The Korea Culture and Information Service, an affiliate of the Culture Ministry, continues to publish books on Korean culture, this time about literature and the history of hallyu, the Korean wave.

“K-Literature: The Writing World’s New Voice” is the latest addition to KOCIS’ English-language book series featuring Korean culture and artists.

Earlier this month, the organization added two new volumes to the series, one about Korean sports and the other about fashion. The previously published books of the series also include volumes about Korean cinema, Korean classical musicians and K-pop.

“K-Literature” is written by local literary critic Jung Yeo-ul, who writes for a number of newspapers and magazines including the Hankyoreh, Dong-A Ilbo, Cine21 and GQ Korea. In the book, Jung provides an overview of the past and the present of Korean literature, as well as the institutional support that helped its recent international success.

One of the local writers that Jung writes about is of course Shin Kyung-sook, whose novel “Please Look after Mom” became an international bestseller. She won the prestigious Man Asian Literary Prize for the novel earlier this year.

“Shin established herself as one of Korea’s top writers in the 1990s with delicate and lyrical psychological portraits that have resonated strongly and generated a fervent following with countless readers,” Jung writes in the book.

The book also dedicates a chapter to introducing the history of Korean literature, from Korea’s ancient writings, such as those of Yuri, the second king of Goguryeo (37 B.C. ― 668 A.D.) and of eighth-century Silla Buddhist monk Wolmyeong, to its modern-day works by contemporary writers.

One of the featured writers in this chapter includes Park Tae-won (1909-1986), who is famous for his novel “A Day in the Life of Novelist Gubo.”

“Set in 1934 during the colonial era, ‘A Day in the Life of Novelist Gubo’ is of a Korean novelist Gubo who pens a fascinating novel out of the records of his aimless wanderings around the city of Seoul over the course of a day,” Jung writes in the book.

“If Water Benjamin spied the light and darkness of civilization in his wanderings around the 1930s imperial capital of Paris, then Park explored the past and future of human civilization as he traveled around the colonial capital of Gyeongseong (today’s Seoul).”

Jung also introduces the works of the late Park Wan-suh (1931-2011) and Park Gyeong-ri (1926-2008), two of the most prominent female writers in Korea’s modern literary history.

Jung says while Park Wan-suh created a “critical portrait of a vast range of social phenomena,” including the Korean War, industrialization and women’s issues, Park Gyeong-ri’s monumental epic series “Land” (1969-1994) was a “systemic attempt to shed light on the history and suffering of the Korean people, following a large cast of characters as they confronted fates of hardship and showed insurmountable will in the years from the dawn of modernity through the colonial era to liberation (from the Japanese).”

“Park Wan-suh’s gift as a writer lies in the way she unsparingly exposes the unexpected torments and unsavory desires lurking underneath the faade of a seemingly perfect ― and perfectly happy ― middle-class family,” Jung writes in the book.

“The tension in her books stems from the way they lay bare the ghastly selfishness and boorishness of a ‘model housewife,’ who to others is the very model of maternity. The author excels in showing ambivalent feelings toward an elderly or deceased mother.”

The book’s fourth chapter is dedicated to introducing a total of eight works by eight modern writers ― some still living and some now dead ― including Shin Kyung-sook’s “Please Look after Mom,” late author Yi Yhong-jun’s “This Paradise of Yours,” and celebrated poet Ko Un’s “Ten Thousand Lives.”

Jung also points out the theme of multiculturalism appearing in recent works of Korean literature.

“Korea is home to more than 200,000 multicultural families, whose members have either found employment in Korea or married a Korean,” she writes. “Indeed, such families frequently appear in works of Korean writing. Popular examples include Kim Ryeo-ryeong’s Wandeuki (a big hit in hits film version) and Park Bum-shin’s Namaste.”

Another book recently published by KOCIS is “Hallyu: from K-pop to K-Culture.” The book, in Korean, chronicles the history of hallyu and studies the roots of contemporary Korean culture, such as the traditional dance and customs, which still remain in different forms today.

The book also introduces well-known cases of Korean food, literature and music becoming popular overseas, including the success of singer Psy and a number of Korean TV dramas.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)