검은 사슴

Geomeun saseum

Han Kang / 한강 / 1998 / KDC구분 > literature > Korean Literature > Korean Fiction > 20th century > SF > Fantasy

This is Han Kang’s first novel published in 1998. It tells the story of the dark and painful lives and people who live them. It is evaluated as a work that shows detailed descriptions, solid narrative, and the author’s awareness of dissolution and emptiness.

그대의 차가운 손

Geudaeui chagaun son

Han Kang / 한강 / 2002 / KDC구분 > literature > Korean Literature > Korean Fiction > 21st century

This is a novel by Han Kang, published in 2002. It delicately captures the weary feelings of women who have experienced violence and have been hurt, in the form of a frame story.

내 여자의 열매

Nae yeojaui yeolmae

Han Kang / 한강 / 2000 / KDC구분 > literature > Korean Literature > Korean Fiction > 21st century > Romance

This is a collection of short stories by Han Kang, published in 2000. It contains eight short stories that embody the intuitively-grasped sense of life.

노랑무늬 영원

Norangmunui yeongwon

Han Kang / 한강 / 2012 / KDC구분 > literature > Korean Literature > Korean Fiction > 21st century > Short Story

This is a collection of seven short stories by Han Kang, published in 2012. The pain and loss that people suffer because they are human are revealed through the author’s uniquely lyrical style and warm gaze.

바람이 분다, 가라

Barami bunda, gara

Han Kang / 한강 / 2010 / KDC구분 > literature > Korean Literature > Korean Fiction > 21st century

This novel by Han Kang was the winner of the 13th Kim Dong-ri Literary Award in 2010. It depicts the process in which the protagonists, who are on the boundary between life and death, identify the truth of their madness and desire. The author comprehensively addresses the topics that she had been dealing with in her shorter works.

소년이 온다

Sonyeoni onda

Han Kang / 한강 / 2014 / KDC구분 > literature > Korean Literature > Korean Fiction > 21st century

