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A Republic Reborn: The Solsom Chronicles (3 volumes) by Ahn Junghyo scrap

by Park Hyekyunggo link October 23, 2014

Author Bio 작가 소개

안정효

Ahn Junghyo

Ahn's first novel was Of War and the Metropolis, now known as White War (하얀전쟁), which was published in 1983 to a chilly critical reception. It discussed his experiences as a Republic of Korea Army soldier in the Vietnam War. Ahn translated it into English and had it published in the United States, where it was released by Soho Publishing in 1989 under the title The White Badge. In 1992 it was also made into a film, White Badge, shot on location in Vietnam. The book was then reissued in Korea as White War in 1993, and was received much more favorably than before.

For many years, Ahn Junghyo translated and introduced foreign literature to Korea. After he turned 40, however, he published his first novel titled The White War about the Vietnam War. Following this work, he wrote about the Korean War and became known for creating meaty and masculine, yet realistic stories. His latest work, The Solsom Chronicles, is an allegory of modern Korean history and possesses a very strong political flavor.

The book begins with a somewhat absurd premise: the sudden emergence of a large island, Solsum, near the Korean peninsula. Soon there is a mass exodus of politically ambitious Koreans who establish a new republic there. The ensuing drama of political intrigue, regime change, and power struggles is an exaggerated metaphor for the unfolding of modern Korean history.

The novel is a comic parody in the form of a political fable with elements of fantasy. Modern Korea's byzantine intrigues from the Park Chung Hee and Chun Doo Hwan regimes to the present day become targets for caustic satire. The author sharply caricatures the greedy and corrupt profiteers in modern Korean history, who stop at nothing to seize money and power, and paints a hellish picture of their antics.

In this hell, the politicos, the media, rich conglomerates, and gangsters are constantly engaged in realigning themselves with one another in a sleazy and repulsive serenade. The author ends the story with a catastrophic scene reminiscent of Sodom and Gomorrah—a swarm of giant octopi attack Solsum Island, which sinks deep into the sea. This motif, taken from Christian eschatology, is the author's punishment for human arrogance, self-righteousness, and endless greed. 

Writer 필자 소개

Park Hyekyung

Park Hyekyung

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