative readers who describe their personal difficulties with weight loss and dieting who were able to benefit from this book. by Yi Myung-suk

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Vol.18 Winter 2012

Steady Sellers

The Art of Emptiness Love of a One-Eyed Fish Ryu Shiva, Yolimwon Publishing Co., 1996 110p, ISBN 9788970631011

Kyobo Bookstore in Korea within 10 days of its publication. In view of the fact that works of literature, particularly poetry, do not sell many copies, it is an astounding achievement. The reason why Ryu’s poems are loved by the public is his awareness of the simple and direct life. And that is closely related to the Eastern concept of “emptiness” (Śūnyatā). The process of emptying oneself, which is different from the idea of “void,” is really about looking into the essence of one’s self. Just as a follower of Buddhism could attain the Tao through a type of meditative practice, Ryu the poet uses scars, yearning, and sorrow as a departure for self-introspection. In order to forget the world, I went up to the mountain But the water is flowing down Toward the world Like there is something to toss As though there is something that must be tossed I alone am going up the mountain Like there is something to fill As though there is an empty place that needs to be filled The water keeps going down To the world below Now is the time to close the outer door to yearning To close my eyes, To go inside myself To gaze at the sparkling water Undulating in that empty space.

The poems of Ryu Shiva are devoid of color and smell. They are like drinking a bland but subtle tea from East Asia. Although there doesn’t seem to be any fragrance, the last drop leaves a lingering scent as it goes down one’s throat. His poems offer an innocent joy that is akin to the birth of a new vowel that is created by the hidden meaning in his verses. T he proposit ion t h at, “ T here i s that which is Oriental,” could carry a subversive undertone, for it suggests an ideological dichotomy. Even if one does not apply the analysis that is entailed by Professor Edward Said’s “Orientalism,” since modernity the polarization of East/ West has persisted throughout the world for a long time. This polarization extends to “civilization/barbarian” and “modern/ 68 list_ Books from Korea

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pre-modern” and has been the basis of consistent discrimination and division. Notwithstanding all of this, when one talks of Ryu’s poetry, there is that indescribable “fundamental” that can only be referred to as son (dhyāna) Buddhist Enlightenment, an “Eastern” intuition that is embedded in his simple and succinct aphorisms and his wondrous discoveries from everyday life. The first anthology by Ryu, I Miss You Even When You Are by My Side (1993), and his second anthology, Love of a One-Eyed Fish (1996) were both very much beloved by readers in Korea. They have sold over a million copies. His third collection of poems, called My Wound Is a Stone, Your Wound Is a Flower became the number two bestseller on the list of all books sold at

From “Now’s the time to close the outer door to yearning,” “filling” and “emptying” surely must be the two most important acts of our lives. In order to empt y himself of ever y thing, Ryu is ascending the mountain whereas the water is f lowing down the mountain where there is something to fill. It is about the meditative truth of how one needs to empty out one’s self in order to fill it, and that what has been filled needs to be emptied out again. As part of a philosophical and spiritual journey, the poet poses questions about the most fundamental things in our lives. The simple and transparent nature of his poems, which are the poet’s inquiry into truth, serve as a mirror for the readers to look into themselves. by Kim Yong-hee

Book Lover's Angle

My Approach to Studying, Writing, and Teaching Korean Poetry When I received the request to write this brief article, I pondered how best to explain my views on Korean poetry, and I realized that my approach to Korean poetry is intimately connected with my background, my experiences in Korea, and my work as a poet and scholar. I grew up in a home where poetry was valued, and my parents would frequently read us passages from their favorite works. Later on I spent a year as an exchange student at a French university where I immersed myself in studying the works of well-known French poets such as Baudelaire, Verlaine, and Rimbaud. These early experience helped to lay the foundation for my encounters with Korean literature. I first came into contact with the Korean poetic world when I arrived in Seoul and entered a bookstore where I noticed young students gathered around the poetry corner eagerly reading copies of the latest volume by their favorite poet. This sharply contrasted with the attitude of most North Americans who tend to be apathetic towards poetry. Thus I became aware that Koreans have a deep respect for their cultural traditions, especially poetic ones. As I struggled to adjust myself to the complexities of Korean life I found that reading poetry offered a way to discover the riches of Korean language and society. In the early 1990s I began to attend the seminars held at Siwasihak Publishing Co. and I was impressed with the enthusiasm of the participants. I greatly appreciated the guidance and encouragement offered by Professor Kim Jay-hong, as well as the support of poet Ko Un who recommended me for the Siwasihak Publishing Co. New Poet’s award in 2003. Eventually I was able to publish my first bilingual volume of poetry P’anmumjom eso ui ch’a han chan (A Cup of Tea at P’anmunjom) (Siwasihak Publishing Co., 2012) consisting of my original Korean poetry which I translated into English. My encounters with Korean poetry on a personal level have impacted in various ways my work as a professor of Korean Studies at York University in Toronto. I will focus on one example of how the work of a Korean poet can become part of the curriculum at a Canadian university. The works of Manhae Han Yong-oun are always included in my “Introduction to Korean Culture” course which attracts students of various backgrounds. We consider the various stages of Han Yong-oun’s life: first, his contributions to the revival of Korean Buddhism in the early 20th century, second his role as a signer of the Declaration of Independence during the Japanese colonial period, and third, his contribution as the author of Nim ui ch’ immuk (The Silence of Love) one of the first volumes of modern Korean poetry. We discuss the extent to which Han Yong-oun’s career as a Buddhist monk, independence supporter, and writer sum up the aspirations of the Korean people during the early 20th century. Next we focus on the challenges of translating Korean poetry. For instance, one line of the original poem, “Nim ui ch’immuk”

reads: “Sarang do saram ui ilira.” (Lyric Poetry & Poetics, 2009, p.33) If we compare two of the translations we find interesting differences. Kang and Keely have translated the line as “by being just the human state” (Yonsei University Press, p. 18), while Peter Lee’s version reads “Love, too, is a man’s affair.” (University of Hawaii Press, 1990, p. 25) Comparing these two versions allows the students to discuss some of the problems faced by translators of Korean poetry into English such as the use of pronouns, specification of gender, and re-creation of poetic forms. After introducing the students to the background and translations of “The Silence of Love” I explain that the poem can be understood on different levels: 1) as a simple love poem, 2) as a declaration of the desire to regain national sovereignty and 3) as an expression of Buddhist faith. Then, I ask them to come up with their own interpretations, and to answer such basic questions as: What might be some of the ways of explaining the poem? How does this poem compare with others you have read? I then place the poem in the context of contemporary Korean culture by explaining about the Manhae Festival held every August at Manhae Village in the vicinity of Paekdam Temple. I tell them that this event celebrates the life and work of Manhae Han Yong-oun and the fact that his anthology, The Silence of Love, was originally written at Paekdam Temple in the 1920s. International guests and people from all over the country take part in Buddhist ceremonies, literary seminars, and poetry contests. Finally I recite the poem in Korean, and a student reads an English version. I leave them with this final thought to ponder: As Canadians and as individuals in an increasingly interconnected world, what does “Nim ui ch’immuk” (“The Silence of Love”) mean for you? by Theresa Hyun

* Teresa Hyun is a poet and professor of Humanities at York University in Toronto, Canada. Her poetry collections include A Cup of Tea at P'anmunjom.

A Cup of Tea at P’anmunjom Theresa Hyun, Siwasihak Publishing co. 2012, 132p, ISBN 9788994889313

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Reviews Children's Books

Finding Friendship The Bath Fairy Baek Heena; Illustrator: Kim Youngwook Bear Books, 2012, 44p, ISBN 9788993242706

Baek Heena is an artist who works with her hands. More than any other illustrator, her work is a pure labor of love. All of the scenes in her books are lovingly crafted like some artisan of a past century. In this day and age when the mouse has replaced brush and paper in many illustrator’s studios, Baek’s style of illustration is more noteworthy than ever. Hands, coincidentally, are a central motif in Baek ’s work. In her work hands signify communion and shared connections. A child hands her father a piece of cloud bread as he rushes off to work, too busy to have breakfast; an old lady hands out popsicles of moon sherbet to her neighbors during a blackout on a summer night; kindly neighbors craft gifts for their neighbors on Christmas Eve, knowing that they have not been able to prepare a celebration of their own. Hand in hand, the characters in Baek’s stories create a chain of warmth and hope.

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Hands, both literal and figurative, are on full display in The Bath Fairy. The malleable material of clay is the artist’s choice of medium in this book used to model the nude bodies of the three female protagonists. No other hands could have portrayed the old fairy’s wrinkles and sagging flesh more realistically than Baek’s. Once upon a time the old fairy was the heroine of the famous fairy tale, “The Fairy and the Woodcutter.” The woodcutter spies on the fairy taking a bath and takes away her magic robes so she cannot fly, forcing her to live out her days on Earth, but now she spends all her time at a public bath called “Jangsutang.” Her lonely existence is brightened one day by the appearance of a little girl named Deokji, who has come for a bath with her mother. Deokji and the old fairy strike up a friendship that transcends age. The small bottle of sweet yogurt that Deokji presses in the old fairy’s hand is a powerful symbol of solidarity, a gesture of goodwill that goes beyond that of many adults. All of the scenes in this book were shot on location. The author searched high and low in Seoul to find old-time public baths that are rapidly going out of style. Baek personally photographed each clay figure in every scene. The artist’s training as an animator at Cal Arts truly shines in this capacity. By shooting on location, the author was able to capture the fantastic element of the public baths in a visually realistic way. The reader will be captivated by the visuals of steam and condensation, jets of hot and cold water, and even the echoes of the enclosed space that the author has somehow managed to capture. The female body at three different

ages is depicted candidly in this work. The signs of age are shown without airbrushing their bodies. In this book, the reader encounters honest, noncommercialized bodies. One feels a tactile connection at play that goes beyond words. The scene in which Deokji swims around the tub on the old fairy’s back is the highlight of the entire book. The old fairy’s happiness after years of loneliness in her old age is palpable. Watching female solidarity being passed on from the old fairy to the child Deokji, the reader is reminded of the importance of keeping company with those in need. This stor y is a lso one of fering comfort and solidarity. In the friendship of the old fairy, who has long been ignored and shunned by others, and young Deokji, who is lonesome because her mother is too busy to play with her, one may read about the happiness of those whose individual worth has been affirmed. The Bath Fairy became an instant hit upon its publication last summer and is currently on the top of Korea’s bestselling lists. This interest is only expected to grow considering that the author’s previous works were also r u naway succe sse s t hat have been adapted into musicals and animated films. Besides its popular success, critical opinion has it that with this work the author has surpassed herself. As the winner of the 2005 Bologna Children’s Book Fair Illustrator of the Year Award and one of the most sought children’s writers in Korea, the author’s artistic talent and craftsmanship have been reaffirmed once again. by Kim Ji-eun

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Reviews Children's Books

Meow Mirror, Mirror It’s OK To Be a Tabby Baek Mi-sook; Illustrator: Sun Young-ran See&Talk, 2012, p20, ISBN 9788960981836

The books we read as children, and picture books in particular, play a crucial part in meeting childhood’s most pressing goals: establishing subjectivity. It’s OK To Be a Tabby tells the adventures of a tabby kitten that struggles with looking different from its peers but eventually comes to accept its identity. It is a weighty theme for a pastelcolored picture book. The protagonist is bullied by the other kittens on account of its appearance, a loner picked on for something it cannot change. In the first pages of the book the kitten asks its mother, “Why am I the only tabby?” a passage that hints it will soon embark on a quest for identity. It is significant that It’s OK To Be a Tabby begins on the first page with illustrations of the kitten looking in a mirror, followed by picture of the kitten with its father and many frames of solitary portraits. The mirror and frames, in this case, are devices used by the kitten to project an idealized self. In this sense the kitten represents the child reader in the