    Introduction    Sonyeoni onda (소년이 온다, Human Acts) is a South Korean novel written by Han Kang.1) The novel draws upon the democratization uprising that occurred on May 18, 1980 in Gwangju, Korea. In the novel, one boy’s death provides the impetus for a dimensional look into the Gwangju uprising and the lives of the people in that city. Human Acts won Korea's Manhae Prize for Literature and Italy’s Premio Malaparte.   Overview   Human Acts was serialized in the literary blog Window (창문) run by Changbi, a publishing house in Korea, from November 2013, to January 2014. Later, Human Acts was published as the author’s sixth full-length novel.2) The novel is inspired by the Gwangju democratic movement that occurred on May 18, 1980,3) a major incident in Korea’s contemporary history. The author, Han Kang, has  once remarked that her life was changed when her father showed her an album of photographs from the Gwangju uprising. 4)  Han conducted extensive research and reportage before writing a work of fiction based on such an unimaginably violent historical incident.5) At the time of her writing, the author has said there were times she couldn’t write more than three lines a day, due to the emotionally heavy toll of the incident. However, Han herself has said that Human Acts remains her most cherished work. 6)   Title  The novel’s original title was You, In the Summer to shed light on the fact that spring has passed and summer has come, with the boy no longer alive to welcome the new season. The title was also intended to hint at how cruel summer can be. 7) The ultimate title Human Acts was decided at the last minute. The young protagonist in the novel is merely referred to as “you” throughout the book, and the novel hauntingly makes it seem as if he is traveling across time from the 1980s to the present day. The boy is dead and can no longer be seen, but his presence can be felt each time the people who knew him calls for him. 8)   Plot9) Human Acts deals with the May 1980 Gwangju uprising and the death of the young boy Kang Dong-ho. The novel is composed of seven chapters including the final epilogue, with each chapter tracing the passage of time from the incident in the 1980s to the present day. At the same time, the narrative expands to describe the impact that this incident had on other people. The first chapter follows Kang Dong-ho and his circumstances at the time of the May uprising, while introducing the people in his life. The characters that are introduced in this initial chapter later appear as the narrator or central protagonist in the following chapters. The second chapter follows the story of Dong-ho’s friend Jeong-dae, who died in the May uprising. The protagonist in the third chapter is Eun-sook, who worked with Dong-ho to collect the dead bodies after the Gwangju uprising. Eun-sook is living in the mid-1980s and works at a publishing agency. The fourth chapter traces the arc of Kim Jin-su, who was jailed for his involvement in the Gwangju uprising. He had spent time with Dong-ho and Jin-su and was the only boy who survived. Unable to bear his guilt, however, Jin-su takes his own life nearly ten years after the May 18 uprising. The narrator of the fifth chapter is Seon-ju, who suffered terrible sexual torture during the uprising and is working as an activist in the present day. The sixth chapter is a current-day soliloquy by Dong-ho’s mother, while in the epilogue, the author herself appears as the narrator. In this manner, Kang Dong-ho’s death and the confessions and testimonies of the people who remember him compose the framework of the novel.    Characters  The characters in Human Acts are average citizens. The novel illustrates how these people respond to the sudden tragedy that befell them. 10)  Rather than reenacting the historical incident, the author chose to place the perspectives squarely on the people who endured the horrific accident and the trauma they have had to carry since. 11)   Themes  Human Acts asks fundamental questions about the still-open wounds inflicted by state violence and human brutality. In the book, it is asked, “What does it mean to be human? What should we do, to make sure humans don’t become something?” This question is central to the novel12) and leads to the understanding that survivors must discuss the incident, record it, and remember it to make sure the unfortunate event, where the victims were their own neighbors, our friends, and our family members, will not repeat itself. The most fundamental way to make sure a painful historical event does not repeat itself is to remember what happened. The author herself has said she wants this novel not to expose or accuse, but rather to serve as a testimony and a gesture of mourning. 13)   Style Human Acts was written in the author’s characteristically poetic, succinct style. 14)  Rather than discussing the heavy, somber ramifications of the Gwangju uprising or using titillating language, Han Kang chose to portray the grief of the individual people in a concise, boiled-down style. To appear authentic, the testimonies are offered individually across different chapters, by different narrators, in different styles, and in different forms. Together, these stories create a nuanced, dimensional look at the Gwangju uprising. 15)  To ensure the readers can appreciate the novel in a more deliberate, measured pace, some of the passages have been italicized to slow the readers down. 16)   Criticism  Both the author and her critics have hailed Human Acts as her most representative work. Although the novel describes an incident familiar to most Korean readers, critics pointed out that the book was able to maintain its pace and tension until the end largely thanks to the power of Han’s writing. 