The Penguin Book of Korean Short Stories

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

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

Chronology Introduction by Kwon Youngmin Editorial Note by Bruce Fulton Further Reading Note on Korean Name Order and Pronunciation TRADITION Yi Hyosŏk When The Buckwheat Blooms Translated by Kim Chong-un and Bruce Fulton Ch'ae Manshik A Man Called Hŭngbo Translated by Ross King and Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton Chu Yosŏp Mama and the Boarder Translated by Kim Chong-un and Bruce Fulton Yi Munyŏl The Old Hatter Translated by Suh Ji-Moon Kim Taeyong Pig on Grass Translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton WOMEN AND MEN Pak T'aewŏn A Day in the Life of Kubo the Novelist Translated by Sunyoung Park in collaboration with Jefferson J.A. Gatrall and Kevin O'Rourke Kim Yujŏng Spicebush Blossoms Translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton Ch'oe Yun The Last of Hanak'o Translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton Hong Sŏkchung A chapter from Hwang Chini Translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton Ch'ŏn Unyŏng Needlework Translated by Na-Young Bae and Bruce Fulton PEACE AND WAR Hwang Sunwŏn Time for You and Me Translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton Pak Wansŏ Winter Outing Translated by Marshall R. Pihl Cho Chŏngnae Land of Exile Translated by Marshall R. Pihl HELL CHOSŎN Yi Sang Wings Translated by Kevin O'Rourke Kim Sŭngok Seoul: Winter 1964 Translated by Marshall R. Pihl O Chŏnghŭi Wayfarer Translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton Kyung-sook Shin House on the Prairie Translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton P'yŏn Hyeyŏng The First Anniversary Translated by Cindy Chen with Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton Choi Suchol River Dark Translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton INTO THE NEW WORLD Ch'oe Inho The Poplar Tree Translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton Hwang Chŏngŭn The Bone Thief Translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton Jung Young Moon Home on the Range Translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton Kim Chunghyŏk The Glass Shield Translated by Kevin O'Rourke Han Yujoo Black-and-White Photographer Translated by Janet Hong Kim Aeran The Future of Science Translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton Glossary Notes Map of the Korean Peninsula Permissions