Lost Souls: Stories

by Hwang Sun-won

These captivating short stories portray three major periods in modern Korean history: the forces of colonial modernity during the late 1930s; the postcolonial struggle to rebuild society after four decades of oppression, emasculation, and cultural exile (1945 to 1950); and the attempt to reconstruct a shattered land and a traumatized nation after the Korean War.

Lost Souls echoes the exceptional work of China's Shen Congwen and Japan's Kawabata Yasunari. Modernist narratives set in the metropolises of Tokyo and Pyongyang alternate with starkly realistic portraits of rural life. Surrealist tales suggest the unsettling sensation of colonial domination, while stories of the outcast embody the thrill and terror of independence and survival in a land dominated by tradition and devastated by war.

Written during the chaos of 1945, "Booze" recounts a fight between Koreans for control of a former Japanese-owned distillery. "Toad" relates the suffering created by hundreds of thousands of returning refugees, and stories from the 1950s confront the catastrophes of the Korean War and the problematic desire for autonomy. Visceral and versatile, Lost Souls is a classic work on the possibilities of transition that showcases the innovation and craftsmanship of a consummate—and widely celebrated—storyteller.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories

360 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1956

About the author

See: 황순원

Hwang Sun-wŏn was a Korean short story writer, novelist, and poet.

Reviews

[Barry Welsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watch my review on YouTube here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prkrV...

KBS Korea 24 @KBSKorea24

“We have another classic collection of #shortstories for #KoreaBookClub this week. @barrypwelsh introduces us to 'Lost Souls' (#잃어버린사람들) by #HwangSunWon (trans. Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton), and the stories written shortly after the #KoreanWar. #황순원 #books.”

#KBSWORLDRadio #KBS월드라디오 #Korea24 #코리아24 #책추천 #책스타그램 #북스타그램 #bookstagram #book #reading #KoreanLiterature

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[Jessica Barrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think Hwang Sunwon is a magnificent story teller who has such a fascinating insight into the human psyche - his characterisation is strong and he manages to make the reader feel strongly about the protagonists. My favourite thing about his stories is that they are so real - there is no such thing as a happy ending all the time in life, and he acknowledges this with his tales of hardship through the Korean War and during the Japanese occupation and even the struggles faced after Liberation.

I find the downfall in this collection of short stories is that:
1. Some of the stories are not that short. Some of the stories are laborious.
2. The personal appeal of some of these stories really varies for me. Some seem nonsensical and grotesque whilst others are tragic and poetic. That being said, sometimes you need to look beneath the surface to find the true meaning of these tales, such as The Dog of Crossover Village - the Afterword informed me that the dog could represent the persevering and enduring nature of the Koreans after their historical hardships. After I read that, I got it - prior, I had no clue what that story was about.

I think it is really worthwhile reading this collection of stories, but be ready to put your critical and analytic hat on!