Korean American Books

Summaries and reviews of fiction and nonfiction books by Korean American authors,
books about Korean Americans and Korea, and Korean literature in English translation,
including some academic works and a sampling on the Korean War

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Han Yong-un & Yi Kwang-Su: Two Pioneers of Modern Korean Literature, by Beongcheon Yu

[Publisher’s description] In this first book-length study of Han Yong-un and Yi Kwang-su in English, Beongcheon Yu seeks to demythify them and reassess their achievements as writers. He surveys their careers, reviewing significant events and patterns in their lives, and then confronts their literary works, weighing whatever permanence they may claim. Yu's introduction provides a historical background of modern Korea, and his conclusion brings Han and Yi together, pairing them as has never been done, in an attempt to understand them more clearly as men and as writers.

Han, an eminent Buddhist monk, and Yi, an equally prominent national leader, had full careers—so colorful and fascinating that they disrupt our proper critical attention to their writings. Yu, in his deliberate contrast of their literary achievements, provides a study of these two highly influential men that is informative and stimulating and at the same time provocative and challenging.
Published by Wayne State University Press

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