This course is a comprehensive introduction to two millennia of Korean literature and culture from the beginnings to our current moment. We will sample texts, art, and films from and about one of the world’s oldest continuous literary traditions putting particular emphasis on placing them in their cultural context and considering their significance today from a comparative global perspective. While overall following a chronological trajectory that allows you to experience the gradual unfolding of Korean culture from a longue-durée perspective, we will explore poetry; various genres of historiography, story-telling, and fiction; philosophical and religious texts and related social practices; art, artifacts, and films. Along the way we will focus on origin stories and questions of cultural heritage; gender differences between male and female literary cultures; queens, women writers & heroines; and the impact of Korea’s colonial legacy and the post-war economic miracle on Korean literature and culture today. The course includes creative exercises to help you develop your own Korean wave and K-drama passions with a critically informed eye.
