First published in 1939, and now one in a series of 15 Korean works published by Dalkey Archive, this is a slow-moving, acute observation of Korean life before the great changes wrought on the country by the second World War, the Korean War and partition. The names may be unfamiliar to Irish readers but much of the sentiment will not. Bak Seonggwon – soon to “earn” himself the honorific title assistant curator Bak – is a bit of a gombeen. He has a horde of Japanese silver coins with which he, quietly and ruthlessly, makes his fortune. The interaction and roles of men and women will remind Irish speakers of our recent history, as will the description and importance of land. The author was active in leftist cultural circles. Reputedly, he was executed in a purge in 1953. More similarities than we might like to acknowledge.
