LTI Korea 
DLKL 
SIWF 
Table of Contents
FEATURED WRITER
- Essay_ Kim Kwang-Kyu: A Poet Who Gives Meaning and Value to the Everyday
- Cherishing the Language of Everyday Lives
- Essay_ Quotidian Life in Plain Truth
- One Leaf
- Song for Five Friends
- Wisdom Tooth
- The Birth of a Stone
- Spirit Mountain
- The Land of Mists
- North South East West
- Birds Feeding
- Their Insurgence
- Airport Near the Beach
SPECIAL SECTION
YOUNGER WRITERS
SPOTLIGHT ON FICTION
REVIEWS
THEMES IN KOREAN LIT
Introduction
This year marks the 70th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese occupation and thedivision of the Korean peninsula into North and South Korea. During all this time, Koreanliterature has held a mirror up to Korean society and has served as a window into Korea’s turbulentmodern history. Korean literature has faithfully reflected the lives and concerns of the Koreanpeople through different perspectives and techniques, whether it was national division in thepostwar years of the 1950s, the rise of military dictatorship and industrial society in the 1960–70s,the dawn of depoliticization and the emergence of female writers in the 1990s, or the postmoderndigital age of the new millennium.Editors and publishers overseas have shown great interest in literary works that portray thestories and interests of each generation of youngsters in Korea, covering everything from Korea’sdazzling economic growth, its rise as a world leader in cutting-edge technology, and the significantgrowth in its global profile thanks to Hallyu, reflected in its rapid climb up the Nation BrandingIndex. We have prepared this summer issue of _list: Books from Korea on the theme of “70 Yearsof Independence and Division: The Flow of Korean Literature through the Eras” to help overseasreaders get a bird’s-eye view of the turbulent times that Koreans have lived through for the pastseventy years.This issue features renowned poet Kim Kwang-Kyu, a member of the “April 19 Generation”that led the student revolution of 1960 which toppled the 12 year-long dictatorship of the RheeAdministration. In the 1960s and 70s, Kim drew on his consummate poetic sensibility to launchscathing attacks on the authoritarian government by using metaphors and satire, and, like Germanpoet Friedrich Hölderlin, to agonize over the meaning of life in such circumstances. Kim describedeveryday scenes using simple language, yet, at the same time, he delved into the meaning of lifeand denounced political repression using rich symbolism; his poem “The Land of Mists,” whichwon much acclaim in Germany, is a good example of this. Kim drew attention for criticizing thedictatorship using symbolic poetic language while not allowing himself to be shackled by politicalideology.The Younger Writers section features novelists Cheon Myeong-kwan and Jo Kyung Ran. InModern Family, Cheon presents us with the unusual prospect of the modern Korean family wheregrown-up children return to the nest, seeking refuge in their mother. In Looking for the Elephant, Joexplores the individual’s physiological scarring and sense of loss through a death in the family andthe symbolic character of an elephant.Modern Korean literature has grown amid unprecedented social and political turmoil, forexample, the liberation from Japan, the Korean War, the April 19th Student Revolution, andrapid industrialization. This issue of _list: Books from Korea will help readers get an overview of themesmerizing ways Korean literature has reflected the socio-political milieu in each period of Koreanhistory.
by Kim Seong-KonPublisher_list: Books from Korea
