Korean LiteratureTravels the World

Korean pop star PSY has taken center stage on the international music scene with his hitsong, “Gangnam Style.” The video gained a staggering 700 million views on YouTubein just three months, and spent seven consecutive weeks at No. 2 on the Billboard chartas of November 13. The “Gangnam Style” music video has inspired hundreds of parodyvideos as people all over the world have been dancing the catchy “horse dance” that“Gangnam Style” is famous for. Overcoming geographical boundaries and appealingto a universal penchant for elation, PSY, a 30-something Korean singer with averagelooks, has been a surprise and delight to Koreans as well. Above all, the role of “GangnamStyle” as a song and choreographed dance that is universally enjoyed carries no smallcultural significance.In 1882, natural scientist W.E. Griffis referred to Korea as “Corea: the HermitNation” in his book of the same title. Until the end of the 19th century, Korea wasindeed a nation tucked away in a corner of the world, one with an inconspicuouspresence. But Korea had not always been a hermit nation. Historically, Korea was anactive participant of international trade that sent merchants as far as Southeast Asia,Inner Asia, and even the Middle East. The isolationist foreign relations during theJoseon era, however, led to 400 years of reclusion, which made Korea seem a hermitnation in Griffis’ eyes. But not long after Griffis’ observation, Joseon, or his ‘Corea,’ fellunder Japanese colonial rule, sending Koreans all over the world to China, Japan, InnerAsia, and North America with the dream of freedom and independence. This history ofthe Korean diaspora continued after the Korean War (1950-1953) as Koreans left theirhome country to escape poverty and political oppression, and lay roots in foreign lands.Korean contemporary history has truly been one of expatriation and exile.Restrictions on overseas travel for Koreans slowly began to lift in 1989. Beforethen, political dictatorship and national security matters that rose from being a dividednation in armistice made traveling abroad difficult. However, when industrializationwas swiftly achieved and democracy successfully established, the government adopted“globalization” as its motto in 1992 and encouraged Koreans to travel. This resultedin Korean writers’ direct experience with diverse cultures, and these experiences madetheir way onto the pages. Inspired by the push for globalization, overseas travel operatedas an impetus for exploring the light and shadow of globalization and fostering animagination that extends far beyond the geographical boundaries of the Koreanpeninsula.This issue of _list is a meaningful and exciting showcase of “Creating the Worldin Korean Literature,” introducing works that search for the vestiges and path of theKorean disapora, that invites us to remember and experience the momentous occasionsin history and investigate the isolation and identity crisis Koreans experience in foreignlands. In addition, we have also sought out stories that focus on the lives of people thatKorean characters meet while abroad—stories of tragedy and humanism in warringregions, and unique writing spaces. Korean literature today is thus communicating withthe world and searching for a universal value to uphold and cherish.Join us as we journey around the world through the lens of Korean literature. 

by Kim Dongshik