Premodern Korean Literary Prose: An Anthology - Hardcover

[This] anthology is an interesting work. -- Tony Malone * Tony's Reading List * Bravo to Pettid, Evon, and Park for giving us an opportunity to gain more exposure to the sorts of tales Koreans told themselves in centuries past, to learn what sort of fantasies they entertained, and to appreciate their sense of humor. -- Don Baker, University of British Columbia This anthology of Premodern Korean Literary Prose is an epoch-making piece of work and a window on the fascinating world of premodern Korea and East Asia. Through this collection of masterful translations and notes, the authors brilliantly reveal the previously neglected prose literature and allow the readers to see and breathe the ethos of the people of Korea. -- Young-Key Kim-Renaud, The George Washington University This anthology is a landmark accomplishment in the field of Korean literature. It offers a matchless window to the kaleidoscopic life of Koreans-both illustrious and anonymous-depicted in various prose subgenres in premodern literature. Long awaited, the collection in English will eminently fill the large vacuum in the source material for the study of premodern Korean literature and Korean studies at large, and even East Asian literatures. -- Yung-Hee Kim, University of Hawai`i at Manoa Pettid, Evon, and Park have harnessed the talents of an impressive new generation of scholars and translators to edit an anthology with impressive range in time period and genre. Selections extend from Silla through Choson, and include many prose genres heretofore poorly represented in English translation that combine to present readers with a fuller, more engaging, and more nuanced picture of premodern literary culture. -- Ross King, University of British Columbia

This anthology presents new translations of Korean prose works from the tenth to the nineteenth century. It offers insight into past Korean societies by highlighting genres that have largely not been translated, such as diaries, short fictional biographies, erotic tales, oral narratives, and novellas, all of which illustrate the depth and variety of premodern Korean writings. The selections are intended to show what literate people of the premodern period enjoyed reading and demonstrate the cultural diversity of the creation of literature, including a range of writings by women and nonelites such as commoners. The volume also includes critical essays and short introductions to contextualize the materials and explain the ideological backdrop behind the creation of the works.