Land of Exile: Contemporary Korean Fiction: Contemporary Korean Fiction

By Rita Chang-Eppig

Book Overview

An anthology of contemporary Korean fiction including: "The Wife and Children"; "The Post Horse Curse"; "Mountains"; "Kapitan Ri"; "The Winter"; and "A Dream of Good Fortune."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1563241951
• ISBN13: 9781563241956
• Release Date: October 2020
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 8.9"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

perspectives on Korean history

I like this book because of the personal perspectives it offers the reader on many aspects of Korean history and culture. All of the stories are more or less directly related to the theme of 'exile'. Many are about people who were uprooted by the war and had to leave their homes permanently. Indeed, the majority of the stories is about the legacy of the war in one way or another. Other themes in the stories include gender issues (especially 'The Last of Hanak'o), stigmatisation and discrimination faced by families of 'defectors' to North Korea ('Scarlet Fingernails') etc. Some of the newer stories are not related to the war or major historical events and are about exile in a less direct way: a mentally ill person going on a vacation to recover in 'Conviction' or the secret desire for a healthy young woman of a middle-aged man whose wife is gradually succumbing to cancer in 'From powder to powder'. I think that one of the best stories is 'Land of Exile': The protagonist is involved in very different ways in three periods of Korean history: as a common peasant in the pre-war period, a People's Committee official during the brief occupation by the Korean People's Army and later a construction worker unable to return home for fear of being punished (killed) for his involvement in purges of a local landlord family. 'Kapitan Ri' is an intriguing depiction of a typical collaborator, willing to sacrifice his compatriots and even his own children and ally himself to every external power (Japanese, Russians, Americans) for his own benefit. 'The Last of Hanak'o's story of an awkward relation between a female designer and her university friends shows persisting stereotypes of the "unobtrusive and comforting female" and violence against women. Given the general theme of 'exile', there is a relatively strong focus on dramatic events such as the war, violently suppressed student demonstrations and escape from hostile regimes. Less dramatic or more gradual, constant themes in Korea are often dealt with less explicitly, but they are there, too: poverty, urbanization ('A Dream of Good Fortune'), gender issues (see above), harsh working conditions and low wages during the economic miracle ('Land of Exile'). I found some of the stories a bit difficult to understand. But with the information provided in the introduction and at the beginning of each story I think I was able to get them. This book was very useful for me as a complement for history books and also because of its insights into Korean culture.