The Shaman Sorceress by Kim Dong-ni

Translated into English in 2002, this early 20th century story of village life presents a conflict between modernism, exemplified by Christianity, and folk traditions of the mudang (sorceress or priestess) and the ancient shaman beliefs of the country that precede Buddhism. The young daughter of an impoverished village widow becomes pregnant by the neighbor boy, and with this shame is forced to leave the village where the two have barely eked out a living of lowly housekeeping work. In the new village, Eulwha is spiritually called by the eponymous goddess and learns the trade of exorcism from an older mudang; she also falls in love with one of the mudang’s helpers, and then has a daughter. Wolhie is a talented artist and paints pictures of the spirits, but loses the ability to speak clearly. When her son is ten, Eulwha seeks an education for him and delivers him to a monastery; the son eventually ends up in Pyongyang and becomes a Christian. He returns as an adult to find his mother and sister, to convert them, but Eulwha and he find each other at odds, believing each other’s god is a demon. He is convinced that with Jesus and his Christian God, he can cure Wolhie’s speech disability. The beautiful child becomes the foil between which the two powers grow increasingly conflicted, to tragic results. This book is by a famed Korean author, and was originally serialized in a newspaper. I cannot locate additional information about its original publication date.

The Lost Mother, by Iltang (Kim TaeShin)

An important memoir of a famed Korean-Japanese painter, Kim Tae Shin, who eventually became a monk, following the footsteps of his equally famed mother, Ilyeong, who was a poet and feminist during the Japanese occupation. Ilyeong wrote feminist poetry and essays that shockingly advocated divorce, independence and sexual freedom for women. She was renowned not only for her views but for her writing and artistry. She had a love affair with a Japanese student from a prominent family, a union that begat the author. Shortly after giving birth, she became a monk and her son was placed by the father in a loving Korean home. The boy grew and came to learn of his mixed identity, a difficulty during the Japanese occupation. He then lived with a Japanese family, and had several father figures throughout his life; among them a number of prominent monks in both countries. His biological father, Oda Seizo, disowned his wealthy family, as they refused to acknowledge the son. Oda worked toward friendlier rule of Koreans under the Japanese, and was a viceroy as well as held other major positions in the occupation government. While he maintained tabs on his son, they only met a few times, and he worked in the background to ensure Kim's success and comfort, though he could never fulfill Kim's yearning need for mother-love. Throughout his school years, Kim returned time and again to the Buddhist monastery where his mother resided. She was loath to become attached to him, according to her vows, and greeted him with a mix of her own hidden yearning and and cold anger. Though Kim became a famous artist, his relationship with his mother colored all of his youth. He eventually married, after two women whom he declined to marry committed suicide, and became a famed painter, including portraiture and Buddhist themed art. For a time, he was held in North Korea in and was forced to become a portrait painter of Kim Ilsung and other Party leaders. He worked in his later years to help resolve the tensions between the two nations through the sharing of art and culture. He was more known in Japan than in Korea, as he was schooled in Tokyo and most of his early work was first recognized and awarded in Japan. He became a monk himself in his seventies, and never stopped painting. It is less a literary work than an important book that examines the lives and times of two famous artists that lived through the Japanese occupation and the Korean War. It is also a story of his conversion to Buddhism and the principles he followed in order to find peace with his identity and his past.

Postwar Korean Short Stories: An Anthology, edited and translated by Chong-un Kim

This collection of 17 short stories by Korean writers covers the nihilism, inhumanity and hopelessness that marked the decade during and after the divisive Korean War. It is a remarkable collection (in translation) that clearly shows the darkness covering the soul of the people and the alienating effects of the war on culture, society, identity and family. Some stories are stronger than others; one is by the famed author Hahn Musuk [sic]; and most end without a definitive conclusion. The stories are less plot-driven than are snapshots of a moment in hardship, yearning, dismay, failure in relationships, death and sacrifice. Beneath it all lies the Korean concept of HAN, the sorrow of the soul that permeates Korean culture. Speaking with the voice of the times, this book is a rare window into the literary output of a difficult and complex time in Korea.