2018: Chang Kang-Myoung

The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus Volume 16 | Issue 11 | Number 4 | May 21, 2018
Mit freundlicher Erlaubnis


Because I Hate Korea
by Chang Kang-Myoung
translation by Stephen J. Epstein and Mi Young Kim
with an introduction by Stephen J. Epstein


Abstract:
Chang Kang-myoung’s provocatively titled novel Because I Hate Korea (Han’gugi sireoseo) became a best-seller  in 2015 and is among the most notable literary works to address rampant dissatisfaction among South Korean millennials. In recent years, Chang, a former journalist (b. 1975), has developed a reputation for adroit and prolific fictionalized expressions of local discontent. Because I Hate Korea reflects a pervasive desire on the part of the nation’s younger people to escape from “Hell Joseon,” a coinage that has attained widespread circulation. This piece briefly introduces the novel, setting it within its wider contemporary context, and then provides a translation of the first chapter.


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