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On the Eve of the Uprising and Other Stories from Colonial Korea
Collected here are translations into English of six classic stories from colonial Korea (1910-1945) as well as the time of liberation (1945-1948). Each piece takes a different perspective on a defining process in Korean history―the colonization and modernization under Japanese rule. The volume demonstrates the rich variety of registers, settings, styles, and thematic concerns that characterized the literary production of early modern Korea.The editor's introduction places the collection in the context of modern Korean literary history, and short biographies precede each story. In its judicious selection of classic texts, On the Eve of the Uprising and Other Stories from Colonial Korea offers an unprecedented opportunity to explore the intellectual complexity and artistic richness of colonial Korean literature.
300 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 13, 2024
Read “On the Eve of the Uprising” for my Introduction to Korean studies class. This novella was a solid 3 stars, I could follow the story easily, yet there wasn’t more to it. I couldn’t connect with any characters, and the MC, whose perspective we follow. I thought of him as cynical, and having no passion… in life whatsoever.
He married very young, at the age of 13 with his wife who was 15 at the time. The moment he turned 15, he left Korea to “escape” to Japan and has been living there for 10 years. Right before his exams, he receives a letter from his brother that his wife is ill and that he should come back to see his wife on the assumption that her last breath would be near.
He’s just very detached from everything I feel like. He feels alienated when he’s around Koreans, having been living in Japan for so many years. The story is also set during the time that Korea was occupied by Japan, so such elements can be noticed in the book. Although, one has to read between the lines to acquire a better and realistic understanding of what life was like for Koreans during the occupation. The cruel reality of the lives of Koreans could not be directly described as this novella was published during colonial Korea and Japan implemented censorship (sore losers).
Overall, this was still a good read and I can’t wait for the other readings for this course.
He married very young, at the age of 13 with his wife who was 15 at the time. The moment he turned 15, he left Korea to “escape” to Japan and has been living there for 10 years. Right before his exams, he receives a letter from his brother that his wife is ill and that he should come back to see his wife on the assumption that her last breath would be near.
He’s just very detached from everything I feel like. He feels alienated when he’s around Koreans, having been living in Japan for so many years. The story is also set during the time that Korea was occupied by Japan, so such elements can be noticed in the book. Although, one has to read between the lines to acquire a better and realistic understanding of what life was like for Koreans during the occupation. The cruel reality of the lives of Koreans could not be directly described as this novella was published during colonial Korea and Japan implemented censorship (sore losers).
Overall, this was still a good read and I can’t wait for the other readings for this course.
September 18, 2023
Just read On the Eve of the Uprising
Insightful. Liked many of the quotes. Dragged a bit but the words were great at painting the story in my head.
Insightful. Liked many of the quotes. Dragged a bit but the words were great at painting the story in my head.
April 29, 2022
Read for my Intro to Modern Korean Literature class. I've only read "On the Eve of the Uprising" (Korean title is "만세전"), so I'm only speaking on that. The narrator starts of kind of insufferable, but gets better as the story progresses. This was one of my favorite stories I read this semester.
December 23, 2019
I came across this title in the context of doing some reading some months ago of nonfiction history and fiction relating to the Japanese occupation of Korea which took place from 1910-1945 until Japan was defeated in WWII. Although I am not generally a fan of short story collections, there have been a few here and there which I liked. So, I decided to give this one a try hoping it would prove to be an informative and interesting foray into the Korean perspective of those years.
The book was able to portray some of the sense of alienation and powerlessness that Koreans experienced during the occupation of their homeland. The ways in which family lives and career/economic were disrupted due to the arbitrary at times cruel oversight by the Japanese were poignantly depicted as well.
Unfortunately, On the Eve was consistent in many respects with my previous experiences with short stories. Despite the fact that two of the six were novellas of 50-100 pages in length I was still frustrated with the lack of character development. The lack of much of a plot line, inherent in the limitations of length, also was disappointing. The longer stories seemed to ramble along without as much focus as I would have preferred.
After re-reading the Introduction when I completed the book I realized the source of some of my frustrations: anything published in Korea during these times underwent censorship by the Japanese bureaucrats running the country. Thus, the extent to which the horrors of occupation could be depicted was significantly curtailed. Ie, one has to read between the lines, so to speak, to gain a more realistic picture of what life was like for the Korean people during those years. Despite this censorship problematic elements of life for Koreans were still portrayed in these stories. These included threats and intimidation, arbitrary arrests, brainwashing if not outright torture for dissidents, loss of property rights, very limited economic opportunities, forced conscription into the Japanese military towards the end of the war, etc. Ie, there was more in these stories than a quick reading might have found and/or than the censors readily allowed.
At least three more things might have made this book more informative. First, there were frequent references to towns and other places in the country. It would have been much more reader friendly had the publishing company provided a map at the beginning of each story so as to make this more comprehensible. Second, there was a smattering of Korean words in the text. More translation of these words (in parentheses if need be) would have also been helpful. Three, one of the stories made extended references to the history of Korean dynasties before the 20th century. A brief teanslator’s note about this would have been helpful.
Overall, I would give On the Eve a 3 star rating: okay but not great given my own admitted biases against short stories and the modest flaws noted above. It would be a good read with two provisos. First, for those with an interest in this period of Japanese/Korean history. Second, for those more receptive to short stories than I admittedly tend to be.
The book was able to portray some of the sense of alienation and powerlessness that Koreans experienced during the occupation of their homeland. The ways in which family lives and career/economic were disrupted due to the arbitrary at times cruel oversight by the Japanese were poignantly depicted as well.
Unfortunately, On the Eve was consistent in many respects with my previous experiences with short stories. Despite the fact that two of the six were novellas of 50-100 pages in length I was still frustrated with the lack of character development. The lack of much of a plot line, inherent in the limitations of length, also was disappointing. The longer stories seemed to ramble along without as much focus as I would have preferred.
After re-reading the Introduction when I completed the book I realized the source of some of my frustrations: anything published in Korea during these times underwent censorship by the Japanese bureaucrats running the country. Thus, the extent to which the horrors of occupation could be depicted was significantly curtailed. Ie, one has to read between the lines, so to speak, to gain a more realistic picture of what life was like for the Korean people during those years. Despite this censorship problematic elements of life for Koreans were still portrayed in these stories. These included threats and intimidation, arbitrary arrests, brainwashing if not outright torture for dissidents, loss of property rights, very limited economic opportunities, forced conscription into the Japanese military towards the end of the war, etc. Ie, there was more in these stories than a quick reading might have found and/or than the censors readily allowed.
At least three more things might have made this book more informative. First, there were frequent references to towns and other places in the country. It would have been much more reader friendly had the publishing company provided a map at the beginning of each story so as to make this more comprehensible. Second, there was a smattering of Korean words in the text. More translation of these words (in parentheses if need be) would have also been helpful. Three, one of the stories made extended references to the history of Korean dynasties before the 20th century. A brief teanslator’s note about this would have been helpful.
Overall, I would give On the Eve a 3 star rating: okay but not great given my own admitted biases against short stories and the modest flaws noted above. It would be a good read with two provisos. First, for those with an interest in this period of Japanese/Korean history. Second, for those more receptive to short stories than I admittedly tend to be.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews