Encounter: A Novel of Nineteenth-Century Korea (Voices from Asia, No. 5)
Winner of the 1986 Grand Prix of the Republic of Korea Literature Award, this novel of 19th-century Korea traces the lives of the scholar Chong Yak-yong and his martyred nephew Chong Ha-sang. Hahn intertwines philosophical and doctrinal discussions of Buddhism, Catholicism, and Taoism while outlining the origins of the strong tie in Korea between intellectualism and Western religion. But, even in the complicated first chapters, the tableau of life in Korea and the punishment and exigencies suffered by Korean Catholics are compelling. Hahn's descriptions are at their best while portraying the annual Korean tribute mission to China and the staging of shamanistic rites, despite occasional infelicitous wording. Both the main plot and the various subplots--especially that of Kwon Ho-sin and his family, all of whom meet their deaths as a result of their unswerving Catholic faith--form a rich narrative of Catholicism's tenacity in 1800s Korea and the efforts to destroy it. Recommended for literary collections.- D.E. Perushek, Univ. of Tennessee Libs., KnoxvilleCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.