17)   Blacklisted (professionals in culture and the arts) 18) During the Park Geun-hye administration, Human Acts was excluded from inclusion into the Sejong Library project for reasons of ideological bias (books featuring keywords such as May 18, North Korea, Kaesong Industrial Complex, Karl Marx, etc. were largely excluded from the same list), and Han Kang was placed on the blacklist of professionals in the culture and the arts.    Adaptation   May 18 Play in Poland19) Human Acts was adapted for a theatrical production that was staged in Poland in October 2019. This was the first play produced in Europe that deals with the May 18 uprising. The May 18 Memorial Foundation provided materialto inform the play. When the production was first staged in June for a limited four-time run, it was well received for having combined a Western production with Asian aesthetics.    Bibliography   English, Human Acts, Portobello Books, 2016, Deborah Smith.20)  French, Celui qui revient, Le serpent à Plumes, 2016, Jeong Eun-Jin and Jacques Batilliot.21)  German, Menschenwerk, aufbau, 2017, Lee Ki-hyang.22) Spanish, Actos Humanos, RATA, 2018, Sunme Yoon.23) Catalan, Actes Humans, RATA, 2018, Alba Cunill.24)  Dutch, Mensenwerk, Nijgh & Van Ditmar, 2016, Monique Eggermont and Deborah Smith.25)  Swedish, Levande och döda, Natur & Kultur, 2016, Eva Johansson.26)  Italian, Atti umani, Adelphi Edizioni, 2017, Milena Zemira Ciccimarra.27)  Portuguese, ATOS HUMANOS, Grupo Leya, 2017, Maria do Carmo Figueria.28)  Romanian, Disecție, Editura Art, 2018, Iolanda Prodan.29)  Czech, Kde kvete tráva, ODEON, 2018, Petra Ben-Ari.30) Hungarian, Nemes Teremtmények, Jelenkor, 2018, Kiss Marcel.31)  Norway, Levende og døde, Pax Foriag, 2017, Vivian Evelina Øverås.32)  Japanese, 少年が来る, クオン, 2016, 井出俊作.33) Chinese, 少年來了, 漫遊者出版社, 2018, 尹嘉玄. 尹嘉玄.34)   Awards   Manhae Prize for Literature (2014) 35) Premio Malaparte (2017) 36)   Further Reading   1) Han Kang (1970 – ) is a South Korean novelist. She made her debut as a poet in 1993 with Seoleu gyeoul (서울의 겨울, Seoul’s Winter) and four other poems. Han began her career as a novelist when her 1994 novel Bulgeun dat (붉은 닻, The Red Anchor) received an award for literature. Early in her career, Han drew much attention after receiving numerous prizes. One of her main themes is the human body, and rather than publishing populist works that deal with everyday life, Han chooses to write about inconvenient truths and distressing events. Han is also famous for coming from a family of literary-minded people; her father (novelist Han Seung-won), her older brother (novelist Han Dong-lim) and her husband (literary critic Hong Yong-hui) all work in creative writing and literature. With her 2016 book The Vegetarian, Han became the first Korean and the youngest-ever recipient of the Man Booker Prize, and for Human Acts, Han received the 2017 Premio Malaparte. Korean Wikipedia article. “Han Kang (Novelist).” https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/한강_(소설가) Namu Wiki article. “Han Kang (Novelist).”  https://namu.wiki/w/한강(소설가) YTN News. “Novelist Han Kang, Father, Brother, Husband Are All Writers.” Accessed May 17, 2016.  https://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LPOD&mid=tvh&oid=052&aid=0000840083 2)  Aladin. “Book Summary of Human Acts.” https://www.aladin.co.kr/shop/wproduct.aspx?ItemId=40869703 3) The May 18 Gwangju democratic uprising refers to the events that took place between May 18th to May 27th, 1980, during which numerous citizens of Gwangju who were protesting for democracy were brutally suppressed by the martial law government. Against the backdrop of nationwide protests that had  been ongoing since the December 12 incident in 1979, the city of Gwangju was targeted for state-sanctioned violence. Airborne troops were mobilized and countless civilians killed, the horrific facts of which were made known to the world through the German journalist Jürgen Hinzpeter. In 1997, the incident was memorialized as a national commemorative day, and in 2011, documents on the Gwangju uprising were inscribed as a UNESCO Memory of the World. Korean Wikipedia article. “May 18 Gwangju Democratic Movement.”  https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/5•18_광주_민주화_운동 Namu Wiki article. “May 18 Gwangju Democratic Movement.”  https://namu.wiki/w/5.18 민주화운동 Archives of May 18 Democratic Movement.  http://www.518archives.go.kr/  4) Park Gil-ja, “Gwangju in May is a Common Noun Referring to Dignity in the Face of Human Violence,” Women’s Daily, May 18, 2016.  http://www.womennews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=93432 5) Eom Ji-hye, “Han Kang, ‘I Sat at My Desk as if Awaiting Punishment,’” Channel Yes.  http://ch.yes24.com/Article/View/25422 6) “My Favorite Work is Human Acts, on the Gwangju Incident,” Hankyoreh, March 20, 2016. http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/culture/book/735877.html Hong Jin-su, “Han Kang and May 18 in Human Acts,” Kyunghyang, May 18, 2016. http://h2.khan.co.kr/201605181049001 Lee Jin-wuk, “Man Booker Prize-Winning Han Kang’s May 18, Human Acts,” No Cut News, May 18, 2016. https://www.nocutnews.co.kr/news/4594687 7) Eom Ji-hye, “Han Kang, ‘I Sat at My Desk as if Awaiting Punishment,’” Channel Yes.  http://ch.yes24.com/Article/View/25422 8) Park Gil-ja, “Gwangju in May is a Common Noun Referring to Dignity in the Face of Human Violence,” Women’s Daily, May 18, 2016.  