Han Sorya and North Korean Literature: The Failure of Socialist Realism in the DPRK (Cornell East Asia Series No. 69) [Paperback]

Brian R. Myers (Author)

Book Description

Series: Cornell East Asia Series No. 69 | Publication Date: January 1994

This first and only study of North Korean literary history by a Western scholar deals with the crucial role played by Han Sôrya, chairman of the D.P.R.K.'s Federation of Literature and Art from 1948 to his purge in 1962, both in devising the iconography of Kim Il Sung's personality cult and in defining the early course of North Korean letters. Through brief studies of Han's own canonical works the author also sets out to dispel the widely-held assumption that North Korean literature is compatible with Soviet and Chinese socialist realism. The appendix includes a complete translation of Han's 1951 novella Jackals (Sûngnyangi).

The cartoon on the book cover, which is taken from the New Year's issue of North Korea's Munhak Sinmun in 1958, depicts the most prominent members of the Pyongyang literary scene at the time. Han Sôrya is on the far left, showing the bespectacled Yi Kiyông and other colleagues the way. The banner reads: "For the new creative enhancement of our literature!"

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

BRIAN R. MYERS received a doctorate in Korean studies from the Eberhard-Karls-Universität in Tübingen. He is also the author of A Reader's Manifesto: An Attack on Pretentiousness in American Literary Prose, Melville House Publishing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 210 pages
• Publisher: Cornell Univ East Asia Program (January 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0939657694
• ISBN-13: 978-0939657698
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,440,910 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brian R. Myers received a doctorate in Korean studies from the Eberhard-Karls-Universität in Tübingen. He is also the author of A Reader's Manifesto: An Attack on Pretentiousness in American Literary Prose, Melville House Publishing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating, November 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Han Sorya and North Korean Literature: The Failure of Socialist Realism in the DPRK (Cornell East Asia Series No. 69) (Paperback)

I was looking for a book which goes beyond the usual cliches about North Korea, so although I wasn't that interested in literature I bought this book. It provides a fascinating look at a North Korea that I hadn't known existed. We all tend to think that the personality cult kicked in right after 1945, but this book shows that it developed over time, with literary figures like Han Sorya playing a large role in developing what Myers calls the "iconography" of the personality cult. The book is also entertaining, since it describes the various factional struggles inside the literary scene. The analysis of Han's novels is very wittily done. After reading this book, I felt that I knew the North Korea of the forties and fifties.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars not just for literary historians, May 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Han Sorya and North Korean Literature: The Failure of Socialist Realism in the DPRK (Cornell East Asia Series No. 69) (Paperback)

This is really the only study of North Korean culture in English, but it is also indispensable for historians and political scientists. Myers' explanation of the DPRK's glorification of spontaneous impulses/rages etc goes a long way towards explaining that country's long list of idiotically self-defeating terrorist acts - from the ax murders at the DMZ to the Rangoon bombing.