Questioning Minds: Short Stories by Modern Korean Women Writers

About the Translator, Back Cover

About the Translator Yung-Hee Kim is a professor of Korean literature in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. She received her doctorate in Asian studies from Cornell University, taught at the Ohio State University, and was a visiting scholar at the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, Stanford University. She is the recipient of numerous grants, including those from the Fulbright Program, the Korea Foundation, and the Daesan Foundation. The focus of her research has been on modern Korean writers’ fiction in the context of early Korean feminist movements. Her publications have appeared in Korean Studies, Journal of Women’s History, Who’s Who in Contemporary Women’s Writing, and the Review of Korean Studies. She is the author of Songs to Make the Dust Dance: The “Ryōjin hishō” of Twelfth-Century Japan (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994) and a coauthor of Readings in Modern Korean Literature (Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2004). AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME in English, the ten short stories by modern Korean women collected here touch in one way or another on issues related to gender and kinship politics. All of the protagonists are women who face personal crises or defining moments in their lives as gender-marked beings in a Confucian, patriarchal Korean society. Their personal dreams and values have been compromised by gender expectations or their own illusions about female existence. They are compelled to ask themselves “Who am I?” “Where am I going?” “What are my choices?” Each story bears colorful and compelling testimony to the life of the heroine. Some of the stories celebrate the central character’s breakaway from the patriarchal order; others expose sexual inequality and highlight the struggle for personal autonomy and dignity. Still others reveal the abrupt awakening to mid-life crises and the seasoned wisdom that comes with accepting the limits of old age. The stories are arranged in chronological order, from the earliest work by Korea’s first modern woman writer in 1917 to stories that appeared in 1995—approximately one from each decade. Most of the writers presented are recognized literary figures, but some are lesser-known voices. The introduction presents a historical overview of traditions of modern Korean women ’s fiction, situating the selected writers and their stories in the larger context of Korean literature. Each story is accompanied by a biographical note on the author and a brief, critical analysis. A selected bibliography is provided for further reading and research. Questioning Minds marks a departure from existing translations of Korean literature in terms of its objectives, content, and format. As such it will contribute to the growth of Korean studies, increasing the availability of material for teaching Korean literature in English, and stimulate readership of its writers beyond the confines of the peninsula. Yung-HeeKimis professor of Korean literature in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Korean literature COVER ART: Kim Whanki, Moonlight (Wŏlgwang), 1959. Oil painting on canvas, 92 cm x 60 cm. Courtesy of the Whanki Foundation, housed in the collection of the Museum, Korea University, Seoul, Korea. COVER DESIGN: Julie Matsuo-Chun UNIVERSITYof HAWAI‘I PRESS Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96822-1888 ISBN 978-0-8248-3395-4 9 780824 833954 9 0 0 0 0 www.uhpress.hawaii.edu ...