The Penguin Book of Korean Short Stories

This eclectic, moving and richly enjoyable collection is the essential introduction to modern Korean fiction. Journeying through Korea's dramatic recent past, from the Japanese occupation and colonial era to the devastating war between north and south and the rapid, disorienting industrialization and urbanization of recent decades, The Penguin Book of Korean Short Stories captures a hundred years of vivid story-telling.

Here are peddlers and donkeys travelling across moonlit fields; artists drinking and debating in the tea-houses of Seoul; soldiers fighting for survival; exiles from the war who can never go home again; and lonely men and women searching for connection in the dizzying modern city. The collection features stories by some of Korea's greatest writers, including Hwang Sun-wŏn, Pak Wansŏ, O Chŏnghŭi and Cho Chŏngnae, as well as many brilliant contemporary voices, such as P'yŏn Hyeyŏng, Han Yujoo and Kim Aeran. Curated by Bruce Fulton, and introduced by Kwon Youngmin, this is a volume that will surprise, unsettle and delight.