Original Works

We provide information on Korean literature titles (classical, modern and contemporary) in multiple languages.

Printed/Published Work Korean(한국어)

소설가 구보씨의 일일

소설가 구보씨의 일일
Original Title
소설가 구보씨의 일일
Title Romanization
Soseolga gubossiui iril
English Title (Printed)
-
Classification

KDC구분 > literature > Korean Literature > Korean Fiction > 20th century

Author
Pak Taewon
Co-Author
-
Published Year
1998
Publisher
문학과지성사
ISBN
8932010242
Main Characters
Kubo, Kubo’s mother, Kubo’s friends
Subject/Theme
Downtown Gyeongseong, ambler, lumpen, modernalogy
Writer default image
  • Pak Taewon
  • Birth : 1909 ~ 1986
  • Occupation : Novelist
  • First Name : Taewon
  • Family Name : Pak
  • Korean Name : 박태원
  • ISNI : 0000000110716270
  • Works : 14
Plot

Kubo is a 26-year-old-writer who studied in Japan and now writes for a measly sum of money. He is a lumpen who doesn’t even think about finding a job, although when his mother worries about him getting married he tells her he can’t because he doesn’t have a job. Every day, he walks through the streets of Seoul, from Gwanggyo Bridge to Jongo Intersection and Hwashin Department Store, to meet various people and return home late at night.

Descriptions(Languages 2)
  • English(English)
  • Korean(한국어)

This is a novel by Pak Taewon, serialized in the Joseon jungang ilbo from August 1 to September 19. 1934. It is evaluated as one of the greatest achievements of Korean modernist novels in the 1930s, and the descriptions of people and spaces as the narrator walks across Gwanggyo Bridge, through Jongno Intersection, and along Gyeongseong Station remind the readers of modernalogy. In addition, the detailed description of the complex inner thoughts and feelings of the protagonist that are revealed as the narrative crosses the past, future, and the present, is a novel achievement that was rare in the 1930s.

박태원이 1934년8월1일부터 같은 해 9월19일까지 <조선중앙일보>에 연재한 소설이다. 1930년대 한국 모더니즘 소설의 한 성과라고 평가되는 작품으로 광교와 종로사거리, 경성역 등을 따라 걸으며 마주치는 사람들과 공간에 대한 묘사는 고현학을 방불케한다. 또한 과거와 미래, 현실을 교차하면서 드러낸 주인공의 복잡한 내면은 1930년대 당시 보기드문 소설적 성과라고 할 수 있다.

Translated Books3

  • Dzień z życia pisarza Kubo
    Polish(Polski) Funded by LTI Korea Available
    Dzień z życia pisarza Kubo
    Pak Taewon et al / Park Taewon / 2008 / KDC구분 > literature > Korean Literature > Korean Fiction > 20th century
  • A Day in the Life of Kubo the Novelist
    English(English) Available
    A Day in the Life of Kubo the Novelist
    Pak Taewon et al / Park Taewon / 2015 / KDC구분 > literature > Korean Literature > Korean Fiction > 20th century
  • The Daily Life of Ku-Poh the Novelist
    English(English)
    The Daily Life of Ku-Poh the Novelist
    Choi In-hun et al / Choi In-hoon / 1985 / KDC구분 > literature > Korean Literature > Korean Fiction > 20th century