http://www.womennews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=93432 9) Seo Yeong-chae, “Ethics in Literature, Politics in Aesthetics,” Guilt and Shame, Namu Namu, 2017. 10) Hyeon Baek, “Reading Han Kang’s Human Acts,” Gwangju Dream, May 27, 2016. http://www.gjdream.com/v2/simin/view.html?news_type=105&uid=473421 11) Choi Shin-wung, “Caring for Sore Wounds with Compassionate Writing,” Daejeon Ilbo, June 18, 2014. http://www.daejonilbo.com/news/newsitem.asp?pk_no=1122558 Yun Bit-na, “Human Acts,” Readers News, May 26, 2014. http://www.readersnews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=47737 12) Choi Jae-bong, “May 18, What Must We Do to Prevent Humans from Becoming Something Else,” Hankyoreh, May 25, 2014. http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/culture/book/638900.html Yun Bit-na, “Human Acts,” Readers News, May 26, 2014. http://www.readersnews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=47737 13) Eom Ji-hye, “Han Kang, ‘I Sat at My Desk as if Awaiting Punishment,’” Channel Yes.   http://ch.yes24.com/Article/View/25422 14) Choi Jae-bong, “May 18, What Must We Do to Prevent Humans from Becoming,” Hankyoreh, May 25, 2014. http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/culture/book/638900.html Kim Jun-su, “The Missing Boy Returns, from Gwangju 1980,” Oh My News, June 11, 2014. http://www.ohmynews.com/NWS_Web/View/at_pg.aspx?CNTN_CD=A0002001592 15) Choi Shin-wung, “Caring for Sore Wounds with Compassionate Writing,” Daejeon Ilbo, June 18, 2014. http://www.daejonilbo.com/news/newsitem.asp?pk_no=1122558 16) Jang Seul-gi, “On That Day, They Headed to the Provincial Office to Die,” Media Today, May 18, 2015. http://www.mediatoday.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=123157 17) The tragedy was described in vivid, specific expressions. Although a full-length novel, not one word seemed awkward or out of place. The sentences were carefully arranged, testifying to the author’s intense concentration.  Kim I-gyeong, “A Straightforward Perspective on Gwangju’s May,” Weekly Kyunghyang, August 18, 2014. http://weekly.khan.co.kr/khnm.html?mode=view&code=116&artid=201408111611001&pt=nv#csidxa4c0c27a4c4c4e994fa253eaf5820e2 Lim Yae-rim, “May 18 and the Solidarity of Remembrance,” Art Insight, July 4, 2019. https://www.artinsight.co.kr/news/view.php?no=42588 18) Choi Jae-won, “Han Kang, Why Did They Turn Their Backs? The Shocking Revelation,” CBC News Blog, January 12, 2017. https://m.post.naver.com/viewer/postView.nhn?volumeNo=6132439&memberNo=31875496&vType=VERTICAL  Lee Yu-jin, “Government Creates Blacklist, Han Kang’s Novels to Undergo Ideological Examination,” Hankyoreh, November 15, 2016.  https://news.v.daum.net/v/20161115172604579 Namu Wiki article. “Han Kang (Novelist).” https://bit.ly/2ovhJVT 19) Jeong Dae-ha, “Han Kang’s Human Acts Adapted for the Theater in Poland,” Hankyoreh, July 14, 2019. http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/area/honam/901717.html 20) English translation of Human Acts. https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/20230 21) French translation of Human Acts. https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/21094 22) German translation of Human Acts.  https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/31597 23) Spanish translation of Human Acts.  https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/32228 24) Catalonian translation of Human Acts.  https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/32227 25) Dutch translation of Human Acts. https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/21479 26) Swedish translation of Human Acts. https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/30562 27) Italian translation of Human Acts.  https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/31331 28) Portuguese translation of Human Acts.  https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/31348 29) Rumanian translation of Human Acts.  https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/32433 30) Czech translation of Human Acts.  https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/32550 31) Hungarian translation of Human Acts.  https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/32592 32) Norwegian translation of Human Acts.  https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/32669 33) Japanese translation of Human Acts.  https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/24076 34) Chinese translation of Human Acts.  https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/31951 35) Noh Tae-yeong, “Han Kang’s Human Acts Wins the 29th Manhae Prize for Literature,” KBS News, August 1, 2014. http://news.kbs.co.kr/news/view.do?ref=A&ncd=2904396 36) Hyeon Yun-gyeong, “Novelist Han Kang, Receives Italy’s Premio Malaparte for Human Acts,” Yonhap News, October 2, 2017.  https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20171002048100109?input=1195m   Knowledge Channel-e You, in the Summer: Video on Han Kang’s Human Acts http://www.ebs.co.kr/tv/show;jsessionid=xcbNhSZ3bv1wlmdQ7usrtAW210QnG1fAmMTPDbN9kGKxYEjvyumXE9Qgo2f91KTr.enswasp01_servlet_engine2?courseId=BP0PAPB0000000009&stepId=01BP0PAPB0000000009&lectId=10512759 Han Kang’s website. http://www.han-kang.net/ Human Acts book trailer.  https://www.aladin.co.kr/shop/wproduct.aspx?ItemId=40869703 Human Acts publisher’s blog (author reading). http://blog.changbi.com/220713579843?Redirect=Log&from=postView  

