Marshall R. Pihl

P'ansori, the traditional oral narrative of Korea, is sung by a highly trained soloist to the accompaniment of complex drumming. The singer both narrates the story and dramatizes all the characters, male and female. Performances require as long as six hours and make extraordinary vocal demands. In the first book-length treatment in English of this remarkable art form, Pihl traces the history of p'ansori from its roots in shamanism and folktales through its nineteenth-century heyday under highly acclaimed masters and discusses its evolution in the twentieth century. After examining the place of p'ansori in popular entertainment and its textual tradition, he analyzes the nature of texts in the repertoire and explains the vocal and rhythmic techniques required to perform them. Pihl's superb translation of the alternately touching and comic "Song of Shim Ch'ong"—the first annotated English translation of a full p'ansori performance text—illustrates the emotional range, narrative variety, and technical complexity of p'ansori literature. The Korean Singer of Tales will interest not only Korean specialists, but also students of comparative literature, folklore, anthropology, and music.

The Korean Singer of Tales

An anthology of contemporary Korean fiction including: "The Wife and Children"; "The Post Horse Curse"; "Mountains"; "Kapitan Ri"; "The Winter"; and "A Dream of Good Fortune."

Contemporary Korean Fiction

Land of Exile: Contemporary Korean Fiction

Bruce Fulton

Ju-Chan Fulton

Since its original publication in 1993, this powerful collection has served as a vivid gateway to the history, society, and culture of contemporary South Korea, reflecting the poignant motif of exile in Korea's experience of modernity. This new edition has been expanded to include four new stories--Scarlet Fingernails (1987) by Kim Minsuk; The Last of Hanak'o (1992) by Ch'oe Yun, one of Korea's most important living writers; Conviction (2003) by Ch'oe Such'ol; and From Powder to Powder (2004) by Kim Hun--adding two important women's voices and extending the anthology's range into the new millennium. None of the stories in this expanded edition remains in print in any other volume, and Conviction and From Powder to Powder appear here in English for the first time.

Land of Exile

P’ansori, the traditional oral narrative of Korea, is sung by a highly trained soloist to the accompaniment of complex drumming. The singer both narrates the story and dramatizes all the characters, male and female. Performances require as long as six hours and make extraordinary vocal demands. In the first book-length treatment in English of this remarkable art form, Marshall R. Pihl traces the history of p’ansori from its roots in shamanism and folktales through its nineteenth-century heyday under highly acclaimed masters and discusses its evolution in the twentieth century. After examining the place of p’ansori in popular entertainment and its textual tradition, he analyzes the nature of texts in the repertoire and explains the vocal and rhythmic techniques required to perform them. Pihl’s superb translation of the alternately touching and comic "Song of Shim Ch’ong"--the first annotated English translation of a full p’ansori performance text--illustrates the emotional range, narrative variety, and technical complexity of p’ansori literature. The Korean Singer of Tales will interest not only Korean specialists, but also students of comparative literature, folklore, anthropology, and music.

"Since its original publication, Land of Exile has become the standard English-language anthology of post-1945 Korean short fiction. This new edition renews and enriches the first. The selections have been expanded to include four new stories." "In addition, Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton have revised the introduction, updated the headnotes, repolished translations, and appended a list of further readings. What has not changed is what the anthology offers readers: a vivid gateway to the history, society, and culture of contemporary South Korea and unforgettable stories, with the motif of exile in Korea's experience of modernity."--BOOK JACKET.

The Korean Singer of Tales is the first book-length treatment in English of this remarkable art form and contains the first annotated English translation of a full performance text. Pihl traces the history of pansori from its roots in shamanism and folktales through its nineteenth-century heyday and discusses its evolution in the twentieth century. The place of pansori in popular entertainment, its textual tradition, and its vocal and rhythmic techniques are all examined.

Kwon Youngmin

An anthology of contemporary Korean fiction including: "The Wife and Children"; "The Post Horse Curse"; "Mountains"; "Kapitan Ri"; "The Winter"; and "A Dream of Good Fortune".

Marshall R. Pihl

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