Early Korean Literature

Preeminent scholar and translator David R. McCann presents an anthology of his own translations of classic works encompassing the major genres and authors of the Korean literary tradition—stories, legends, poems, historical vignettes, and other works—with introductory essays to aid in their understanding.

Preeminent scholar and translator David R. McCann presents an anthology of his own translations of works ranging across the major genres and authors of Korean writing—stories, legends, poems, historical vignettes, and other works—and a set of critical essays on major themes.

A brief history of traditional Korean literature orients the reader to the historical context of the writings, thus bringing into focus this rich literary tradition. The anthology of translations begins with the Samguk sagi, or History of the Three Kingdoms, written in 1145, and ends with "The Story of Master Hô," written in the late 1700s. Three exploratory essays of particular subtlety and lucidity raise interpretive and comparative issues that provide a creative, sophisticated framework for approaching the selections.

David R. McCann is Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Literature in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University. His publications include Selected Poems of Sô Chôngju and Form and Freedom in Korean Poetry.

Robert J. Fouser:
Early Korean Literature presents a provocative theory of the role of 'literary culture' in Korean literature.