Cho Dong-Il''s History of Korean Literature

Cho Dong-Il's History of Korean literature, translated by Charles La Shure, traces the development of Korean literature from its beginnings in paleolithic times through the ancient and medieval eras, the important transition from medieval to modern Korea, and the Japanese colonial period, which ended in 1945. A pre-eminent scholar of Korean literature, Cho Dong-il demonstrates how inextricably the threads of history, literature, and philosophy are interwoven, providing the necessary background to understand Korean literature as an unbroken tradition of thousands of years. His theories of literary branches and tendencies, as well as his unique understanding of the relationships between historical eras, provide a deeper and more flexible framework for interpreting Korean literature than traditional genre and periodization systems. Lastly, he goes beyond regional boundaries to examine the place Korean literature occupies in world literature. This English translation of the five-volume original serves as a foundation for and stepping stone to further study of Korean literature. See more