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Download or read book The Writings of Henry Cu Kim written by Henry Cu Kim and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Author: Heui-Yung Park
Publisher: Lexington Books
Published: 2015-12-16
Total Pages: 197
ISBN-13: 1498507689
DOWNLOAD EBOOKKorean and Korean American Life Writing in Hawai'i examines such self-representing genres as lyric poems, oral history, autobiography, and memoirs written by Korean and Korean Americans from the early twentieth century to the present, in order to explore how these people have shaped their individual or collective identities. Their representations, produced in different periods by successive generations, reveal how Koreans in their diaspora to Hawai‘i came to terms with their ethnic and local selves, and also how the sense of who and what they are changed over the years, both within and beyond the initial generation. Looking into their individual and collective identities in lyric poems, oral history, autobiography, and memoirs reveals how the earliest arrivals, their children, and their grandchildren have come to terms with their national, ethnic, and local selves, and how their sense of identity changes over the course of time, both within and beyond the initial generation. In the lyric poems found in Korean-language periodicals of the native-born generation, we can trace the significance of the motherland and Hawai‘i for these writers’ sense of identity. The oral histories of first-generation women, most of whom arrived as picture brides, also represent another “us”: often vulnerable Koreans who define themselves in relation to both the present culture and to Korean men. The self developed by the second-, third-, and in-between-generation Koreans diversifies because their identity is not defined exclusively by their ancestral land, extending to Hawai‘i and to America. This study focuses on three main areas of emphasis: Hawai‘i; Korean language and culture; and life writing. By tracing how identity changes with each generation, this study reveals how identity formation for Hawai‘i diasporic Koreans has evolved.
Download or read book Korean and Korean American Life Writing in Hawai'i written by Heui-Yung Park and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2015-12-16 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Korean and Korean American Life Writing in Hawai'i examines such self-representing genres as lyric poems, oral history, autobiography, and memoirs written by Korean and Korean Americans from the early twentieth century to the present, in order to explore how these people have shaped their individual or collective identities. Their representations, produced in different periods by successive generations, reveal how Koreans in their diaspora to Hawai‘i came to terms with their ethnic and local selves, and also how the sense of who and what they are changed over the years, both within and beyond the initial generation. Looking into their individual and collective identities in lyric poems, oral history, autobiography, and memoirs reveals how the earliest arrivals, their children, and their grandchildren have come to terms with their national, ethnic, and local selves, and how their sense of identity changes over the course of time, both within and beyond the initial generation. In the lyric poems found in Korean-language periodicals of the native-born generation, we can trace the significance of the motherland and Hawai‘i for these writers’ sense of identity. The oral histories of first-generation women, most of whom arrived as picture brides, also represent another “us”: often vulnerable Koreans who define themselves in relation to both the present culture and to Korean men. The self developed by the second-, third-, and in-between-generation Koreans diversifies because their identity is not defined exclusively by their ancestral land, extending to Hawai‘i and to America. This study focuses on three main areas of emphasis: Hawai‘i; Korean language and culture; and life writing. By tracing how identity changes with each generation, this study reveals how identity formation for Hawai‘i diasporic Koreans has evolved.
Author: Richard S. Kim
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2011-10-07
Total Pages: 240
ISBN-13: 0199913269
DOWNLOAD EBOOKHonorable Mention, Book Award in History of the Association for Asian American Studies. In this book, Richard S. Kim examines the central role played by immigrants in the independence movement that sought to liberate Korea from Japanese colonization. Regarding Japanese rule as illegitimate, Koreans in and out of the Korean peninsula viewed themselves as a stateless people. Their independence activities had to be carried out from abroad, creating conditions for the emergence of a diasporic nationalism. Using English and Korean language sources, Kim traces how Koreans in the United States articulated visions of national sovereignty, drawing particularly on American political rhetoric and symbolism, and increasingly relied on U.S. state power to mobilize international support for their cause. Their efforts to establish an independent homeland necessitated their participation in civic and political activities in the United States, engaging in organizational activity that led to the development of an ethnic consciousness and paradoxically established them as an American ethnic group. Ultimately, Kim argues, homeland nationalism was central to the assimilation of Korean immigrants as American ethnics, even as they were denied U.S. citizenship.