Eating in the Dark The Dark Restaurant Park Sung-woo; Illustrator: Ko Ji-young SAMTOH Publishing Co. Ltd., 2012, 20p ISBN 9788946416468

In the pitch-dark restaurant where they can see nothing before their eyes, patrons eat their usual foods carefully as if it were their first time. Here, where everything visible is hidden in the dark, all the other senses are sharpened: sound, smell, touch, and taste. This picture book takes its title from the real dark restaurants open for business in countries around the world. It reveals the irony that a strange place that induces fear turns out to be a primitive space that is familiar to everyone. In Freudian terms, this is the discovery of unheimlich. Surrounded by the images of darkness visually reproduced with conté crayons and colored pencils on tracing paper, the child as the implied reader is scared and hears the comforting voice of his mother, the author. 72 list_ Books from Korea

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In the beginning, this picture book portrays a child invited to dine at a dark re stau ra nt, u sing onomatopoeia a nd mimetic words to express the slow and careful movement of his limbs to avoid touching the sticky walls, and his sensitive reaction to the beating of his alarmed heart. By this time, the child has told his mother, “This place scares me, Mom. Why did you bring me here?” But this question is never answered, not until the end of the book. About half way through the story, tension rises as the child hears another voice and fails to realize that it is his father’s. The readers identify with the child crying out for the lights to be turned on, completely unaware of the original concept of the dark restaurant. The child can’t wait to get out of dark restaurant and expresses his frustration by throwing kicks, punches, and beating his head against the wall. By the time the child has finally learned how to enjoy his food and have fun in the dark, the story reaches its impressive finale. Once out of the dark restaurant, the child

mirror stage. Children who like to look in the mirror frequently project an idealized portrait of their potential, and move towards this fictional ideal even though it is a fantasy. The world that the tabby kitten explores in this book is the symbolic order of the other kittens that it desires. The tabby kitten departs from the loving arms of its mother in pursuit of the language and gestures of the other kittens, which corresponds to a transition to the Lacanian symbolic order. Thus It’s OK To Be a Tabby shows that the identity of an individual is built in the process of navigating the language and images of a specific culture. As the tabby kitten gradually finds its true self and grows to accept the other kittens that once bullied it, the story conveys from a child’s point of view the powerful message that the self and other coexist in society. by Kim Youngwook

finds himself facing the tightly shut belly button of his mother. This picture book, written with poet Park Sung-woo’s excellent skill with using homonyms in Korean, reminds us that all of us were conceived in the pitch-dark womb and fed through the umbilical cord. Visual representation of the dark is not easy. Neither is reflection on one’s life in the womb of one’s mother. What makes this picture book shine is that it portrays the dark restaurant as a metaphor for life. by Kim Youngwook

Reviews Children's Books

Revisiting the Three Kingdoms The Dream of Seorabeol Bae Yu-an, Prunsoop Publishing Co., Ltd. 2012, 176p, ISBN 9788971846803

Recently, children’s stories based on history have become widely published and popular in Korea. The author of a historical story needs an understanding of and unique insight into history, literature, and children in order to make a story significant and worthwhile. In their endeavors to create a variety of historical stories, the authors of children’s books are broadening their horizons to take a multifaceted approach to a wider spectrum of history spanning from ancient to modern times, making corrections where necessary. Bae Yu-an’s The Dream of Seorabeol, Seorabeol being the former name of the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla, is set in a time when the two men of Silla, Kim Chun-chu and Kim Yu-sin, teamed up to lay the foundation for the unification of the Three Kingdoms. It deals with K im Chun-chu, who was devoted to strengthening his nation and improving the welfare of its people, his obedient son Beommin, his favorite daughter Gotaso, and the innocent boy Buso who grew up

with Kim’s family through good times and bad, with focus on his growth and inner conflicts. As with other boys of Silla, Buso faces a difficult choice between defending his country and the personal need to protect his widowed mother. This story provides a detailed account of how Buso, who wanted to be a weaver of woolen carpets like his mother, was drafted into war only to find himself on the run for being unfairly accused of having surrendered to Goguryeo. Buso risks being labeled as a traitor by saving a person’s life. The author gives a balanced representation of the views of Kim Chun-chu, who aspires to eliminate war by unifying the Three Kingdoms, and of Buso, who wishes for a world free of war. By presenting contrasting views of the unification of the Three Kingdoms, the author poses a question to the reader: Who really benefited from the unification of the Three Kingdoms? by Yoon So-hee

No More Excuses! Millions of Excuses Choi Eun-young; Illustrator: Kim Eun-kyung Truebook Sinsago Co., Ltd., Truebookkid 2012, 68p, ISBN 9788928307296

There are more than a few things children must learn as they grow up. Among them, taking on responsibility is something that is vital yet difficult. Still, children learn to put on their own clothes, put their toys away, finish their meals, and feel a sense of accomplishment as they do these things. Then they face a new situation as they make friends and go to school. With some things, it’s hard to say who is responsible. Who should do this? Whose fault is this? It’s not my fault. It’s your fault! Millions of Excuses, a children’s book by Choi Eun Young, depicts the process in which Hyeon-u, a nine-year-old boy, learns responsibility. Hyeon-u is number one when it comes to blaming others—his nickname is even the “King of Excuses.” He blames his mom when he oversleeps and is late for school, and blames his

friend, who tells him it’s his turn to stay after school and clean up, for being late to cram school. Then one day, the class goes on an excursion and Seung-jae, one of the boys in class, disappears. The school is turned upside down and Hyeon-u gets anxious, for he’s the one who told Seungjae to go find a piece of paper for the treasure hunt. Hyeon-u denies that it’s his fault, but in the end, he feels a deep sense of responsibility. He stays behind and waits for Seung-jae even after everyone else has gone home, and comes to realize how irresponsible it is to blame others and ma ke excuses. The younger you are, the fewer responsibilities you have, and growing up, in a way, is a process of learning to take on responsibility. Helpless little children, of course, rely and depend on others, but even children must come to understand that there are things they have to be responsible for. Millions of Excuses helps children ref lect on themselves as they begin to learn of their responsibilities

and limitations, and asks them the simple question, “What will you do, then?” by Kim Min-ryoung

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Reviews Children's Books

A Message of Hope Confectionery House Gang Mu-jee; Illustrator: Song Hye-sun BIR Publishing Co., Ltd. 2012, 68p, ISBN 9788949161556

In heaven there lives a giant who grows the fruit of life and makes confectionery. One day, the giant accidentally drops three fruits. Afraid, the giant conceals his mistake from the god who sends the fruit of life down to earth. The lives born out of the unripe fruits turn into a child whose legs won’t grow, a chameleon with a short tongue, and a woodpecker that can’t cry. Finding out what happened, the god flies into a rage and sends the giant down to the human world, giving him the responsibility to take care of the three lives. In the human world, the giant comes to live by the name, “Mr. Red Vest.” In order to find the three lives that were born with disabilities because of him, the giant works as a kindergarten bus driver and a bird shop employee. He is fired from both places, however, because he has a hard time understanding the human world where children and birds are locked up. Then one day, while eating a cookie made by humans and thinking that it

doesn’t taste very good, the giant starts to bake cookies just as he did in heaven. Sharing his cookies with people, he ends up finding the child, the chameleon, and the woodpecker that he has been searching so hard for. He is happy to see them, but they are not. They don’t trust anyone because they’ve been made fun of all their lives. Wit hout bei ng d i sc ou ra ged, t he giant asks each of them to help him bake cookies, and with reluctance, they do. The child, the chameleon, and the woodpecker, who bake cookies for the first time with their own hands, become friends with the giant and together, they open a confectionery house. Word gets around about how good the cookies are, and the three lead busy, happy lives, with no time to feel left out or think about their disabilities. Seeing that they are ready to be left on their own, the giant returns to heaven without telling his new friends. by Yu Youngjin

Legends’ Secret Meanings The Legend of Our Town Han Yoon-sop; Illustrator: Hong Jung-sun Changbi Publishers, Inc. 2012, 140p, ISBN 9788936442682

Han Yoon-sop is the hottest new writer in Korea. He made a sensational debut as the winner of the 11th Munhakdongne Children’s Literature Award with Bonjour, Tour, a book that poignantly depicts the issue of separation between North and South Korea. His subsequent works includ ing Harriet , (Mu n ha kdongne Publishing Corp., 2011), which shows profound insight into life through a story about a Galapagos turtle, and The Child Who Delivers Letters (Prunsoop Publishing Co. Ltd., 2011), a historical tale set in the late 19th century that shows a new way of narrating history, have all become a sensation. Perhaps his style is influenced by his experience as a playwright and director; Han writes precise sentences, and is second to none when it comes to keeping the 74 list_ Books from Korea

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characters’ emotions under restraint while moving closer and closer to the subject matter. The protagonist Junyeong is forced to move from the city to a rural village by his father’s decision. Not liking it in the strange, rural village, he wants to keep a certain distance between himself and the other kids, but on his first day at his new school they tell him that no kid can get from the village to school on his own. According to them, the village is full of legends, including one about an old couple at the mill who hunt children for their livers, the spirit of a woman who lost her child and wanders around Snake Mountain, and Old Man Pig who becomes crazed when he sees children. He doesn’t believe them, but they sound so serious that he ends up walking to school with them. Hanging out with the other kids, Junyeong comes to see the fun of living in a rural village. Then one day, he follows the kids to steal chestnuts from Old Man

Pig’s chestnut f ield, and gets caught. Instead of punishing him, Old Man Pig makes a suggestion. After what happens, Junyeong comes to understand the secrets and meaning behind the village legends, and becomes a real part of the village community. by Yu Youngjin

Special Interview

An Interview with Guy Sorman and Kim Seong-Kon On September 15, Guy Sorman, the internationally-known French economist, thinker, and culture critic, visited Korea to participate in the PAJU BOOKSORI festival sponsored by Paju Book City. Just before the opening ceremony, Kim Seong-Kon, President of LTI Korea, and Guy Sorman had a conversation about the globalization of Korean culture. Kim Seong-Kon: Recently Korean pop culture has been so popular not only in Asia but also in Europe. What do you think is the main reason for the enormous popularity of the so-called Hallyu or the Korean Wave in the international community? Some people argue that K-pop is not so much Korean as it is Western in its essence. K-pop, for example, is a mixture of two different cultures, Korean and Western. Perhaps it is this hybrid culture between the East and the West that appeals to the minds of young people in other countries. Do you think foreign audiences can easily embrace K-pop because of its Western aspects that are familiar to them already? Or do you think foreigners are fascinated by some exotic, foreign elements that can be found in K-pop? We would like to hear an outsider’s view. Guy Sorman: Well, what is your opinion as an insider? Kim: In your article entitled, “What is the West?” (2008) you write that it is hard to draw a line between the East and the West these days. In another article of yours entitled, “What Asian Century?” (2010) you argue that we have now entered the Global Century where interdependence on one another has rapidly increased, and as a result, there is no such thing as a ‘national economy’ because it is inevitably intertwined with the international economy these days. Perhaps, the popularity of Hallyu can also be perceived from that perspective. That is, as cultural and national boundaries rapidly collapse and as cultures blend, one can easily be exposed to foreign cultures and embrace them these days. After all, we now live in the age of hybrid cultures, at a time when people are comfortable with other cultures. According to the “co-evolution theory”’ no culture is subsumed or eradicated by another culture, but enriched by it instead. Sorman: You made an excellent point. I would also like to point out the fact that globalization will not harm

LTI Korea president Kim Seong-Kon and professor Guy Sorman

indigenous Korean culture, but enrich it significantly instead. As an outsider, I too perceive that K-pop is a mixture of two cultures: Western and Korean. To foreigners, K-pop is like a Smartphone, which is a mixture of television and telephone. People just like it because it is new but at the same time, familiar to them. These days, pop culture is universal. So foreigners may not think of K-pop concerts as particularly Korean. They may think of K-pop groups as pop singers who happen to be Koreans.” On the other hand, Korean books, television dramas, and movies ref lect Korean culture more directly and comprehensively. Recently, Korean films have received prestigious awards at various international film festivals. To me, Korean films strongly appeal to international viewers by emitting both universality and a unique Korean culture simultaneously.

