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Future of Silence: Fiction by Korean Women
Future of Silence: Fiction by Korean Women | Wan-So Pak, Chi-Won Kim, Yong-Un So, Chong-Hui O, Son-Ok Kong
4 posts | 2 read | 4 to read
These nine stories span half a century of contemporary writing in Korea (1970s 2010s), bringing together some of the most famous twentieth-century women writers with a new generation of young, bold voices. Their work explores a world not often seen in the West, taking us into the homes, families, lives and psyches of Korean women, men, and children.In the earliest of the stories, Pak Wan-so, considered the elder stateswoman of contemporary Korean fiction, opens the door into two "Identical Apartments" where sisters-in-law, bound as much by competition as love, struggle to live with their noisy, extended families. O Chong-hui, who has been compared to Joyce Carol Oates and Alice Munro, examines a day in the life of a woman after she is released from a mental institution, while younger writers, such as Kim Sagwa, Han Yujoo and Ch'on Un-yong explore violence, biracial childhood, and literary experimentation. These stories will sometimes disturb and sometimes delight, as they illuminate complex issues in Korean life and literature.Internationally acclaimed translators Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton have won several awards and fellowships for the numerous works of Korean literature they have translated into English.Featuring these authors and stories: Pak Wan-so: "Identical Apartments" Kim Chi-won: "Almaden" So Yong-un: "Dear Distant Love" O Chong-hui: "Wayfarer" Kong Son-ok: "The Flowering of Our Lives" Kim Ae-ran: "The Future of Silence" Han Yujoo: "I Am the Scribe Or Am I" Kim Sagwa: "Today Is One of Those The-More-You-Move-the-Stranger-It-Gets Days, and It's Simply Amazing" Ch'on Un-yong: "Ali Skips Rope""
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Bertha_Mason
Future of Silence: Fiction by Korean Women | Wan-So Pak, Chi-Won Kim, Yong-Un So, Chong-Hui O, Son-Ok Kong

"Because the speakers are so old, they‘ve taken on a shriveled look, like rice grains from the Bronze Age stoppered in test tubes—yuck."
-Kim Ae-ran, "The Future of Silence"
Today in odd similes.

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Bertha_Mason
Future of Silence: Fiction by Korean Women | Wan-So Pak, Chi-Won Kim, Yong-Un So, Chong-Hui O, Son-Ok Kong

"Inside me was a small glass bead that was hot and dark, or maybe I should say colorless, odorless, and clear enough to see through. Whenever I moved, it worked its way through me, breaking me down little by little. I knew what that glass bead was—it was fear."
-Kim Sagwa, "It's One of Those The-More-I'm-In-Motion-The-Weirder-It-Gets Days, And It's Really Blowing My Mind"

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Bertha_Mason
Future of Silence: Fiction by Korean Women | Wan-So Pak, Chi-Won Kim, Yong-Un So, Chong-Hui O, Son-Ok Kong

"Things visible are not all there is to the world. There also exist things unseen. And things unexplainable. So how can we say that only things with a reason can exist in this world? They‘re rising up, those unexplainable things, and when they rebel all together, the things with reasons grow feeble in their presence. How could I explain this to a man who spoke of such things as morality and immorality?"
-Kong Sŏn-ok, "The Flowering of Our Lives"

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dizzymissruby
Future of Silence: Fiction by Korean Women | Wan-So Pak, Chi-Won Kim, Yong-Un So, Chong-Hui O, Son-Ok Kong
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Starting my second Korean book, but this one is actually based in South Korea, which is where I'll actually be traveling, instead of North Korea. This book is a collection of stories and I'm excited to read and understand how their culture influences their writing!

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