Product Review

The short story has been the genre of choice for writers of literary fiction in modern Korea and it continues to thrive in the new millennium. Waxen Wings: The Acta Koreana Anthology of Short Fiction from Korea offers a diverse sampling from a century of modern Korean short fiction, beginning with stories from two early masters (Yi Hyosok and Ch'ae Manshik) and ending with works by four of the most imaginative contemporary writers (Kim Yongha, Ha Songnan, P'yon Hyeyong, and Kim Chunghyok). In between are the two writers who are primarily responsible for the visibility enjoyed by Korean women fiction writers today (O Chongh i and Pak Wanso), and a writer, Kim Wonil, who has made it his lifework to address the territorial and spiritual division of the Korean peninsula. The title of the anthology, from Ha Songnan's 1999 story, suggests the transcendental qualities of the finest Korean short fiction.

In The Mountains by Yi Hyoseok
Constable Maeng by Ch'ae Manshik
Weaver Woman by Oh Cheong-hui
We Sell Shame by Park Wan-so
Prison of the Heart by Kim Won-il
The Pager by Kim Young-ha
Waxen Wings by Ha Seong-nan
Corpses by Pyeon Hye-yeong
The Glass Shield by Kim Chung-yeok