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Special Interview

Kim: I agree with you. In this rapidly globalizing world, national boundaries no longer seem to be a problem or an obstacle. These days, you can easily transcend boundaries and cross over. But there seems to be one problem though. As Korean television dramas and K-pop spreads across East Asian, Southwest Asian, Middle Eastern countries, and even some parts of Europe, some Koreans have begun asking, “Can Korean pop culture alone represent Korean culture comprehensively?” Indeed, Korean dramas, movies, and K-pop may not be a comprehensive representation of Korean culture, so we need to introduce to the world other aspects of Korean culture such as Korean cuisine, architecture, clothing, music, painting, and especially literature. The problem is that foreign readers may not be intrigued by Korean literature as much as they are interested in K-pop and Korean dramas. How, then, can we promulgate Korean literature overseas successfully? Sorman: The immediate problem with promoting serious Korean literature overseas is the incredibly small size of the international literary market. Unlike pop culture which has a huge market and large audience throughout the world, pure Korean literature has to compete with more attractive literary works from more influential countries such as France and the United States. How, then, can Korean literature survive and even outshine the intense international competition? First, we need to have internationally influential Korean writers. That is, Korea needs world class writers who can compete with internationally wellknown big names by publishing influential literary works. Second, the translation must be good, if not impeccable, and thus appeals to the minds of foreign readers. For example, Yi Mun-yol is well-known in France, thanks to excellent translations. Third, Korea urgently needs to have unique cultural icons that would remind foreigners of Korea instantly. Westerners tend to fantasize about China and Japan. When it comes to Korea, however, few Westerners seem to have a fantasy about it or positive impressions yet. Kim: Naturally, there are some cultural crossovers between Korean and China, and between Korea and Japan. But Korea has a unique cultural heritage of its own, of which Koreans are proud of. If someone asks, however, “What are the cultural images of Korea?” we will be embarrassed, for there are few to speak of at the moment. When it comes to Japan, people immediately think of manga, the ninja, samurai, sushi, and the geisha. The recent movie, “The Last Samurai” proves that samurai themes have yet to be exhausted by Hollywood after all of these years. As for Hollywood’s love of Chinese martial arts, it’s almost standard nowadays that every Hollywood action hero is a kung fu expert. Chinese cuisine, too, is wellknown internationally. You can find a Chinese restaurant virtually wherever you go, even in small country towns. Unfortunately, however, Korea does not seem to have any recognizable image worldwide yet. Sorman: I think it is imperative that Korea defines itself culturally in order to present itself to the world as a country 76 list_ Books from Korea

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whose culture is different from China and Japan. Korea also has to foster a unique cultural image and conjure up some cultural icons that signify Korea splendidly. Ancient Korean history has a rich cultural heritage that is uniquely Korean. Oftentimes, artists are very good at perceiving cultural distinctions. The late Paik Nam-june, for example, once said, “In ancient times, Japanese settled down as fishermen and Chinese as farmers. But Koreans were active, mobile, horseriding people from Central Asia.” At the same time, you must connect your traditional culture to your modern culture. I don’t understand why the National Museum of Korea displays traditional artifacts only. It has to exhibit modern Korean culture as well, because together, they can represent Korea more comprehensively. Kim: Today, people can easily travel abroad and be exposed to foreign cultures. Young people can communicate with one another using SNS and electronic devices such as the iPad, smartphones, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Due to such electronic mediums, news spreads so swiftly these days, so all boundaries are rapidly dismantling, disintegrating, and collapsing. As a result, cross-cultural activities are now being pursued actively every day on the Internet. How would you perceive the role of SNS in popularizing K-pop around the world? And how can we take advantage of the new electronic media in this age of the smartphone and iPad? Sorman: When you want to support Korean literature overseas, you should embrace and maximize new digital technologies. The world is connected by way of SNS, and we need to use it in order to reach the international audience, especially the younger generation. By using YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter, you can reach out and touch your overseas audience instantly. When a new book comes out, I, too, usually check the reviews on the Internet and read excerpts and critical comments. If I like what I read, I buy the book. Nevertheless, promoting traditional Korean culture overseas is equally important. The connection between the past and the present is crucial. The symbolic connection between the past and the present is nicely exemplified in the Seoul City Hall building, which, I am sure, will be an important historic landmark of Seoul.

Overseas Angle

Kim Sung-ok: A Literature of and for the Self I first came across the literature of Kim Sung-ok in the late 1990s while teaching in the Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation at Ewha Womans University. It immediately struck me as different from anything I had read before (and from anything I have read since). My interest was piqued and, later, while working on my PhD in Korean literature, I gave his work a good deal of attention. Kim Sung-ok quite literally burst onto the literary scene as a precocious college student in 1962 with the publication of "Practice for Life" in the Hanguk Ilbo. His career as a writer was, comparatively speaking, not particularly prolific nor long (he wrote almost all of his major works in the decade of the 60s); he produced only 15 short stories, three novellas, four novels, two unfinished works, and one collection of essays. The impact of his work on the Korean literary establishment, however, was unquestionably significant. Critics of the period pointed to two aspects of his literature that made it noteworthy: one was that his prose had achieved a “revolution of sensibility,” and the other was that in his writing was a “discovery of the self.” I found both of these points attractive, but the second, in particular, held more fascination for me. The deeper I went into Kim’s literary world, the more I began to suspect that a major theme running through his work had to do with a subversion of the overriding social project of the day. In 1961, Park Chung-hee came into power through a military coup and in 1963 he was elected president. As everyone knows, he instituted a project of industrialization and export-led growth that changed Korea in a way that has come to be described as “compressed modernization.” No one disputes the great economic strides made during his rule. However, in my opinion, in order to achieve his goals, Park re-made the modern Korean in his own image. He re-Confucianized and re-conservatized society, setting himself up as a father figure and demanding loyalty and sacrifice from his children. For me, more than anything else, Kim Sung-ok’s literature

is a manifesto of loyalty to the self over this rapidly turning, highly homogenized society. In his debut story “Practice for Life” he talks about having “a world of one’s own,” and describes it thus: I think a world of one’s own is clearly different than others’ worlds and is like an impregnable fortress. I imagine that the air inside that castle is of a light green hue and shimmers and that there is a garden full of blooming roses. But, for some reason, the people I know with “their own worlds” all live in the basements of their castles where mold grows and spider webs are being continuously spun. And I think these are precious possessions to their owners. In Kim’s story “Yeoksa” (1963), the protagonist moves from a boarding house in the run-down neighborhood of Changshin-dong near Dongdaemun into a new westernstyle house where he rents a room from the family who owns it. Here is where we first see the clear emergence of a theme that will dominate much of his literature: the desire to resist this totalizing, homogenizing drive toward progress that was the new spirit of the day. The new house, run by a “small, wiry grandfather” (Park Chung-hee), operates on a very strict schedule from which no one may deviate: Wake-up at six, breakfast together, then the men leave for work; at ten the grandmother and wife run their sewing machines; at noon the radio is turned on; at four the wife practices the piano (always the same song); all must return home by six thirty for dinner; after dinner ten minutes of conversation is allowed then each to their rooms to study; at five or six to ten, all must come to the living room for a cup of barley tea then return to their rooms to sleep. Even the three-year-old baby lives by these regulations. The house is characterized by “cleanliness,” regulations,” and “order.” When the protagonist tries to play his guitar one evening the grandfather appears to sternly rebuke him: “There are times when you suddenly feel like playing the guitar. This is a natural desire of the emotions and should not be an object of censor. So there I was, tuning the strings list_ Books from Korea

Vol.18 Winter 2012

Overseas Angle

of my guitar, when suddenly the door of my room opened and the grandfather came in. He informed me that henceforth, my guitar playing time would be at ten in the morning while the wife and grandmother were sewing. This was the first time that the family traditions of this household were directly applied to me. However, I never once played my guitar during the allowed time. I never felt like playing then.” He compares this world with the one he came from. His former boarding house was everything the western style house is not: old, small, and most of all lacking in order and regulations. The people who populate it are misfits unqualified to live in the new society under construction: a lame man and his deformed 10-year-old daughter, a prostitute, and a “strong man” who sells his strength as a day laborer and drinks away his earnings. His father was Chinese and his mother Korean and he comes from a long line of Chinese strongmen. Now, he keeps his tradition alive by getting drunk and rearranging the enormous stone blocks of Dongdaemun gate. The protagonist, after comparing these two worlds comes to following conclusion: “These people’s (the family in the western style house) attitude showed that they really thought they were marching forward. But, even though the lives of those people who lived in the Changshin-dong slum may have seemed to be merely stuck in place, they were fuller lives than could be lived in this house.” The protagonist comes to the conclusion that life in the house is nothing but an empty husk, with no real life in it and decides to antagonize the grandfather into rejecting him so that (we presume) he can return to Changshin-dong. Kim Sung-ok’s literature is full of such depictions of the desire not to be incorporated into the “progress” that was going on around him as the price, he had apparently decided, was too great: the loss of freedom, imagination, and, “self ” (a word Kim’s narrators use frequently). He was a courageous writer who did what such writers must: give a voice to those who don’t have one. Kim Sung-ok was one of the reasons that I decided to major in Korean literature. Unfortunately, he is woefully under-translated and remains little known even to most Koreans. I hope this changes. by Steven D. Capener

* Steven D. Capener was born in Montana, in the U.S. He received a PhD in modern Korean literature from Yonsei University and currently teaches literature and literary translation at Seoul Women’s University.

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LTI Korea Overseas Publication Grants LTI Korea provides publication grants to overseas publishers who are planning to publish or have already published translated Korean books. The aim is to reach more international readers through increased overseas publications of Korean books. Qualifications • Any publisher who has signed a contract for the publication rights of a Korean book and can publish the book by December 2013. • Any publisher who has already published a translated Korean book in 2013, based on a contract for publication rights of the book.

Grants • Part of the total publication expense • The amount varies depending on the cost of publication and the genre of the book. • The grant will be issued after publication.

Application • Required Documents 1. Publisher’s profile 2. Publication plan 3. A copy of the contract between the publisher and the translator 4. A copy of the contract between the publisher and the copyright holder • Register as a member on LTI Korea’s English website (http://eng.klti.or.kr) • Complete an online application form on the website and upload the required documents.

Schedule • Submission deadlines: March 31/ June 30/ September 30 • Applicants will be notified in April/ July/ October • If the book you wish to publish has received the LTI Korea Translation Grant, you may apply for funding at any time.

Contact grants@klti.or.kr Jenny Kim (English)/ Youngju Cha (Chinese)

New Books

Fiction

Recommended by Publishers Korean editors have handpicked their favorite titles among the collections from their own publishing houses. The following list contains hidden gems in Korea’s publishing industry. For further information, please contact the agents directly.

