K-Literature

Book excerpt: Literature can do a lot to help people in this social environment bridge their differences and avoid conflict. So globalizing Korean literature is about more than just exporting Korean books?it is about creating an environment where the people of the world can share their true feelings. Its reach could be broader still, when more active use is made of literature’s inherent potential: the force of a beautiful sentence, the powerful desire to communicate, the hope of making people happier. This is the engine that will power Korean literature in the century to come. Breaking National Boundaries and Language Barriers New Faces and Pages in Global Literature Foreign Perspectives on Korean Literature A History of Korean Literature Elan and Elation (Pre-“Enlightenment” Korea) Origins and Development of Modern Literature (Enlightenment to 1920s) K-Literature Finds Its Footing / Golden Age (1930s and 1940s) Liberation and Division / National Literature (1950s and 1960s) Industralization, Light and Shadow / The Desire for Democracy (1970s and 1980s) Everyday People / Something for Everyone (1990s to Present) Reaching Out to the World Trends and Achievements in K-Literature Abroad The Public-Private Connection Global Interchange Writers and Works with a Global Following Ko Un and Ten Thousand Lives Yi Chong-jun and This Paradise of Yours Hwang Sok-yong and The Old Garden, Shim Chong Yi Mun-yol and Our Twisted Hero Oh Jung-hee and The Bird Lee Seung-u and The Reverse Side of Life Shin Kyung-sook and Please Look After Mom Kim Young-ha and I Have the Right to Destroy Myself