Books by Hwang Sok-yong

“Mater 2-10 refers to a locomotive that was captured during the Korean War by the South Korean army as they advanced north. In 1950, the American army destroyed it to keep it out of enemy hands. Then, in the early 2000s, it was restored and became an icon of the Korean War, and the division of the country. It’s an epic story, as you said. It threads together three generations of railroad workers over a century of Korean history, a complicated national history of occupation and freedom, alongside the political struggles of the working class.” Read more...

The Best Novels in Translation: The 2024 International Booker Prize Shortlist

Eleanor Wachtel, Broadcaster

“This novel is based on a historical incident that took place about two months after the June 1950 outbreak of the war—a massacre, or what you might call an ideological cleansing. Hwang portrays it through native Korean spirituality; once the various souls are satisfied their stories have been heard they can journey to the afterlife. That’s what makes this novel really brilliant. We might say that not only do the victims of wartime atrocities have a chance to reclaim their identity, but the very practice of being spiritual in Korea is once again reclaiming a fundamental place in Korean literary expression.” Read more...

The Best Korean Novels

Bruce Fulton, Translator