Masquerade Lee Ju-ho, Hwang Jo-yun, Woongjin Think Big 2012, 276p, ISBN 9788901150628

In the eighth year after King Gwanghae took office, the Joseon kingdom’s political conflict intensifies and the general public struggles to deal with the severe poverty. To avoid the constant threat of assassination, Gwanghae orders his councilor Heo to find a double. Under the secret mission, Heo comes across Ha-seon, who looks and talks like Gwanghae. Copyright Agent: Kim Chan-young rights@wjbooks.co.kr 82-2-3670-1168 www.wjthinkbig.com

Different Goals

Pompon

Little Chicago

Kim Si-yeon, EunHaeng NaMu 2012, 332p (Vol.1), ISBN 9788956606149

Shin Hye-jin, EunHaeng NaMu 2012, 260p, ISBN 9788956606415

In the late Joseon period, King Cheoljong is forced to take office, leaving behind his love. What awaits him in court is a nasty power struggle involving royal family members such as Prince Heungseon. Their ambitions play out in this dramatic historical novel, with the king’s supporters and powerful regional clans staging a fierce fight.

The speakers in this collection of short stories sound like gum-chewing, toughlooking girls in town who are ordinary yet attractive. At once hilarious and sad, the stories introduce alienated characters who are hit by devastating incidents amid the faint yet palpable hope for a better life.

Chung Han-ah Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. 2012, 236p, ISBN 9788954618977

Twelve-year-old Sun-hee lives with her father, who runs a restaurant frequented by U.S. soldiers stationed in Korea. Sunhee embraces her friends and adults, as well as their pain and sadness, against the backdrop of a street called Little Chicago that honors the American city of Chicago known for gangsters. Copyright Agent: Kate Han rights@munhak.com 82-31-955-2635 www.munhak.com

Modern Korean Literature: Bilingual Edition (15 Vols.) Yi Cheong-jun, et al. ASIA Publishers, 2012 140p (Vol.1), ISBN 9788994006208 (set)

Modern Korean Literature: Bilingual Edition is a collection of representative modern Korean short stories. As the title suggests, both Korean and English texts are positioned together in the book, targeting international readers interested in Korean literature. Copyright Agent: Jeong Soo-in bookasia@hanmail.net 82-2-821-5055 www.bookasia.org

Kareiski, an Endless Wandering Moon Young-sook, Prooni Books, Inc. 2012, 240p, ISBN 9788957983270

Kareiski, an Endless Wandering focuses on the life of ethnic Koreans living in the former Soviet Union, called kareiski. The novel brings to life some 170,000 ethnic Koreans who were forced to ride the trans-Siberian trains to move to a remote place. Even under tough conditions, the character Ahn Dong-hwa keeps her hope alive and maintains courage. Copyright Agent: Choi Jin-woo agency@prooni.com 82-2-581-0334 (Ext. 117) www.prooni.com

list_ Books from Korea

Vol.18 Winter 2012

Fiction

Sky, Wind, Star, and Poetry

One Day

Yun Dong-ju, Yonsei University Press 2011, 172p, ISBN 9788971419601

Park Seong-won, Moonji Publishing Co., Ltd. 2012, 240p, ISBN 9788932023236

Yun Dong-Ju is a leading Korean poet known for his resistance poetry. He died in 1945 at the tender age of 28, and his posthumous collection Sky, Wind, Star, and Poetry features profound selfreflection and introspection. His poems are characterized by two key words: ‘innocence’ and ‘honesty.’

In this collection of short stories, the fates of characters are interconnected in a complex way that results in a series of lethal consequences. Interestingly, a chain reaction takes place not only within a single story but also between different stories included in the collection, a hallmark of Park Seong Won’s work.

On the Contrary, Kind People Go On to Live Im Seong-sun, Silcheon, 2012, 352p ISBN 9788939206793

During a civil war, a priest and a surgeon wanted to save the souls and lives of people. Years later, the two are reunited in an operating room arranged by an illegal organ trade firm. A person has to commit suicide; another has to live. The author addresses the conflict of interest involving the organ trade, a business that views life only in terms of money. Copyright Agent: Lee Hoseok silcheon@hanmail.net 82-2-322-2161 www.silcheon.com

Naphthalene Paik Gahuim Hyundaemunhak Publishing Co. 2012, 308p, ISBN 9788972756149

Naphthalene stands for loneliness. In an engaging story set in the Haneul sanatorium, Lee Yang-ja is a terminal lung cancer patient and Kim Deo-i is her mother. Choi Young-rae is a North Korean refugee and Baek Yong-hyeon is a professor obsessed with staying young. The characters pursue money, life, and sex, thereby revealing their innermost desires. Copyright Agent: Choi Hae-kyoung nina8277@naver.com 82-2-2017-0295 www.hdmh.co.kr

Nonfiction

In Praise of Mourning

Sometimes Sane

Wang Eun-chull Hyundaemunhak Publishing Co. 2012, 404p, ISBN 9788972756095

Hur Tae-gyun, Sam & Parkers 2012, 285p, ISBN 9788965700616

The author views on love, death, and mourning are widely regarded as the key subjects in literature. More importantly, literature itself is one form of mourning. This essay collection explores various forms and types of death and mourning and attempts to uncover the secrets of mourning. Copyright Agent: Choi Hae-kyoung nina8277@naver.com 82-2-2017-0295 www.hdmh.co.kr

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People live as if they are free from misunderstanding. But the trap of delusion and illusion persists, a dilemma which gets described in a succinct and humorous fashion in the book. Sometimes Sane lays bare all the mechanisms underlying the tricks of self-delusion. Copyright Agent: Jeong Hyeri hrjeong@smpk.kr 82-31-960-4831 www.smpk.co.kr

The Things We Can See Only After We Stop

Advice for Youth (How to Deal with 10 Worries)

Venerable Haemin; Illustrator: Woo Chang-heon, Sam & Parkers 2012, 292p, ISBN 9788965700609

Kim Hye-nam, Woongjin Think Big 2012, 292p, ISBN 9788901148106

Venerable Haemin, who became a Buddhist monk while attending Harvard University, is widely respected as a mentor for Korean youth. In The Things We Can See Only After We Stop, he delves into various topics such as relationships, love, the mind and life, and other problems that are hard to address. Copyright Agent: Jeong Hyeri hrjeong@smpk.kr 82-31-960-4831 www.smpk.co.kr

The youth are burdened with 10 looming concerns: fear, compromise, certificates for getting a job, anxiety, limitations, scars, inferiority complexes, laziness, and regret. Advice for Youth is based on real episodes and goes beyond simple consolation and encouragement to offer painful yet real lessons. Copyright Agent: Kim Chan-young rights@wjbooks.co.kr 82-2-3670-1168 www.wjthinkbig.com

Debt Society

Immigration: The Long Road

Keep on Keeping On!

Storytelling Hanoi

Kim Soon-young, Humanitas 2011, 256p, ISBN 9788964371275

Lee SeKi, Humanitas, 2012 304p, ISBN 9788964371534

Joonhyung Jay Kim, YICHE Publishing Co. 2012, 269p, ISBN 9788988621950

Kim Nam-il, et al., ASIA Publishers 2012, 204p, ISBN 9788994006369

The book examines the commodification of credit and its disastrous outcome in Korean society by zooming in on the growing number of defaulters. The author attempts to identify the origin of the problem and follow its results. Other topics include the relations between democracy and economic policies and what shaped credit card policies.

Immigration: The Long Road focuses on Asian immigrants in South Korea. Lee, poet and longtime human rights activist, does not sugarcoat their struggle nor portray them as ‘fighters.’ Asians are flocking to Korea to pursue their dreams, but not all of them are fully embraced.

The author, at age 22, suffered a debilitating traffic accident. This, however, did not prevent Joonhyung Jay Kim from making a remarkable trip to some 50 countries. Keep on Keeping On! describes the tragic accident and what he learned from the pain and rehabilitation effort, as well describes his experiences traveling for 11 months around the globe.

The authors delve into Hanoi’s roots and spirits through a series of fascinating stories from the ancient era to the modern period: the founding myth of Vietnam introduced by Kim Young-geon of the Joseon era, Princess My Chau, the Vietnam War and Ho Chi Minh, and author Bao Ninh known for The Sorrow of War.

How Classical Music Helps Men to Succeed

Conduct the World with Korean Passion

Analog Book Space in Europe

Lee Ji-hye, Myungjin Publications Inc. 2012, 208p, ISBN 9788976774316

Ryu Tae-hyung, Myungjin Publications Inc. 2012, 360p, ISBN 9788976776884

Is it possible to combine two conflicting elements such as classical music and management? The author believes it is possible by focusing on the point where the two different genres can overlap, namely innovation through “immersion, passion and creativity.” The author elegantly presents the essence of classical music and its relationship to management principles, innovation, and crisis management.

The book describes the life and music of maestro Chung Myung-whun. Conduct the World with Korean Passion traces Chung’s life from childhood to the global fame he won as a gifted conductor as well as his efforts to balance music and everyday life.

Baik Changhwa, Kim Byungrok Yiyaginamu, 2011, 352p ISBN 9788996752806

Even in the digital era, people read books at libraries, bookstores, and elsewhere. The authors, a couple who run a small children’s book library in South Korea, made a trip to four European countries including Switzerland, France, and the U.K. for 35 days and observed how European societies run spaces for books and maintain a book-reading culture.

Story Therapy Isis; Illustrator: Lee Jang-sub, Yiyaginamu 2012, 380p, ISBN 9788996752820

The book is a combination of healing stories written by Isis who has worked in psychotherapy and counseling for more than 10 years, and color therapy works done by artist Lee Jang-sub. This healing guide book is divided into stories, commentaries, and action plan guides, targeting those who feel worried and lonely, alienated, and deprived of love. Copyright Agent: Kim Sang A book@bombaram.net 82-2-3142-0588 www.yiyaginamu.net

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Vol.18 Winter 2012

Nonfiction

Children’s Books

The Man and His Car

Dream Producer

Animal Illustrations 3000

As I Wish

Do Nato Shin, SemiColon, 2012 384p, ISBN 9788983714411

Chae In-young, Shanti, 2010 272p, ISBN 9788991075665

Hwang Chul-soo, Arumdri Media 2012, 184p, ISBN 9788988404928

The Man and His Car, geared for car lovers, includes test drive reviews of fabulous supercars and bestselling automotive brands. It is also filled with helpful tips for selecting the perfect car to match one’s lifestyle, practical information needed for a smooth driving experience, and plenty of car-related episodes that will appeal strongly to car drivers.

Chae In Young, a doctor specializing in pediatric psychology, also helps people rediscover their lost dreams as a ‘Dream Producer.’ So many people find themselves trapped in roles and images dictated by society and parents. Chae wants them to pull out of the trap and get them back on track to seek what they truly want as the main producer of their life.

More than 100 animals have been transformed into 3,000 characters. Familiar animals such as bears, dogs, cats are depicted as lively and creative illustrations, as well as fish insects and reptiles. Animal Illustrations 3000 targets character developers and those who want to specialize in animal character design.