에우로파

Europa

Han Kang / 한강 / - / KDC구분 > literature > Korean Literature > Korean Fiction > 21st century

2012년에 출간된 한강의 소설집에 수록된 한강의 단편소설이다. 작가는 목성의 위성 이름(에우로파)이자 인아가 부르던 노래처럼 모호하지만 선명하게 존재하는 사랑에 관한 이야기를 들려준다. 작가 특유의 섬세한 시선으로 서로가 상대에게 느끼는 감정을 천천히 그러나 분명하게 포착하여 서사화했다.

채식주의자

Chaesikjuuija

Han Kang / 한강 / 2007 / KDC구분 > literature > Korean Literature > Korean Fiction > 21st century

2007년에 출간된 한강의 연작소설집이다. 2016년 맨부커상을 수상했다. 연작소설집에는 , , 의 세 작품이 수록되어 있다. 이들 세 작품은 동일한 인물을 주인공으로 삼고 있지만 각각 다른 화자를 통해 이야기를 전개하고 있다. 작가는 상처받은 영혼의 고통과 인간의 욕망, 식물성, 존재, 죽음이라는 주제를 세 편의 작품을 통해 그려내고 있다.

한국 여성작가 12인 단편선

Hanguk yeoseongjakga 12in danpyeonseon

Choi Chung-Hui et al / 최정희 et al / - / -

1930년대에 창작 활동을 시작한 작가 최정희부터 2016년 맨부커상 인터내셔널부문을 수상한 작가 한강에 이르기까지, 한국 현대문학의 과거와 현재를 대표하는 여성 작가 12인의 단편들을 수록한 소설선집이다.

한국문학선집

Hangukmunhakseonjip

Choi Chung-Hui et al / 최정희 et al / - / -