Unknown / Unknown / 2016 / KDC구분 > literature > Korean Literature > Korean Fiction

There are not many old Korean love tales, but everyone knows the story of Chunhyang.In 1892, the first Korean to visit Paris, Hong Jong-u, helped publish a French version of the story of Chunhyang.Titled "Fragrant Springtime" (the meaning of "Chunhyang"), it is the first Korean story ever published in a western language.A couple of years later, a second, more developed novel set in Korea was published, "A Dead Tree Blossoms." It includes parts of the story of Sim Cheong and her blind father, but is very different in many unexpected ways. In 1919 an English translation of it was published in the US, but nobody noticed it.In this new book, the French version of "Chunhyang" has been translated into English and is published with the 1919 English text of "A Dead Tree Blossoms" and a couple of other Korean love tales translated a hundred or more years ago.Interestingly, the two main stories both express sharp criticism of corrupt officials and a strong concern for social justice. Source : https://lti.overdrive.com/media/1F93B9C9-DBF3-4BD3-8C21-01EDEFBB6DC0

Kyung-Sook Shin / 신경숙 / 2018 / KDC구분 > literature > Korean Literature > Korean Fiction > 21st century > Romance

When a novice French diplomat arrives for an audience with the Emperor, he is enraptured by the Joseon Dynasty's magnificent culture, then at its zenith. But all fades away when he sees Yi Jin perform the traditional Dance of the Spring Oriole. Though well aware that women of the court belong to the palace, the young diplomat confesses his love to the Emperor, and gains permission for Yi Jin to accompany him back to France.A world away in Belle Epoque Paris, Yi Jin lives a free, independent life, away from the gilded cage of the court, and begins translating and publishing Joseon literature into French with another Korean student. But even in this new world, great sorrow awaits her. Betrayal, jealousy, and intrigue abound, culminating with the tragic assassination of the last Joseon empress—and the poisoned pages of a book.Rich with historic detail and filled with luminous characters, Korea's most beloved novelist brings a lost era to life in a story that will resonate long after the final page. Source : https://lti.overdrive.com/media/18D95E5E-036B-43B9-9509-A0EB7FB81BBE

Bo-yong Kim et al / 김보영 / 2021 / -

"Her fiction is a breath-taking piece of a cinematic art itself. Reminiscent of the world we experienced in Matrix, Inception, and Dark City, still it leads us to this entirely original structure, which is a ground-breaking, mystic literary and cinematic experience. Indeed, powerful and graceful."—Bong Joon-ho, Oscar-winning director of Parasite In this mind-expanding work of speculative fiction, available in English for the first time, one of South Korea's most treasured writers explores the driving forces of humanity—love, hope, creation, destruction, and the very meaning of existence—in two pairs of thematically interconnected stories. Two worlds, four stories, infinite possibilities In "I'm Waiting for You" and "On My Way," an engaged couple coordinate their separate missions to distant corners of the galaxy to ensure—through relativity—they can arrive back on Earth simultaneously to make it down the aisle. But small incidents wreak havoc on space and time, driving their wedding date further away. As centuries on Earth pass and the land and climate change, one thing is constant: the desire of the lovers to be together. In two separate yet linked stories, Kim Bo-Young cleverly demonstrate the idea love that is timeless and hope springs eternal, despite seemingly insurmountable challenges and the deepest despair. In "The Prophet of Corruption" and "That One Life," humanity is viewed through the eyes of its creators: godlike beings for which everything on Earth—from the richest woman to a speck of dirt—is an extension of their will. When one of the creations questions the righteousness of this arrangement, it is deemed a perversion—a disease—that must be excised and cured. Yet the Prophet Naban, whose "child" is rebelling, isn't sure the rebellion is bad. What if that which is considered criminal is instead the natural order—and those who condemn it corrupt? Exploring the dichotomy between the philosophical and the corporeal, Kim ponders the fate of free-will, as he considers the most basic of questions: who am I? Source : https://lti.overdrive.com/media/5588966

Hwang Jungeun / 황정은 / 2022 / -

Con la demolición de un antiguo centro comercial de electrónica, se abre la historia de Unguio y Muyé; jóvenes que experimentan el amor en una Corea del Sur globalizada, llena de soledad y abandono. Con historias detallistas y conversaciones filosóficas, Tantas sombras es una novela escrita en tono poético, en donde se narra el desamparo y la violencia que tiene el progreso, y cómo prevalece la humanidad en el encuentro de estos personajes, quienes son acechados por sus sombras: "A paso lento caminé bajo un sol plomizo. Una sombra oscura y corta estaba moviéndose a mi derecha, al compás de mi cuerpo, como un huevo duro a medio hacer". "¿Qué es el amor? Es como fijarse en el aspecto del remolino de la amada para convertirla en un ser único; aunque me guste la gente con clavículas rectas, al final le dices: «Eso da igual. Tú me gustas». Esto es hacer que la singularidad de la amada sea absoluta e insustituible". Hyeongchul Shin, crítico literario. source: https://lti.overdrive.com/media/9316532?cid=37224

Chung Serang et al / 정세랑 / 2022 / -

韓國作家鄭世朗的軟科幻經典作，以輕鬆可愛的筆法探索「愛情」──這個比宇宙更神祕難解的領域。 當外星人與人類相愛，不只跨物種、甚至跨越了宇宙！於是，關懷環境、熱愛生命的「地球人」韓亞，和未受地球規則束縛的「外星人」京旻，展開了一場愛的大冒險。 他們一同翱翔甜蜜星際，拜訪大鯨魚、窺探外星球，也對兩人的關係提出各種疑問：跨越界線的愛，本質會有所不同嗎？難道都身為人類，就一定更了解彼此嗎？愛又是否足以取代一切質量與質感不同的關係？ 穿越光年追尋的答案，最終卻在內心，他們一起觀察到彼此心中的那顆星體，真愛──愛其背後的存在，那種愛一點也不混亂，且存在穩定性，將毫無動搖、沒有曲折地永恆持續。 穿越兩萬光年來見你，因為你就是我的旅行。 Source: https://lti.overdrive.com/media/9527043?cid=37224