Lee Hyeon; Illustrator: Kim Joo-hyun Marubol Publications 2011, 40p, ISBN 9788956634487

I Like Wind

The World’s Biggest Pot

Dreaming Umbrella

A Child Who Delivers a Letter

Choi Nae-kyeng; Illustrator: Lee Yoon-hee Marubol Publications, 2008, 40p ISBN 9788956631820

Kim Gyu-taek, Nurimbo, 2012 36p, ISBN 9788958761488

Chang Youn-kyoung Prunsoop Publishing Co., Ltd. 2012, 44p, ISBN 9788971849453

Han Yoon-sop; Illustrator: Baik Dae-seoung Prunsoop Publishing Co., Ltd. 2011, 176p, ISBN 9788971846643

In Dreaming Umbrella, an umbrella opens up a whole new world of imagination for children. The main character, who does not have many friends, comes across a colorful umbrella, and is transported to the zoo and the sea, thanks to the magical umbrella.

In 1894, a 13-year-old boy starts a lonely journey to deliver an important and mysterious letter. Adopting the framewithin-a-frame structure, the author brings to life a Joseon merchant’s past experiences. The child later joins the Donghak movement and meets with its architect Jeon Bong-jun, an encounter dramatized in an engaging fashion.

In this book, a curious child observes the sensibilities and the scientific benefits of the wind. The child tells his mother what he feels and sees about the wind. The mother offers detailed explanations about the wind in an effort to satisfy the child’s intellectual curiosity. Readers are invited to appreciate the importance of wind through the mother and the child. Copyright Agent: Heo Sun-young sunyoung@marubol.co.kr 82-2-790-4150 (Ext. 506) www.marubol.co.kr

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Adults in the town where Tori lives often fight with each other, so a monster shows up and threatens to eat the villagers because they are so noisy. Tori promised to make adzuki-bean gruel for the disgruntled monster, thereby saving the town from a major crisis. Unfortunately, the townspeople continue to fight. What will happen to Tori and the town? Copyright Agent: Lee Eun-mi nurimbo_pub@naver.com 82-31-955-7391 www.nurimbo.co.kr

While mothers claim they make decisions on behalf of their children, children have their own dreams and wishes. This picture book describes the mind of children. In the eyes of mothers, their actions might be taken as meaningless, but children grow up when they explore and make mistakes on their own initiative. Copyright Agent: Heo Sun-young sunyoung@marubol.co.kr 82-2-790-4150 (Ext. 506) www.marubol.co.kr

Dokebi’s Struggle in School

Cross Border Bus in Africa

What Happened to the Bag?

Return My Mother!

Kim Ri-ri; Illustrator: Kim I-jo Hankyoreh Children's Books 2012, 108p, ISBN 9788984316089

Kim Lan-joo; Illustrator: Heo Goo Hankyoreh Children's Book 2012, 120p, ISBN 9788984316133

Kim Hyung-jun; Illustrator: Kim Kyung-jin Little One AHyun, 2012, 32p, ISBN 9788958781561

Kim Ae-ran; Illustrator: Bae Hyeonjeong Iandbook, 2012, 92p, ISBN 9788997430109

Gambok is a Korean goblin who leads a topsy-turvy school life. He thinks school is a very strange place where teachers always ask students to sit and keep quiet, and say only ‘yes, yes’ in response to questions. Gambok eventually gives up on the school and instead creates a fantasy stand-in to attend class.

There are some 50 countries in Africa where cross border buses transport people and goods. Early in the morning, a cross border bus starts from Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. As the bus moves from Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, to South Africa, characters from six nations shed light on Africa’s traditions, modern culture, history, poverty, and economy.

A girl gets a pretty bag and she names it “Yebbeuni.” The bag meets with the girl’s other bags. The problem is that Yebbeuni believes it is better than its peers. A shocking incident hits Yebbeuni, which leads to the author’s message about pain and maturity.

In this children’s story by the renowned author Kim Ae-ran, Do-won is a child struggling with severe skin problems caused by atopy. His mother works at a craft shop to secure organic materials for Do-won, whose body rejects all synthetic materials. The story is narrated by his sister Ye-won, who feels alienated by her mother’s devotion to her sick brother. Copyright Agent: Jung Ae-young iandbook@naver.com 82-2-2248-1555 www.iandbook.co.kr

Comics

Gift from Moon Rabbit

To the Star, To Tuvalu

Big Bang School

BIBIMTOON

Moon Seung-yeoun Gilbut Children Publishing Co., Ltd. 2012, 32p, ISBN 9788955822069

Hong Hui Dam; Illustrator: Yoon Jin-ah Chungnyunsa Publishing, Co. 2011, 180p, ISBN 9788972787983

Hong Seung-woo, ScienceBooks 2008 (Vol.1), 175p ISBN 9788983715913

Hong Seung-woo, Moonji Publishing Co., Ltd. 2012, 212p, ISBN 9788932022366

The Moon Rabbit and his friends throw a party to give presents to each other. Lithography-based pictures are heartwarming and rich in emotional texture. Scenes about characters visiting their friends to give presents evoke fantasy and comfort.

The world’s weather has turned upside down due to global warming, and children try to cope with the changes in the environment. The central setting is a playground at an apartment complex, but the story often goes beyond the compound to touch on the life and love on earth.

The popular science comic series, Big Bang School, is already a familiar name to Korean children. The series outlines the grand history of science and the wealth of knowledge accumulated over a long period of time. The 10-volume series covers the very beginning of history, including the Big Bang theory. The series is an informative science history guide for young readers.

BIBIMTOON is a popular comic series that focuses on the everyday life of a Korean family. The main characters are a typical Korean father named Jeong Botong, his wife, and their two children. Their life is quite normal, but each episode rediscovers positive aspects of life and a sense of hope hidden in everyday life in a humorous and inspiring way. Copyright Agent: Choi Ji-in moonji@moonji.com 82-2-338-7224 www.moonji.com

list_ Books from Korea

Vol.18 Winter 2012

Meet the Publishers

Yolimwon Publishing Co.

With its A-list of published authors and bestsellers, Yolimwon has begun expanding its market beyond the literary to include children’s books and books about philosophy and religion.

Among Korean readers of literature or editors in publishing, the image of the Yolimwon Publishing Co. is definitive. It is somewhat analogous to a restaurant that does not offer a diverse menu, but serves cuisine that will gratify a gourmet’s palate. One will see that this is the case when you examine the authors that Yolimwon has published, namely the novelist, Choi In-ho, the poets Jeong Ho-seung, Yi Hae-in, and Ryu Shiva, and Lee O-Young, a prominent literary and cultural figure. It is self-evident that Yolimwon has published some of the best authors in Korea. Books by these authors have consequently become bestsellers without too much of an effort. There are a number of books that have sold more than several hundred thousand copies. With these successes, Yolimwon has expanded their domain of publishing to the non-literary realm. They established The Tree by the Stream, which is their imprint for religious writing, and The Bluebird Child Publishing Co., their imprint for children’s books.

Yolimwon had at one time published a literary quarterly, although it has been discontinued. The functions of a literary journal in Korea are twofold. First of all, it is to introduce poetry or works of fiction with the aim of eventually publishing them and thereby secure the rights to outstanding works early on; secondly, it also serves as a forum for literary discourse on not only literature but also socio-cultural issues that are controversial or sensitive—both endeavors of which require a long-term vision. To put it another way, Yolimwon is prepared to invest a great deal of money, time, and passion into literature and the literary movement without being too attached to immediate results or profit. Yolimwon was established in 1980 by Chung Joong-mo. Chung concentrated on the publication of literature. In sync with the name of the company, “The Forest of Books Offering Happiness,” the company published a succession of books that appealed to the masses, and yet were not devoid of literary merit. Take Ryu Shiva’s books, for example. His works are very popular for their emotional appeal, and quiet yet moving philosophical insight. Since its publication in the mid-90s until now, his anthology of poems, Love of a One-Eyed Fish has sold 900,000 copies and his collection of essays, Journey to the Heavenly Lake, has sold 700,000 copies. They are both steady bestsellers. A book of poetr y, We’ re Human Because We Feel Loneliness, by Jeong Hoseung has sold over 350,000 copies. Furthermore, Yolimwon has published Yi Hae-in, a Roman Catholic nun and poet; these books, Little Prayer and Small Happiness, are about the inner clash between religious duty and personal a ng u ish a nd have a lso been ste ady bestsellers.

2 3 5

1. Jjangddungyi (Vol.1) Oh Jin Hee; Illustratro: Shin Young Sik Bluebird Child Publishing Co. 2008, 168p, ISBN 9788961550970

4. From Intellect to Spirituality Lee O-young, Yolimwon Publishing Co. 2010, 304p, 9788970636511 5. Yurim (6 Vols.) Choi In-ho, Yolimwon Publishing Co. 2005,303p, ISBN 9788970634692 (Vol.1)

2. Journey to the Heavenly Lake Ryu Shiva,Yolimwon Publishing Co. 1997, 238p, ISBN 9788970631264 3. Grow Your Own Flower Jeong Chan-ju, Yolimwon Publishing Co. 2011, 292p, ISBN 9788970636818

Only recently Yolimwon has taken an interest in publishing works other than literature. Chung Joong-mo who is in his early 50s said, “As I get older, I feel the need to fill a void that can’t be fulfilled by material things, but with books on philosophy, psychology, or religion rather than literary fiction.” Such an assessment goes ha nd in ha nd with the hea ling movement that is taking place in Korea of late. Solace or a healing hand is what people need, especially those who have been pushed to the precipice of their lives because the endless competition. Yolimwon also published books by Lee O-young. Lee, a former atheist, recounts the process by which he adopted the Christian faith in From Intellect to Spirituality. His daughter Lee Mina's book Children of the World’s End chronicles in a heart-rending way her struggles against cancer (she was a Protestant minister who passed away in March 2012). Books by and about the Venerable Monk Beopjeong have been published by Yolimwon. Beopjeong’s philosophy of moved the hearts of countless Koreans with its message about not possessing

6. We’re Human Because We Feel Loneliness Jeong Ho-seung , Yolimwon Publishing Co. 2011, 118p, ISBN 9788970631646

anything that is unnecessary. The novelist, Jeong Chan-ju, wrote about Beopjeong’s achievements and philosophy in Grow Your Own Flower; and also creatively narrated Beopjeong’s life in a novel called Non-Possession. In the midst of it all, Yolimwon has not completely lost its ties to literature. They published the epic novel by Choi Inho, Yurim (six volumes), which tells the story of 2,500 years of Confucian history and was well reviewed. R e c e n t l y, Yo l i m w o n h a s b e e n publishing children’s books. Jjangddungyi, which is a comic book on the environment, has sold over a million copies; and What? is a series that provides scientific knowledge in the form of fairy tales and has sold its rights to China. The Apple Literature series is about children’s tales that are retold in a Korean style; thus far, 73 volumes have been published. by Shin Junebong

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Vol.18 Winter 2012

Afterword

Looking Outwards What makes someone decide to publish Korean literature in France? Probably the same thing that makes someone become interested in writers from Iran, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, or any other unexpected country. But this is the same sort of drive that excites archeological or historical or anthropologic interest in lost civilizations and little known ethnic groups. This drive is lodged in the brain and stimulated by even the slightest sign of strange and original potential. In other words, the desire to publish works by writers from Korea, or any of the other places mentioned above, is primarily the result of curiosity. This curiosity spurs us to explore worlds that are commonly thought to be radically different from our own. We don’t necessarily seek to unravel the mysteries of these places, but simply to observe how the people there live, eat, love, and struggle. Perhaps this seems a bit naïve. Fundamentally, both here and elsewhere, human activities are stimulated by the same emotions. However, the means of expression are determined by specific cultural conventions such as language, history, and education. It is true that not every one of the nearly seven billion people living on the earth will respond in the exact same manner as his fellow man given the same situation. Nonetheless, when faced with injustice, family relations, or violence, Korean society exhibits a unique community feeling, different from Iran, France, or anywhere else. A country’s literature is a prodigious gathering place for these particularities, and it serves as an echo chamber where the people’s characteristics at a given time are unfolded in the context of the complexity, contradictions, incomprehensible behaviors, and unfathomable secrets that are particular to them. Although it is always challenging to understand the essence of things, curious readers who are eager to step out of their small cultural realms need only remain sitting in a comfortable chair that saves them the fatigue and anxiety aroused by the prospect of travel. They will be given interesting opportunities to better understand the larger world when they turn the pages of a book by Hwang Sok-yong, face the dazzling works of Yi Sang, immerse themselves in the suspicious air of Lee Seung-U’s novels, or view characters struggling with the absurdity of existence in the playful atmosphere depicted by Kim Junghyuk. Through these authors, readers find opportunities for reflection, and, of course, the pleasures of reading a good novel. My long-winded speech is meant to explain how I came to publish Korean works with Cartouche in France. Curiosity, attraction to worlds that are worlds apart from my own world, the abstract illusion that I could cross, even just temporarily, the gap that at a glance appears

