The RAS Korean Literature Club discussion

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A comprehensive list of books read and discussed by the RAS Korean Literature Club during the year:

2022.

(For earlier and later years, see this folder.)

Included is such information as: Author, translator, publisher, year; original titles in Hangul and author names and info in Hangul; notes on where online to find some of the hard-to-find or otherwise-unpublished material (when applicable); discussion leaders; and, where applicable, other notes (such as author presences or other special events).

Add a comment for corrections or additions, as with technical information, anything missing or incorrect.

For general discussion on the literary value, etc., of the books, go to the (General forum).



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. . . . . . . [2022] . . . . . . .
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[January 6, 2022]
- Story: THE WAYFARER NEVER RESTS ON THE ROAD
- Author: Lee Ze-ha
- Translator(s): Brother Anthony of Taize
- Publisher: Koreana magazine
- Year of publication: Spring 2016 (Vol. 30, No. 1)
- Original book info: Title, "Nagŭne-nŭn Kiresŏ Shwiji Annŭnda" (나그네는 길에서 쉬지 않는다, The traveler does not rest on the road); author, Yi Che-ha (Lee Ze-ha) [이제하, b.1937]; published in early 1985 as the titular-story in a collection of the author's semi-autobiographical stories, by Hyundae-Munhak Publishing (현대문학).
- GR entry: n/a
- Translated version available online? YES, at https://tinyurl.com/53n3h4kh (11,250 words)
- Discussion leader(s): Jenny Byun & Brother Anthony of Taize

- Note 1: "Wayfarer Never Rests on the Road" won the Yi Sang Literary Award in 1985.

- Note 2: The story was made into a movie (English title: The Man with Three Coffins). Produced in 1987; released in domestic theaters in June 1988. Available on the "Korean Classic Film" Youtube channel.

- Note 3: The Club also read "Wayfarer Never Rests on the Road" for its June 2016 session.

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[February 3, 2022]
- Book: CURSED BUNNY
- Author: Bora Chung
- Translator(s): Anton Hur
- Publisher: Honford Star Press (UK)
- Year of publication: July 2021
- Original book info: Title, "Chŏju T'okki" (저주 토끼); author, Chŏng Po-ra [Bora Chung] (정보라, b.1976); published orig. March 2017, Arzak Publising (아작) (Arzak is a science-fiction press active since the mid-2010s); re-published several times in new editions (2019-2023).
- GR entry: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
- Discussion leader(s): Jenny Byun & Brother Anthony of Taize

- Note on International Booker Prize: In early April 2022, Cursed Bunny was announced as one of six books "shortlisted" (i.e., finalists) for the International Booker Prize for 2022. This was two months after the Korean Literature Club discussed it. (Not ultimately awarded the prize.)

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[March 3, 2022]
- Story: THE EXTREMELY HIGH-SPEC MACHINE THAT ONLY WORKS IN THIS ROOM
- Author: Pak Solmay
- Translator(s): Slin Jung
- Publisher: Korean Literature Now magazine (Literary Translation Institute of Korea, KLTI)
- Year of publication: Dec. 2021
- Original book info: Title, "Pang-esŏman Chaktonghanŭn Much'ŏk Sŏngnŭngi Choŭn Kigye (방에서만 작동하는 무척 성능이 좋은 기계); author, Pak Solmoe [Pak Solmay] (박솔뫼, b.1985); published in orig. Winter 2020-21 edition of Littor magazine (릿터); and then in book form in Nov. 2022 (in a volume titled: "믿음의 개는 시간을 저버리지 않으며, Swimming-gul Publishing (스위밍꿀).
- GR entry: n/a
- Translated version available online? YES, at https://tinyurl.com/jhxjw7xh
- Discussion leader(s): Jenny Byun & Brother Anthony of Taize

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[April 7, 2022]
- Story: MIRRORISM
- Author: Gu Byeongmo
- Translator(s): Beth Hong
- Publisher: Nabillera magazine
- Year of publication: Jan. 2019
- Original book info: Title, "Mirŏrijŭm" (미러리즘); author, Ku Pyŏngmo [Gu Byeongmo] (구병모, b.1976); published orig. Sept 2016, Hyundae Munhak magazine (현대문학) and in book form Nov. 2018 in short-story collection "Tan Hanaŭi Munjang" (단 하나의 문장).
- GR entry: n/a
- Translated version available online? YES, at https://tinyurl.com/2e4hw4uf (10,250 words)
- Discussion leader(s): Jenny Byun & Brother Anthony of Taize

- Note: Gu Byeong-mo's first book, a "myster-horror-fantasy" Young Adult novel titled Wizard Bakery (2009 orig.; 2025 English translation), won the Changbi Prize for Young Adult Fiction and established her as an important writer. A general-release English translation of Wizard Bakery only came out in mid-2025. In this case, translations in at least six other languages by 2022 (including French [2011], Spanish, Polish, and Turkish) led the way.

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[May 5, 2022]
- Book: LOVE IN THE BIG CITY
- Author: Sang Young Park
- Translator(s): Anton Hur
- Publisher: Grove Press (New York)
- Year of publication: Nov. 2021
- Original book info: Title, "Taedoshi-ŭi Sarangbŏp" [대도시의 사랑법] (Big City Love Method); author, Pak Sangyŏng [Sang Young Park] (박상영, 1988); published orig. June 2019, Changbi Publishers (창비).
- GR entry: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...]
- Discussion leader(s): Jenny Byun & Brother Anthony of Taize

- Note on International Booker Prize: In mid-March 2022, Love in the Big City was announced as one of thirteen books "longlisted" (i.e., semi-finalists) for the International Booker Prize for 2022. Love in the Big City did not make the "shortlist" (as fellow Korean-authored nominee Cursed Bunny did; see Feb. 2022 entry).

