Books by Kim Man-jung
The Nine Cloud Dream
by Kim Man-Jung and Heinz Insu Fenkl (editor and translator)
“It’s about a monk who’s trying to gain enlightenment, but at some point he dies and transitions into another life. He leads this entire other life, and during the course of it, he encounters a series of women with whom he has various different kinds of relationships. And then the whole thing turns out to be a classic of the dream narrative genre, because he wakes up and realizes that this entire life that he had was a mere dream. He didn’t die and wasn’t reborn as this man, and the entire thing held a lesson for him about the nature of life and death and reincarnation and so on.” Read more...
The Best Korean Mythology and Classic Fantasy Books
Minsoo Kang, Historian
Interviews where books by Kim Man-jung were recommended
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1
Myths and Legends from Korea: An Annotated Compendium of Ancient and Modern Materials
by James H. Grayson -
2
The Korean Myths: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes and Legends
by Bella Myong-wol Dalton-Fenkl & Heinz Insu Fenkl -
3
Samguk Yusa: Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea
by Ilyon -
4
The Story of Hong Gildong
by Minsoo Kang (editor and translator) -
5
The Nine Cloud Dream
by Kim Man-Jung and Heinz Insu Fenkl (editor and translator)
The Best Korean Mythology and Classic Fantasy Books, recommended by Minsoo Kang
The Best Korean Mythology and Classic Fantasy Books, recommended by Minsoo Kang
Popular Korean fantasy today features characters and themes from a rich tradition. Author, historian and translator Minsoo Kang introduces five key texts available in English, from founding myths to fantastical novels, and explains the history that shaped these stories – and, just as importantly, shaped the desires of their modern readers.
