[KS] Korea and Koreans as featured in literary works by non-Korean(ist) writers

[Edward J. Baker]

Dear Friends,

Pearl Buck's novel set in Korea was The Living Reed, published in 1963 or 64 and again in 2004. It's available on Amazon.

Yours,

Ed


On Oct 15, 2011, at 3:49 PM, Laurel Kendall wrote:

> Chaim Potak (sp?)'s THE BOOK OF LIGHTS is set mostly in Korea (the hero is
> an army chaplain--although Korean characters are few).  He includes one
> Korean incident that became the basis for a more "Korean" novel which came
> out 10 years or more ago.  I forget the title, I haven't read it, (afraid
> to).
> 
> David Lodge's SMALL WORLD includes a Korean character, the mistress of the
> grand old man of letters -- not exactly an uplifting image nor one that is
> any more than paper thin.
> 
> Peal Buck wrote a Korean-set novel way back when, not one of her best. 
> The title eludes me.
> 
> Thanks for raising this question, others will probably think of more, but
> all, I suspect, in bits and pieces.  It is at least heartening that
> authors of Korean ancestry are producing much that is worthy of serious
> attention.
> 
> Laurel
> 
> 
> 
>> Dear friends and colleagues,
>> 
>> A literary question, for the weekend:
>> 
>> How often do Korean characters, or Korea  itself,
>> feature in works not by Koreans or Korea  specialists?
>> 
>> Not a lot, I think. Three recent cases spring to  mind
>> - there may be many others, which I've overlooked  -
>> one of which has only just come to my attention:
>> 
>> 1. Margaret Drabble's ambitious The Red Queen,  on which I have
>> posted previously:
>> _http://koreaweb.ws/pipermail/koreanstudies_koreaweb.ws/2005-July/004938.htm
>> l_
>> (http://koreaweb.ws/pipermail/koreanstudies_koreaweb.ws/2005-July/004938.html)
>> 
>> 2. Eunice Park, in Gary Shteyngart's Super Sad Love  Story.
>> 
>> 3. And now, someone is venturing into Inspector O  territory.
>> Adam Johnson's next novel, The Orphan Master's Son,
>> is set in North Korea. An extract is  available here
>> 
>> (part of which I fear qualifies as an entry for  the
>> Literary Review's annual Bad Sex  award):
>> 
>> _http://electricliterature.com/blog/2010/09/03/excerpt-%E2%80%9Cfor-the-love
>> -of-juche%E2%80%9D-by-adam-johnson/_
>> (http://electricliterature.com/blog/2010/09/03/excerpt-“for-the-love-of-juche”-by-adam-johnson/)
>> 
>> Subscribers to Granta can read a rather better  passage
>> in that magazine's latest issue (not available  online):
>> _http://www.granta.com/Magazine/Granta-116-Ten-Years-Later_
>> (http://www.granta.com/Magazine/Granta-116-Ten-Years-Later)
>> 
>> No doubt we should wait for the complete work,
>> due out in January 2012. It already has a page at  Amazon:
>> _http://www.amazon.com/Orphan-Masters-Son-Novel/dp/0307939693_
>> (http://www.amazon.com/Orphan-Masters-Son-Novel/dp/0307939693)
>> 
>> The author, who I gather teaches creative writing at  Stanford
>> - does he mingle with the Koreanists and Korea programs there?  -
>> - discusses his purposes here:
>> _http://electricliterature.com/blog/2010/09/10/interview-adam-johnson/_
>> (http://electricliterature.com/blog/2010/09/10/interview-adam-johnson/)
>> 
>> Are there more such instances? I'm sure there must  be.
>> 
>> Kind regards
>> Aidan FC
>> 
>> 
>> Aidan  Foster-Carter
>> Honorary Senior Research  Fellow in Sociology & Modern Korea, Leeds
>> University, UK
>> E: _afostercarter at aol.com_ (mailto:afostercarter at aol.com)
>> _afostercarter at yahoo.com_ (mailto:afostercarter at yahoo.com)    W:
>> _www.aidanfc.net_
>> (http://www.aidanfc.net/)
>> W in Korea:
>> _http://web.archive.org/web/20090202080126/http://aidanfc.net/index.html_
>> (http://web.archive.org/web/20090202080126/http:/aidanfc.net/index.html)
>> Recent  articles, broadcasts and other activities on Korea  (mostly):
>> 15  October, 2011  Soft-soaping Samsung  The lead  letter in the
>> Economist,
>> criticising their kid-glove coverage of the big beast  recently
>> _http://www.economist.com/node/21532241_
>> (http://www.economist.com/node/21532241)
>> 12  October, 2011     Oh no. Oh dear. An honest man bows out.   Farewell
>> to
>> Seoul’s former mayor,  Oh Se-hoon.
>> _http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/MJ12Dg01.html_
>> (http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/MJ12Dg01.html)
>> 3 October  2011   North Korea: The South changes  course.  My latest
>> monthly update on the DPRK for  NewNations:
>> _http://newnations.com/headlines/nk.php#new1_
>> (http://newnations.com/headlines/nk.php#new1)
>> 27  September 2011           To  catch a roach.    It’s surprising who
>> you
>> meet in luxury Swiss hotels – and great to be  back in the International
>> Herald  Tribune, on a subject other than Korea just for once.
>> _http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/opinion/27iht-edcarter27.html_
>> (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/opinion/27iht-edcarter27.html)
>> 
>> 
>> 
> 

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