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*** CLUB HISTORY NOTE: On the early-2020s disruption and June 2022 return of in-person gatherings ***

-- Starting with its June 2022 gathering, the Club again had an "in-person" component. No in-person gatherings had been held since early-February 2020. Leaders had made this decision in April 2022, to apply for the June 2022 session. Other RAS activities restarted gradually in April/May. (The first in-person RASKB lecture since February 2020 was held in late-May 2022, for example.) The total "gap" in normal Korean Literature Club activities was 28 months (early-February 2020 to early-June 2022).

-- For the April 2020 to May 2022 (all-remote) sessions, the app "Zoom" was the main method the Korean Literature Club had of meeting. Starting in June 2022 and holding almost every session until June 2024, the Korean Literature Club held mixed sessions (Zoom plus in-person). Then, starting in July 2024, the club returned to an "only in-person" model; numbers recovered to healthy levels by early 2025.

-- The full gap between the suspension of the "all in-person" model and the full reintroduction of the "all in-person" model was 4 years, 5 months (early-February 2020 to mid-July 2024).

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[June 2, 2022]
- Story: BLUE CRAB GRAVE
- Author: Kwon Ji-ye
- Translator(s): Brother Anthony of Taize
- Publisher: Koreana magazine
- Year of publication: Spring 2012
- Original book info: Title, "Kkotke Mudŏm" (꽃게 무덤); author, Kwŏn Chiye [Kwon Ji-ye] (권지예, b.1960); published orig. March 2005, Munhak-Dongnae Publishing (문학동네).
- GR entry: n/a
- Translated version available online? YES, at https://tinyurl.com/3xct99sp (8400 words)
- Discussion leader(s): Jenny Byun ONLY (in-person)

- Note 1: An analysis essay on this story appeared in Koreana, Spring 2012 ("Loneliness in Blue Crab's Name," by Uh Soon-woong)

- Note 2: The club also read and discussed "Blue Crab Grave" at its Dec. 2015 session.

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[July 7, 2022]
- Book: DREAM OF ME
- Author: Mella Kim
- Translator(s): Archana Madhavan
- Publisher: Korean Literature Now magazine
- Year of publication: June 2022
- Original book info: Title, "Che Kkum Kkuseyo" (제 꿈 꾸세요); author, Kim Mel-ra [Kim Mella] (김멜라, b.1983); published orig. March 2022, Korean literary magazine "Ch'angjak-kwa Bip'yŏng" (창작과비평) No.195.
- GR entry: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
- Translated version available online? YES, at https://tinyurl.com/4fam9ukz (9200 words?)
- Discussion leader(s): Jenny Byun

- Note: On August 22, 2022, Kim Mella's "Dream of Me" was awarded the Lee Hyo Seok Literary Prize (이효석문학상). This was less than six months after first publication of "Dream of Me" and about seven weeks after the Literature Club discussed it. The award triggered the Munhak-Dongnae Publishing (문학동네) to put out a collection of Kim Mella's short stories led by "Dream of Me" (제 꿈 꾸세요), published the same week as the prize announcement. (Not for the first time, the RAS Korean Literature Club was "ahead of the curve.")

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[August 4, 2022]
- Book: STINGRAY
- Author: Kim Joo-young
- Translator(s): Louis Vinciguerra & Inrae You Vinciguerra
- Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press
- Year of publication: Nov. 2013
- Original book info: Title, "Hongŏ" [홍어] (Stingray); author, Kim Chu-yŏng (김주영, b.1939) originally published in Feb. 1998 by Munhak-Dongnae (문학동네).
- GR entry: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
- Translated version available online? no
- Discussion leader(s): Jenny Byun

- Note: The publisher Munhak-Dongnae in 2014 selected Stingray as No.5 in its series "Great Works of Korea Fiction" (문학동네 한국문학전집). The Korean Literature has read several of these books.

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[September 1, 2022]
- Book: THE BATTLE OF DRAGON WITH DRAGON
- Author: Shin Ch'ae-ho
- Translator(s): Brother Anthony of Taize
- Publisher: Cornell University Press (in Silvery World and Other Stories: Anthology of Korean Literature, Michael J. Pettid, ed.; 2018).
- Year of publication: 2015/18
- Original book info: Title, "Yong-gwa Yong-ŭi Taegyŏkchŏn" (용과 용의 대격전); author, Shin Ch'ae-ho (신채호, 1880-1936); published originally in 1928.
- GR entry: n/a
- Translated version available online? YES, at https://tinyurl.com/5yzy2e89 (7800 words)
- Discussion leader(s): Jenny Byun

- Note: The club also read and discussed "The Battle of Dragon With Dragon" for its June 2017 session. (See June 2017 entry for more information on Shin Ch'ae-ho and the circumstances of the late-1920s publication of this story.)

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[October 2022]
(No meeting?)

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[November 3, 2022]
- Book: THE TALE OF CHO UNG: A CLASSIC OF VENGEANCE, LOYALTY, AND ROMANCE
- Author: (Unknown; traditional)
- Translator(s): Sookja Cho (조숙자, b.1972), a professor of Korean and Comparative Literature at Arizona State University.
- Publisher: Columbia Univ Press
- Year of publication: Nov. 2018
- Original book info: Title in Korean: "Cho-ung-jŏn" (조웅전). Traditional. It is believed the story was first compiled in the mid-18th century in Korea. It was re-told and re-adapted continuously over the coming 250 years.
- GR entry: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
- Translated version available online? no
- Discussion leader(s): Jenny Byun

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[December 1, 2022]
For the December 2022 session, the club continued its discussion of the The Tale of Cho Ung (see Nov. 2022).

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(This list is for books read and discussed in 2022 only. For earlier and later years, see the other threads in the "List of all books read by the club" folder.)