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insurmountable. Perhaps behind that attraction lay plans to discover similarities and observe what we share in common, thereby revealing the mysteries, if possible, that make us feel like strangers though we live on the same planet. In short, we all want to experience that paradox. It is not easy to convince French publishers with these arguments. They are reluctant to jump into fanciful adventures due to economic contingencies that press on the vulnerable publishing industry. However, compared to other countries, the situation in France is rather fortunate in this regard. Government support and various incentives are available. However, all of these will be useless without the passion of small publishers who desire to discover new voices from other continents. This is the very reason that I published works by Iranian and Tajik writers in Zulma. Laure Leroy and Serge Safran, who together determine Zulma’s fate, never lost their curiosity in creative writing, no matter the origin. The proof is the rich and high quality Korean literary works published by Zulma. Publication of Korean literature at Cartouche follows similar reasoning. Emmanuel Pierrat intended to shed new light on unique, forgotten literary works that have not been given the true appreciation they deserve, regardless of where and when they come from. Such openness to the outside world brings new life into French literary circles, which are sometimes unjustly accused of being bogged down by a rather gloomy, narcissistic stagnation. This is also a political initiative. It is a refutation of the inexorable global standardization of the arts, as well as an effort to understand the imagination, perception, and reality, and then to reproduce them in words. In the end, it is a means to demonstrate how cultures are fused and enriched. by Patrick de Sinety

* Patrick de Sinety is an editor at the French publisher Cartouche.

J’étais un maquereau Kim Eon-soo, Kim Junghyuk, Kim Tae-yong Édition Cartouche, 2011 ISBN 9782915842807

Contributors

Bae No-pil is a reporter with the JoongAng Ilbo.

Bok Dohoon is a literary critic. His

collections of critical essays include A Portrait of a Blindman and The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Cho Yeon-jung is a literary critic.

She made her debut in 2006 when she won the Seoul Shinmun New Critic’s Award.

Kim Su-yeong is president of

Rhodus Publishing Co., and a lecturer of philosophy. He is on the editorial board of list_Books from Korea.

Kim Yeran is a professor of media art at Kwangwoon University and is on the editorial board of list_Books from Korea.

Kim Yonghee is a literary critic

works include Modern Narrative Text and Media Technologies, and Writing and Storytelling.

and professor of Korean Literature at Pyeongtaek University. Her works include Penelope’s Loom: Modern Women Poets and Going to Heaven. She is on the editorial board of list_Books from Korea.

Han Mihwa is a book columnist. Her

Kim Young-burn is a reporter at the

Choi Sungmin is a literary critic. His

works include Bestsellers of Our Time and This Is How Bestsellers Are Made.

Jang Dongseok is a book columnist

and critic in the publishing industry. He is the author of The Living Library.

Jang Eunsu is a book editor and literary critic.

Joseph Lee is a literary agent and president of KL Management. His main interest lies in selling Korean literature to overseas markets. He is the author of A Man Selling Novels.

Jung Yeo-ul is a literary critic. Jung

lectures at Seoul National University and the Korean National University of Arts.

Kim Dongshik is a literary critic and

a professor of Korean language and literature at Inha University. He has published Cynicism and Fascination and Memory and Vestige. He is on the editorial board of list_Books from Korea.

Kim Ji-eun is a children’s book

writer and children’s literature critic. She currently lectures on theories of children's fiction writing in the Department of Creative Writing at Hanshin University.

Kim Min-ryoung is a children’s book

critic. She won in the children’s writing category of the Munhwa Ilbo New Writer’s Award in 2006 and in the criticism category of the Changbi New Children’s Writer Award in 2010.

Culture Desk of the Munhwa Ilbo.

Kim Youngwook is a children’s book writer and an illustrated book researcher. His published books include The Illustrated Book, Encounter with Music, The Grand Fiasco with the Bookworm, and The Mysterious Pillow.

Park Dookyu is a poet. His poetry collections include Apple Blossom Letter and Dangmol Spring.

Park Hyekyung is a literary critic.

Her works include The Wound and the Gaze, The Mystery and Melancholy of Literature, and In the Eyes of Orpheus.

Park Sungchang is a literary critic

and professor of Korean literature at Seoul National University. His works include Rhetoric, Korean Literature in the Glocal Age, and Challenges in Comparative Literature.

Song Jong-won is a literary critic. His

major critic reviews include “Mourning the Gloom” and “The 21st Century Okamdo, the Birth of the 21st Century Boy.”

Yang Sunghee is a reporter at the

Culture Desk of the JoongAng Ilbo. Her works include Art Consumers in Korea and Let’s Read TV.

Yang Yun-eui is a literary critic. She

won the literary criticism category of the 2006 Joongang New Writer’s Award.

Yoon So-hee is a children’s book

writer. She has written such works as Prejudice, Aram’s Secret, and 7 Stories to Help You Study. She is the winner of the 13th MBC Children’s Writing Prize. She is on the editorial board of list_Books from Korea.

Yi Soo-hyung is a literary critic. He

has written a collection of essays What Remains of Literature. He is currently a Research Professor at the Center for Teaching & Learning at Seoul National University.

Yu Youngjin is a children’s literature

critic and a teacher at Jaun Elementary School. He is the author of The Body’s Imagination and Fairy Tale.

Yi Myung-suk is a columnist. He has

published such books as Yi Myung-suk’s Japanese Comics, Manhwa, Finding the Critical Point, and A Cafe for Every Day.

Pyo Jeonghun is a book reviewer,

columnist, translator, and freelance writer. He has translated 10 books into Korean and written Books Have Their Own Destiny, A Short Introduction to Chinese Philosophy, and An Interview with My Teacher: What Is Philosophy?

Richard Hong is a book columnist

and the head of BC Agency. He translated 13: The Story of the World’s Most Notorious Superstitions, has appeared on KBS 1 Radio’s “Global Today,” and writes columns for The Korea Economic Daily and Posco News.

Shin Junebong is a reporter for the JoongAng Ilbo.

list_ Books from Korea

Vol.18 Winter 2012

Contributors

Featured Authors

Yi Jeong-hyeon is a freelance

Translators Cho Yoonna is a freelance interpreter and translator.

Choi Inyoung is an artist and translator specializing in Korean literature and the arts. She has been translating for over 20 years.

E. K. DuBois is a freelance translator. She currently resides in Seoul.

translator. She has translated several books and papers, including Korean Traditional Landscape Architecture and Atlas of Korean History.

H. Jamie Chang is a Bostonian/ Busanian freelance translator.

Jung Yewon is currently working as a freelance interpreter and translator. Jung received the Daesan Foundation Translation Grant in 2009. She is currently working on No One Writes Back, a novel by Jang Eun-jin.

Kari Schenk was the co-recipient of

the commendation award in the 2006 Korea Times Literature Translation Awards, and in 2010 she attended a special course in translation at LTI Korea. She lectures in English at Korea University.

Kim Soyoung is currently working

on translating fiction and nonfiction from Korean into English.

Kim Ungsan is a freelance translator.

He has worked as a lecturer in English literature at Seoul National University as well as at Korea National Open University.

pp. 42-44, 57-58

Yun Yennie is a freelance translator

for KBS World Radio. She won the 7th Korean Literature Translation Contest for New Translators in 2008 and is working on the translation of Eun Hee-kyung’s Let Boys Cry with support from LTI Korea.

Eun Kyung Min is a professor of English at Seoul National University.

Fiction

Editors Kim Stoker is an editor and assistant p ro f e s s o r a t Du k s u n g Wo m e n’s University.

Krys Lee is an editor, translator, and fiction writer. Her short story collection Drifting House was published by Viking/Penguin in the U.S. and Faber and Faber in the U.K., in 2012.

Kim Ae-ran is a writer. She made her

literary debut with a short story that won the 1st Daesan Collegiate Literary Prize in 2002. She is the author of the short story collections Run, Pop, Run!, Mouthwatering, and Vapor Trail, and the novel My Palpitating Life. Kim has received a number of literary awards, including the Hankook Ilbo Literary Award and Today’s Young Artists Award.

Cover Art Kyung Hyounsoo earned his MFA

from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Kyung has held solo shows in Korea since 2002 as well as participated in numerous group exhibitions both in Korea and overseas.

Song Ha-choon is a writer. He made

his literary debut with a short story that won the Chosun Ilbo New Writer’s Contest in 1972. He is the author of the short story collections The Fall That Just Passed By, The Daughters of Habaek, and The Sphinx Does Not Know Either, and the novels Against the Wind and Climbing the Pacific.

Peter J. Koh is a freelance translator and interpreter who completed LTI Korea's Special Workshop in 2009 and Intensive Workshop in 2010. He currently resides in Seoul.

Yang Sung-jin is a staff reporter and

editor at The Korea Herald. Yang wrote a Korean history book in English, Click into the Hermit Kingdom, and a newsbased English vocabulary book, News English Power Dictionary.

Heidi Shon is a freelance translator. She has also taught English as a fulltime lecturer at Hongik University.

88 list_ Books from Korea

Vol.18 Winter 2012

Jeon Gyeong-rin is a writer. She made her literary debut with a short story that won the Dong-A Daily New Writer’s Contest in 1995. She is the author of the short story collections A Goatherd and Water Station, and the novels Nowhere Man and Minimal Love. She has received the Yi Sang Literary Award, and the Hyundae Munhak Award, among other prizes.

Lee Jungmyung is a leading Korean faction writer. His novels include The Painter of Wind, The Deep-rooted Tree, and The Investigator.

Bae Myung-hoon is a writer. He began writing fiction in earnest in 2005 when he won the SF Creative Writing Contest with his debut short story “Smart D.” He is the author of a collection of short stories, Tower, and of the novels Divine Orbit and Decoy.

Nonfiction pp. 60-67

Yim Chol-kyu was a professor of

English Language and Literature of Yonsei University and then a professor of comparative literature in the graduate school of the same university. He is now a professor emeritus of Yonsei University. Yim’s works include: Realism in Our Time; Why Utopia?; The History of the Eye, The Aesthetics of the Eye; Greek Tragedy; Return; and Death.

L e e Ji yo o g r a d u a t e d f ro m t h e

Department of Earth Science Education at Seoul National University and studied astronomy in the Department of Astronomy of the same university. Nicknamed “Meteor Lady,” she is one of the most beloved authors of children’s science books in the 2000s. Her works include Meteor Lady’s Story of the Universe and A Primer on the History of the Universe.

