Sogang International Summer College 2011
Korean Studies Seminar 1: Modern Korean Literature in its
Contexts
Brother Anthony (An Sonjae)
Monday, Wednesday, 3 - 4:50 pm
This course should normally be taught for 5 weeks, with 2 sessions
lasting 110 minutes each
week; however, because the other teacher cannot be in Seoul for the
first week, I shall teach 4 sessions in that week and the other teacher
will make up her missed sessions over the following weeks, as indicated
below.
In the course, we will study the overall evolutions of Korean
literature during the later 20th century, both poetry
and fiction. We shall read a good number of works by writers, always in
English translation, discuss their characteristic features in theme and
structure, compare them one with another, and situate them in the
course of modern Korean history. All students will be required to read
the prescribed texts before class, and present their personal ideas
during
each class hour; this will demand a lot of preparatory reading, there
is no other way!
The main text books will be:
20th-Century Korean Literature (EastBridge, online)
The page-numbers in the syllabus below refer to this book.
Modern Korean Fiction: An Anthology,
edited by Bruce Fulton and Youngmin Kwon (Columbia University Press).
The titles below in brown are from this
book.
For many more translations and articles, see Brother Anthony's home
page http://hompi.sogang.ac.kr/anthony/
Translations of texts will be available online
or as an offprint.
Syllabus
Week 1:
Class 1: (Monday, June 20, 2011. 1:00- 2:50pm) Introduction to
the course and overview of modern Korean
history and literature.
Class 2: (Monday,
June 20, 2011. 3:00-4:50 pm) Survey of
pre-1945 poetry (pages 13-17, 28-34): Kim Sowol, Manhae, Chŏng Chiyong,
Kim Yŏng-nang, Sŏ Chŏng-ju
Class 3: (Wednesday, June 22. 1:00- 2:50pm) Survey of
post-1945 poetry (pages 39-46, 48-54): Sŏ
Chŏng-ju, Pak Mog-wol, Cho Chihun, Kim Su-yŏng
Class 4: (Wednesday, June 22. 3:00-4:50 pm)
Survey of post
1970 poetry (pages 73-78, 90-94) Shin
Kyŏng-Nim, Ku Sang, Chŏn Sang-Pyŏng, Kim Kwang-Kyu,
Chonggi Mah, Kim Sŭng-hŭi.
Week 2:
Class 5: (Wednesday,
June
29.
3:00-4:50
pm)
Fiction
from 1936 Yi Sang, “Wings,” Yi
Hyosŏk “When the Buckwheat Blooms,” Kim Tongni “The Shaman Painting,”
Friday Field Trip: Hwaseong Fortress and
Korean Folk Village
Week 3 :
Class 6: (Wednesday, July 6. 3:00-4:50 pm) Survey of
post-1945 fiction (pages 37-39, 46-48, 54-60) Hwang
Sunwŏn "Shower", Kim Sŭnggok “Seoul 1964
Winter,” Cho
Sehŭi “Knifeblade.”
Week 4 :
Class 7: (Monday, July 11. 3:00-4:50 pm) Survey of
fiction (pages 78-82,
86-90): Yi Mun-yŏl "The Old Hatter," Ch’oe
Yun "Watching Father," Sŏ Chŏng-in “The Plain”
Class 8: (Wednesday, July 13. 3:00-4:50 pm) Poetry:
Ko Un
Week 5 :
Class 9: (Monday, July 18. 3:00-4:50 pm) Poems by younger contemporary poets
Songs
Class 10: (Wednesday, July
20. 3:00-4:50 pm) Stories
by younger writers: The Forest of
Existence by Jeon Seong-Tae, Korean
Standards by Park Min-Gyu, A Bale
of Salt by Ku
Hyo-sŏ
Written assignment,
1) (due Monday July 11) Write something interesting about the places
you visited during the field trip ( 2-3 pages double spaced)
2) (due July 20) Select 2 works of fiction or poems by 3 poets we have
studied, and write an interesting essay about their work and your
response to it, while also comparing the way they relate to the social
context in which they were written. (4-6 pages double spaced)