Family members are those we hold closer to us. They can’t neither be chosen, nor repudiated. That’s why family is the most fundamental part of our day, and perhaps even our entire life. We look for comfort and stability in our family, but at times it can become our biggest worry. That’s why, throughout time and across generations, it is one of the most common and crucial subjects in literature.  

The structure and meaning of family have changed significantly in recent times. The images conjured by this word—a curt but reliable father, a gentle mother ready to pull you into a hug any time, a kind and cute daughter, and an intrepid son—are not the standard anymore. New and big changes, such as intergenerational conflicts, and the dissolution of the traditional concept of family coupled with the rise of a new one, have become important issues in our society and prominent in literature.

There is a number of works that depict the various troubles that families face in a changing society. Take for instance Shin Kyung-sook’s I Went to See My Father, a novel that delves into the past and present of a man and explores his identity not only as a father, but also as an individual. Another example is Kim Hye-jin’s Concerning My Daughter, where a mother and a daughter who can’t see eye to eye finally overcome generational gaps and obsolete customs in order to bridge the space between them. In Run, Daddy, Run!, writer Kim Ae-ran cheerfully depicts the process of imagining a father who left before the main character was even born. Meanwhile Yom Sang-seop’s Three Generations takes a realistic view of intergenerational that plague three generations of a family. Finally, in Gong Ji-Young’s There’s No Place Like Home, the narrator reflects on the meaning of ‘family’ through the daily life of an ordinary, yet atypical family.

ㅣ I Went to See My Father  [English]

Author Shin Kyung-sook 
Translators Anton Hur
Publisher Astra Publishing House
Year Published 2023
Originally published in Korea by Changbi in 2021

This novel tells the story of a daughter who returns to her hometown after five years to see her father, who’s been left alone after his wife’s hospitalization. The protagonist, who has lost her daughter in an accident years prior, finally comes face to face to her own father’s pain. For the first time, she sees her father not as a parental figure, but as an individual. This prompts her to take a deeper, meaningful look into the relationships and lives of the family members that surround her and her father. 

ㅣ Concerning My Daughter   [English]

Author Kim Hye-jin
Translator Jamie Chang
Publisher Restless Books
Year Published 2022
Originally Published in Korea by Minumsa in 2017

This is a novel about the process of a mother and a daughter who, despite not being able to understand each other, try to reconcile and take one step closer to each other. Due to unavoidable circumstances, the daughter, a part-time lecturer, and her lesbian partner are forced to move in with her mother, a widow and former elementary school teacher who now works as a caregiver. Spanning their uncomfortable cohabitation, the story is told from the perspective of the mother, who tries her best to understand her daughter by seeing past intergenerational conflicts fomented by societal conventions without giving up hope. 

ㅣ Run, Daddy, Run!   [Chinese] 

Author Kim Ae-ran
Translator Xu Xianzhe
Publisher The Commercial Press
Year Published 2020
Originally published in Korea by Changbi in 2005

This collection of nine short stories makes readers think back to our youth, a volatile but radiant period of our lives. The title story, “Run, Daddy, Run!” is about a single mother who works as a taxi driver and a daughter who tries to form her own definition of self. The daughter fantasizes about her father, who had left the family while his wife was pregnant. Despite the heavy topic, this is a quirky, cheerful story that leaves no time for wallowing in self-pity or resentment. 

ㅣ Three Generations  [English]

Author Yom Sang-seop
Translator Yu Young-nan
Publisher Archipelago Books
Year Published 2006
Originally Published in Korea by Book and book in 1972

Seoul, during the Japanese colonial period. The wealthy Jo family is embroiled in a battle that sees three generations fighting over the family’s properties.  Through the embodiment of the old generation, the degraded intellectual, and the centrist stance of the colonial generation, this novel depicts the desires and conflicts of grandfathers, fathers, and grandchildren. It shows in depth the changes in values and consciousness of each generation against the upheaval of Korean modern society during the 1930s. 

ㅣ There’s no Place Like Home   [Vietnamese]

Author Gong Ji-Young
Translators Hai Duong, Thuy Duong, Thug Linh
Publisher Nha xuat ban Phu Nu
Year Published 2015
Originally published in Korea by Hainaim in 2007

This is an autobiographical novel based on the family history of the writer who,  after three marriages and three divorces, raises three children bearing different surnames. The main character is the eldest daughter Wi-nyeong who, at seventeen, decides to spend the rest of her teenage years with her mother. While it portrays a family’s day-to-day in a pleasant way, this story encourages reader to question the essential role of the family, see beyond conventional structures, and reconsider definitions of family and love.

Lee Misuk

Lee Misuk is a culture columnist and free contributor. She is active in a variety of fields, including culture, trends, celebrity interviews, travels, columns, and investment techniques. She has written for more than fifty Korean companies and organizations.