Pyun Hye-young is a writer. She

made her literary debut with a short story that won the Seoul Shinmun New Writer’s Contest in 2000. She is the author of the short story collections AOI Garden and Evening Courtship, and the novels Ashes and Red and They Went to the Forest in the West. Pyun has received the Hankook Ilbo Literary Award, and Dongin Prize, among other prizes.

Choi Min-jun is an expert on art Kim Meesun is a researcher of

women’s studies who has studied the consumption culture of modern and contemporary women in Korea. She was admitted to the PhD program in history in the University of Wisconsin to study the history of Korean women and East Asian history starting from fall 2012. She is the author of Ladies of Myeongdong: The Birth of the Modern & Contemporary Women's Space.

education catered to boys. He started teaching art to 10-year-olds while in college, realizing that it was children, not art, that mattered in art education for children. This realization led him to study art psychotherapy. He is working on case studies of classes and teaching methods for boys. Choi is the author of Art Has Changed My Son.

Kang Eun-hee is an eco-artist who

grows, observes, and draws wild plants. To the author, wild plants are a teacher and longtime love that have never tired her. She is the author of Homegrown Wild Flowers and 12-month Diary of Forest Observations.

Children’s Books pp. 70-74

Sim Yunkyung is a writer. She made

her literary debut with her novel My Beautiful Garden that won The Hankyoreh Literary Award in 2002. Her other novels include The Altar of the Moon and Love Runs.

Paul D. Kang is a social café planner. Kim Yong-eon worked as a reporter

and editor for 10 years at film and genre fiction magazines. Currently, she is a freelance writer on the subject of film and genre fiction. Kim is the author of Crime Fiction.

Self-employed, he has run Café Vine for three years. He is also an active participant in civil society as a planner and member of the steering committee of NGOs. Café Vine is a place where lectures on a variety of fields, such as humanities, religion, economics, and education, are offered and noteworthy authors are invited to communicate with readers. Kang is the author of The Struggles of a Backstreet CEO.

Baek Heena is an artist known for

her unique imagination and 3-D illustrations. She is the author of Cloud Bread, The Moon Sorbet, and The Bath Fairy. She was named the Illustrator of the Year in the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in 2005.

list_ Books from Korea

Vol.18 Winter 2012

INDEX Title Original Title Publishers/Agent Copyright Agent E-mail Phone Homepage

Baek Mi-sook became a children’s

story writer when her children’s story won the Seoul Shinmun New Writer’s Contest. Her works include Did the Potato Keep Its Words? and It’s OK To Be a Tabby.

Choi Eunyung has been writing

while working as a scriptwriter for many years. She began writing children’s stories in earnest when her feature-length children’s story If You Live, I Live, Too won the 5th Urikyoyuk Children’s Literature Author Award in 2008. Her works include Wednesday Tears, My Friend Is an Entertainer, and Millions of Excuses.

4p Princess Deokhye (Deokhyeongju) Dasan Books Kim Mi-young miyoung@dasanbooks.com 82-70-7606-7446 cafe.naver.com/dasancb

Seven Years of Darkness (Chillyeonui Bam) KL Management Joseph Lee josephlee705@gmail.com 82-10-6239-9154

6p I'll Be Right There (Eodiseonga Nareul Channeun Jeonhwaberi Ulligo) KL Management Joseph Lee josephlee705@gmail.com 82-10-6239-9154

Park Sung-woo began his career

when his poetry won the Joongang Ilbo New Writer’s Contest in 2000. He is the author of the poetry collection Spider, the children’s poetry collection A Blue Crab with a Bad Attitude, and his first picture book The Dark Restaurant. Park is currently a professor at Woosuk University.

Gang Mu-jee began her writing

career when her children’s story won the Kookje Shinmun New Writer’s Contest in 1999. Her works include A Bag of Marsh Snails, Cooked Rice and Cooked Barley, and Confectionery House.

The Store That Sells Time (Siganeul Paneun Sangjeom) Jaeum & Moeum Publishing Co.,Ltd. Kim Young-lan kylan@jamobook.com 82-70-8656-9583 www.jamo21.net

Seven O'clock Morning Meeting for Jilted Lovers (Siryeondanghan Saramdeureul Wihan Ilgop Si Jochan Moim) Jaeum & Moeum Publishing Co.,Ltd. Kim Young-lan kylan@jamobook.com 82-70-8656-9583 www.jamo21.net

EunGyo (Eungyo) Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. Kate Han rights@munhak.com 82-31-955-2635 www.munhak.com

Bae Yu-an was a teacher of Korean in

middle school and high school. She is currently working on children’s stories while teaching writing to children. Her works include Chojeong-ri Letter, Why the Twelve Animals, Grandma? and The Dream of Seorabeol.

Han Yoon-sop is a children’s story

w r i t e r, p l a y w r i g h t , a n d t h e a t e r director. He is the author of children’s stories that include Bonjour, Tour, A Child Who Delivers a Letter, and The Legend of Our Town. Ha won the Munhakdongnae Children’s Literature Award Grand Prize.

If the Waves belong to the Sea (Padoga Badaui Iriramyeon) KL Management Joseph Lee josephlee705@gmail.com 82-10-6239-9154

Life Unperturbed (Taeyeonhan Insaeng) Changbi Publishers, Inc. Lee Soonhwa copyright@changbi.com 82-31-955-3369 www.changbi.com/english

My Wound Is a Stone, Your Wound Is a Flower (Naui Sangcheoneun Dol Neoui Sangcheoneun Kkot) Forest of Literature Kim Ji-hye bjbooks@naver.com 82-2-325-5676(Ext.5729) www.godswin.com

You Succeed as Much as You Play (Noneun Mankeum Seonggonghanda) Book21 publishing Group Jung Young-joo rights@book21.co.kr 82-31-955-2194 www.book21.com

90 list_ Books from Korea

Vol.18 Winter 2012

11p

18p

Things You Find When You Empty Your Mind (Maeumeul Biumyeon Eodeojineun Geotdeul)

Songs on Earth (Jisangui Norae)

Legends of Earth Heroes (Jiguyeongungjeonseol)

The Night Is Singing (Bameun Noraehanda)

Book21 publishing Group Jung Young-joo rights@book21.co.kr 82-31-955-2194 www.book21.com

Minumsa Publishing Group Michelle Nam michellenam@minumsa.com 82-2-515-2000 (Ext.206) www.minumsa.com

Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. Kate Han rights@munhak.com 82-31-955-2635 www.munhak.com

KL Management Joseph Lee josephlee705@gmail.com 82-10-6239-9154

Putting Wings on the Elephant (Kokkiriege Nalgae Darajugi)

Visitor (Sonnim)

Hainaim Publishing Co., Ltd. Lee Jin-suk rainpoet@naver.com 82-2-326-1600(Ext.207) www.hainaim.com

Minumsa Publishing Group Michelle Nam michellenam@minumsa.com 82-2-515-2000 (Ext.206) www.minumsa.com

Obstacles That Loved Me (Nareul Saranghan Pyein)

The Kingdom of Forests (Supui Wangguk)

Favorite Recipes for Weaning Babies (Agiga Jal Meongneun Iyusigeun Ttaro Itda) Recipe Factory Kim Min-ah mina@super-recipe.co.kr 82-2-534-7011 www.super-recipe.co.kr

Intimately (Gakkai) Bookhouse Publishers Lee Eun-jung ej01@bookhouse.co.kr 82-2-3144-2706 www.bookhouse.co.kr

The Tip of the Needle (Ilchim) Gimm-Young Publishers, Inc. Cha Jinhee jinhee@gimmyoung.com 82-2-3668-3201 www.gimmyoung.com/english

100 Stories of World Culture Heritage (Segye Ilju Boda Jaemiinneun Segye Munhwa Yusan 100Dae Ilhwa) Samsung Publishing Lee Myung-jin ginny@ssbooks.com 82-2-3470-6811 www.samsungbooks.com

How to Use Mom (Eomma Sayongbeop) Changbi Publishers, Inc. Choi Ko-eun copyright2@changbi.com 82-31-955-4359 www.changbi.com/english

Leafie, a Hen into the Wild (Madangeul Naon Amtak) KL Management Joseph Lee josephlee705@gmail.com 82-10-6239-9154

King or Beggar (Jjajang, Jjamppong, Tangsuyuk) Jaimimage Publishing Co. Song Su-yeon jaim@jaimimage.com 82-31-955-0880 www.jaimimage.com

Confucius' Bakery (Gongjaajeossine Ppanggage) Gimm-Young Publishers, Inc. Park Sun-ha shpark@gimmyoung.com 82-2-3668-3162 www.gimmyoung.com/english

Helping Each Other (Gaegurine Hansotbap) Borim Press Jeong Keeyun jebi@borimpress.com 82-31-955-3456(Ext.153) www.borimpress.com

Bookworm (Chaengman Boneun Babo) Borim Press Jeong Keeyun jebi@borimpress.com 82-31-955-3456(Ext.153) www.borimpress.com

The Bad Boy Stickers (Nappeun Eorinipyo)

Spinning-wheel Publishing Co. Chang Woong-jin thaehak4@chol.com 82-31-955-7590 http://thaehaksa.com/index.html

The Gold Rush (Hwanggeumgwang Sidae) Jaeum & Moeum Publishing Co., Ltd. Kim Young-lan kylan@jamobook.com 82-70-8656-9583 www.jamo21.net

If the Waves Belong to the Sea (Padoga Badaui Iriramyeon) KL Management Joseph Lee josephlee705@gmail.com 82-10-6239-9154

9p A Single Spark : The Biography of Chun Tae-il (Jeontaeil Pyeongjeon) Chun Tae-il Memorial Foundation Ha Jang-ho chuntaeil@chuntaeil.org 82-2-3672-4138 www.chuntaeil.org

The Biography of Yu In-ho (Yuinho Pyeongjeon) Person & Idea Publishing Co. Kim Yungon insaedit@gmail.com 82-2-325-6364 www.inmul.co.kr

An Early Morning Locomotive: The Biography of Park Gwan-hyeon (Saebyeokgigwancha Bakgwanhyeon Pyeongjeon) Sakyejul Publishing, Ltd. Kang Hyunjoo kanghjoo@sakyejul.co.kr 82-31-955-8600 www.sakyejul.co.kr

Monster Boy (Yogoesonyeon) Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. Lee Bokee bokeelee@munhak.com 82-2-3144-3237 www.munhak.com

Kick the Empty Can for the Future! (Naeireul Hyanghae Kkangtongeul Chara) Moonji Publishing Co., Ltd. Choi Ji-in jiin@moonji.com 82-2-338-7224 (Ext.7111) www.moonji.com

Manhole

Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. Kate Han rights@munhak.com 82-31-955-2635 www.munhak.com

Deep Blue Night (Gipgo Pureun Bam) Jisikdumi Jung Jong-jin wisejongjin@hanmail.net 82-2-534-3074~5 www.jisikbook.com

14p Baridaegi (Baridegi) Editions Zulma Amélie Louat 33-1-58-22-19-90 amelie.louat@zulma.fr www.zulma.fr

The Field of the Stars (Byeoldeurui Deulpan)

The White Boat (Hayan Bae) Munhaksasang Co., Ltd. Jung Sara munsa@munsa.co.kr 82-2-3401-8543 www.munsa.co.kr

21p Star of Africa (Africaui Byeol) Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. Kate Han rights@munhak.com 82-31-955-2635 www.munhak.com

The Golden Dome (Hwanggeum Jibung) Silcheon-munhak Publishing Co., Ltd. Lee Hoseok silcheon@hanmail.net 82-2-322-2161 www.silcheon.com

Requiem for a Dead Sister (Jemangmae)

Nana at Dawn (Saebyeogui Nana)

Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. Kate Han rights@munhak.com 82-31-955-2635 www.munhak.com

Moonji Publishing Co., Ltd. Choi Ji-in jiin@moonji.com 82-2-338-7224 (Ext.7111) www.moonji.com

The Old Garden (Oraedoen Jeongwon)

Border Crossing (Gukgyeongeul Neomneun Il)

Edition Zulma Amélie Louat 33-1-58-22-19-90 amelie.louat@zulma.fr www.zulma.fr

Changbi Publishers, Inc. Choi Ko-eun copyright2@changbi.com 82-31-955-4359 www.changbi.com/english

15p

Tarzan

The Essayist’s Desk (Essayistui Chaeksang) Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. Kate Han rights@munhak.com 82-31-955-2635 www.munhak.com

Lee Jin (Lee Jin) KL Management Joseph Lee josephlee705@gmail.com 82-10-6239-9154

17P Dzud-Poor Saints (Jodeu) Jaeum & Moeum Publishing Co., Ltd. Kim Young-lan kylan@jamobook.com 82-70-8656-9583 www.jamo21.net

King of Confession (Gobaegui Jewang) Changbi Publishers, Inc. Lee Soonhwa copyright@changbi.com 82-31-955-3369 www.changbi.com/english

11p

Ashes and Red (Jaewa Ppalgang)

Lippincott Massie McQuilkin Kent D. Wolf kent@lmqlit.com 1-212-352-2055

Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. Kate Han rights@munhak.com 82-31-955-2635 www.munhak.com

KL Management Joseph Lee josephlee705@gmail.com 82-10-6239-9154

Sakyejul Publishing, Ltd. Kang Hyunjoo kanghjoo@sakyejul.co.kr 82-31-955-8600 www.sakyejul.co.kr

Black Flower (Geomeun Kkot)

Farewell to the Circus (Jalgara Circus)

KL Management Joseph Lee josephlee705@gmail.com 82-10-6239-9154

Silcheon-munhak Publishing Co., Ltd. Lee Hoseok silcheon@hanmail.net 82-2-322-2161 www.silcheon.com

Jellyfish Jaeum & Moeum Publishing Co., Ltd. Kim Young-lan kylan@jamobook.com 82-70-8656-9583 www.jamo21.net

25p The Threshing of Memories (Gieogui Tajak) Moonji Publishing Co., Ltd. Choi Ji-in jiin@moonji.com 82-2-338-7224 (Ext.7111) www.moonji.com

Understanding and Sympathy (Ihaewagonggam ) Moonji Publishing Co., Ltd. Choi Ji-in jiin@moonji.com 82-2-338-7224 (Ext.7111) www.moonji.com

27p Still, Literature Must Go On (Geuraedo Munhagi Iseoya Hal Iyu) Moonji Publishing Co., Ltd. Choi Ji-in jiin@moonji.com 82-2-338-7224 (Ext.7111) www.moonji.com

Kim Chan-young rights@wjbooks.co.kr 82-2-3670-1168 www.wjbooks.co.kr

list_ Books from Korea

Vol.18 Winter 2012

31p

59p

67p

85p

Philosophy VS Philosophy (Cheolhak VS Cheolhak)

Dragon Raja (Dragon Raja)

Interior Carpentry Through Recycling (Jaehwaryong Mokgong Interior)

Journey to the Heavenly Lake (Haneulhosuro Tteonan Yeohaeng)

Greenbee Publishing Company Park Teha tehada@greenbee.co.kr 82-2-702-2717 www.greenbee.co.kr

Goldenbough Michelle Nam michellenam@minumsa.com 82-2-515-2000 (Ext.206) www.goldenf.net

AFTER100YEARS PUBLISHING CO. Kim Hyeonjeong cooolh@after100.co.kr 82-2-322-5059 http://after100.tistory.com

Yolimwon Publishing Co. Angela Koh angela.koh@yolimwon.com 82-2-3144-3700 www.yolimwon.com

For Kim Su-Young (Kim Su-Young eul Wihayeo)

61p

Dieter

Grow Your Own Flower (Geudaemanui Kkocheul Piwora)

Imagination1000 Publishers Sun Wan-kyu swk003@naver.com 82-2-739-9377 http://blog.naver.com/imagine1000

Return of the Hundred Schools of Thought (Jejabaekgaui Gwihwan) Sakyejul Publishing Ltd Kang Hyun-joo kanghjoo@sakyejul.co.kr 82-31-955-8600 www.sakyejul.co.kr

The Map: A Record of Civilization (Munmyeongui Gieok Jido) Joongang Books Rachel Ahn rachel_ahn@joongang.co.kr 82-2-2000-6024 www.joongangbooks.co.kr

62p Ladies of Myungdong: The Birth of the Modern & Contemporary Women's Space (Myeongdong Agassi)

The Pleasure of Reading Poetry Philosophically (Cheolhakjeok Si Ikgiui Jeulgeoum) Dongnyok Publishers Koo Hyung-min novalis@dongnyok.com 82-31-955-3005 www.dongnyok.com

Maumsanchack Shim Jae-kyung soyo@maumsan.com 82-2-362-1451 www.maumsan.com

Crime Fiction (Beomjoesoseol ) Kang Publishing Kim Jeong-hyun gangpub@hanmail.net 82-2-325-9566

43p Vapor Trail (Bihaengun)

63p Death (Jugeum)

KL Management Joseph Lee josephlee705@gmail.com 82-10-6239-9154

44p The Sphinx Does Not Know Either (Sphinx do Moreunda)

Hangilsa Publishing Co., Ltd. Ahn Minjae anjuri@hangilsa.co.kr 82-31-955-2039 www.hangilsa.co.kr

Welcome to Theatre

Hyundaemunhak Publishing Co. Choi Hae-kyoung nina8277@naver.com 82-2-2017-0295 www.hdmh.co.kr

Theatre & Man Press Choi Hyung-pill worinnet@hanmail.net 82-2-912-5000 http://www.worin.net

Minimal Love (Choesohanui Sarang)

64p Art Has Changed My Son (Uri Adeuri Misullo Dallajyeoseoyo)

Woongjin Think Big Co., Ltd. Min Ji-hyoung penpen@wjbooks.co.kr 82-2-3670-1167 www.wjthinkbig.com

Joongang Books Rachel Ahn rachel_ahn@joongang.co.kr 82-2-2000-6024 www.joongangbooks.co.kr

68p Love of a One-Eyed Fish (Oenunbagi Mulgogiui Sarang)

Yolimwon Publishing Co. Angela Koh angela.koh@yolimwon.com 82-2-3144-3700 www.yolimwon.com

69p

Yurim (Yurim)

A Cup of Tea at P’anmunjom (Panmunjeomeseoui Cha Hanjan) Siwasihak Publishing Co. Lee Ji-eun sihak1991@hanmail.net 82-2-744-0110 www.poem.ac

70p The Bath Fairy (Jangsutangseonnyeonim) Bear Books Choi Hyun-kyoung bearbooks@naver.com 82-2-332-2672 www.bearbooks.co.kr

72p It’s OK To Be a Tabby (Julmunuimyeon Eottae!) See&Talk Kim Aran usbf@naver.com 82-2-338-0092 www.seentalk.co.kr

The Dark Restaurant (Amheuksikdang) SAMTOH Publishing Co., Ltd. Hong Mira rights@isamtoh.com 82-10-2303-5438 www.isamtoh.com

A Trip to Mujin (Mujingihaeng)

The Struggles of a Backstreet CEO (Golmok Sajang Buntugi)

73p

Minumsa Publishing Group Michelle Nam michellenam@minumsa.com 82-2-515-2000 (Ext.206) www.minumsa.com

Encounter Publishing Company Sean Min minstking@naver.com 82-70-4383-9704

65p

57p

A Primer on the History of the Universe (Cheoeum Ingneun Ujuui Yeoksa)

The Investigator (Byeoreul Seuchineun Baram) KL Management Joseph Lee josephlee705@gmail.com 82-10-6239-9154

Humanist Publishing Group Jun Doohyun jdh2001@humanistbooks.com 82-70-7842-9404 www.humanistbooks.com

They Went to the Forest in the West (Seojjok Supe Gatda)

12-Month Diary of Forest Observations (Yeoldu Dal Sup Gwancharilgi)

KL Management Joseph Lee josephlee705@gmail.com 82-10-6239-9154

HYEONAMSA PUBLISHING Co., Ltd. Cho Eun-mi fish@hyeonamsa.com 82-2-365-5051 (Ext.300) www.hyeonamsa.com

58p

66p

Love Runs (Sarangi Dallida)

All Bodies Are Equal (Modeun Momeun Pyeongdeunghada)

Munhakdongne Publishing Corp. Kate Han rights@munhak.com 82-31-955-2635 www.munhak.com

Samchang Kim Young-suk meya95@hanmail.net 82-2-848-3097 www.samchang.or.kr

Decoy (Eunnik)

Have We Become Alienated? (Wae Urineun Honjaga Doeeonna)

Bookhouse Publishers Lee Eun-jung kimkt@bookhouse.co.kr 82-2-3144-2701 www.bookhouse.co.kr

92 list_ Books from Korea

ReadySetGo Lee Sang-mou espoir773@yahoo.co.kr 82-10-4610-9396 www.readysetgo.co.kr

Vol.18 Winter 2012

From Intellect to Spirituality (Jiseongeseo Yeongseongeuro)

Yolimwon Publishing Co. Angela Koh angela.koh@yolimwon.com 82-2-3144-3700 www.yolimwon.com

ARTBOOKS Publishing Corp. Kate Han rights@munhak.com 82-31-955-2635 www.munhak.com

45p

Yolimwon Publishing Co. Angela Koh angela.koh@yolimwon.com 82-2-3144-3700 www.yolimwon.com

The Dream of Seorabeol (Seorabeorui Kkum) Prunsoop Publishing Co., Ltd. Kim Sol-mi peach@prunsoop.co.kr 82-31-955-1410 (Ext.302) www.prunsoop.co.kr

Millions of Excuses (Iyuneun Baengmangaji) Truebook Sinsago Co., Ltd., Truebookkid Park Hye-jung hjpark@sinsago.co.kr 02-3480-4163 www.sinsago.co.kr

74p Confectionery House (Gwajareul Mandeuneun Jip) BIR Publishing Co., Ltd. Sujin Lena Park sujinpark@bir.co.kr 82-2-515-2000 (Ext.350) www.bir.co.kr

The Legend of Our Town (Uridongne Jeonseoreun) Changbi Publishers, Inc. Choi Ko-eun copyright2@changbi.com 82-31-955-4359 www.changbi.com/english

85p Jjangddungyi (Vol.1) (Jjangttungiui Naui Saldeon Gohyangeun 1) Bluebird Child Publishing Angela Koh angela.koh@yolimwon.com 82-2-3144-3700 www.yolimwon.com

Yolimwon Publishing Co. Angela Koh angela.koh@yolimwon.com 82-2-3144-3700 www.yolimwon.com

We’re Human Because We Feel Loneliness (Oerounikka Saramida) Yolimwon Publishing Co. Angela Koh angela.koh@yolimwon.com 82-2-3144-3700 www.yolimwon.com

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Vol.18 Winter 2012

Special Section

Creating the World in Korean Literature

Special Interview

Guy Sorman and President of LTI Korea Kim Seong-Kon Interviews Literary Critic Kim

Byong-ik Philosopher Kang Shin-joo Spotlight on Fiction

A Trip to Mujin by Kim Sung-ok Theme Lounge

PSY, Horse Dancing with the World

ISSN 2005-2790