Encounter
Subtitle: a novel of nineteenth-century Korea
By: by Hahn Moo-Sook ; translated by Ok Young Kim Chang.
Series: Voices from Asia ;; 5
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 1992
Place of publication: Berkeley
Language: eng
Number of pages: 325
Subjects: Chŏng, Yag-yong, 1762-1836 -- Fiction.; Chŏng, Ha-sang, 1795-1839 -- Fiction.; Korea -- Fiction.
Genres: Fiction.
Description: Encounter (Mannam) brings to life the world of traditional Korea on the brink of change.

The novel recounts the experiences of Tasan, a high-ranking official and foremost Neo-Confucian scholar at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Because of his fascination with Western learning, then synonymous with Catholicism, Tasan is exiled to a remote province for eighteen years. In banishment, he comes to know people from many social and religious backgrounds - Buddhist monks, peasants, shamans - whom he would not otherwise have met.

Tasan succumbs to apostasy to protect himself. In contrast, his nephew Ha-sang wholeheartedly espouses Catholicism. Ha-sang dedicated his life to the dangerous task of bringing Western priests into Korea, where Christianity has taken root without the proselytizing of European missionaries. A subplot involving three sisters, the daughters of a prominent Catholic aristocrat, offers vivid glimpses into the lives of Yi-dynasty women - palace ladies, scholars' wives, tavernkeepers, shamans, and slaves.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Translation of: Mannam.