Download or read book The Quest for Statehood written by Richard S. Kim and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-10-07 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Honorable Mention, Book Award in History of the Association for Asian American Studies. In this book, Richard S. Kim examines the central role played by immigrants in the independence movement that sought to liberate Korea from Japanese colonization. Regarding Japanese rule as illegitimate, Koreans in and out of the Korean peninsula viewed themselves as a stateless people. Their independence activities had to be carried out from abroad, creating conditions for the emergence of a diasporic nationalism. Using English and Korean language sources, Kim traces how Koreans in the United States articulated visions of national sovereignty, drawing particularly on American political rhetoric and symbolism, and increasingly relied on U.S. state power to mobilize international support for their cause. Their efforts to establish an independent homeland necessitated their participation in civic and political activities in the United States, engaging in organizational activity that led to the development of an ethnic consciousness and paradoxically established them as an American ethnic group. Ultimately, Kim argues, homeland nationalism was central to the assimilation of Korean immigrants as American ethnics, even as they were denied U.S. citizenship.
Author: Yong-ho Ch'oe
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Published: 2006-11-30
Total Pages: 297
ISBN-13: 0824862597
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIn 1903, 102 Koreans migrated to Hawai‘i in search of wealth and fortune—the first in their country’s history to live in the Western world. Thousands followed. Most of them, however, found only hardship while working as sugar plantation laborers. Soon after their departure, Korea was colonized by Japan, and overnight they became "international orphans" with no government to protect them. Setting aside their original goal of bettering their own lives, these Korean immigrants redirected their energies to restoring their country’s sovereignty, turning Hawai‘i into a crucially important base of Korean nationalism. From the Land of Hibiscus traces the story of Koreans in Hawai‘i from their first arrival to the eve of Korea’s liberation in 1945. Using newly uncovered evidence, it challenges previously held ideas on the social origins of immigrants. It also examines their political background, the role of Christian churches in immigration, the image of Koreans as depicted in the media, and, above all, nationalist activities. Different approaches to waging the nationalist struggle uncover the causes of feuds that often bitterly divided the Korean community. Finally, the book provides the first in-depth studies of the nationalist activities of Syngman Rhee, the Korean National Association, and the United Korea Committee. Contributors: Yŏng-ho Ch’oe, Anne Soon Choi, Sun-Pyo Hong, Do-Hyung Kim, Lili M. Kim, Richard S. Kim, Brandon Palmer, Judy Van Zile, Mahn-Yŏl Yi.
Download or read book From the Land of Hibiscus written by Yong-ho Ch'oe and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2006-11-30 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1903, 102 Koreans migrated to Hawai‘i in search of wealth and fortune—the first in their country’s history to live in the Western world. Thousands followed. Most of them, however, found only hardship while working as sugar plantation laborers. Soon after their departure, Korea was colonized by Japan, and overnight they became "international orphans" with no government to protect them. Setting aside their original goal of bettering their own lives, these Korean immigrants redirected their energies to restoring their country’s sovereignty, turning Hawai‘i into a crucially important base of Korean nationalism. From the Land of Hibiscus traces the story of Koreans in Hawai‘i from their first arrival to the eve of Korea’s liberation in 1945. Using newly uncovered evidence, it challenges previously held ideas on the social origins of immigrants. It also examines their political background, the role of Christian churches in immigration, the image of Koreans as depicted in the media, and, above all, nationalist activities. Different approaches to waging the nationalist struggle uncover the causes of feuds that often bitterly divided the Korean community. Finally, the book provides the first in-depth studies of the nationalist activities of Syngman Rhee, the Korean National Association, and the United Korea Committee. Contributors: Yŏng-ho Ch’oe, Anne Soon Choi, Sun-Pyo Hong, Do-Hyung Kim, Lili M. Kim, Richard S. Kim, Brandon Palmer, Judy Van Zile, Mahn-Yŏl Yi.
Author: Young Ick Lew
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Published: 2013-11-30
Total Pages: 474
ISBN-13: 0824839145
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe only full-scale history of Syngman Rhee’s (1875–1965) early career in English was published nearly six decades ago. Now, in The Making of the First Korean President, Young Ick Lew uncovers little-known aspects of Rhee’s leadership roles prior to 1948, when he became the Republic of Korea’s first president. In this richly illustrated volume, Lew delves into Rhee’s background, investigates his abortive diplomatic missions, and explains how and why he was impeached as the head of the Korean Provisional Government in 1925. He analyzes the numerous personal conflicts between Rhee and other prominent Korean leaders, including some close friends and supporters who eventually denounced him as an autocrat. Rhee is portrayed as a fallible yet charismatic leader who spent his life fighting in the diplomatic and propaganda arena for the independence of his beleaguered nation—a struggle that would have consumed and defeated lesser men. Based on exhaustive research that incorporates archival records as well as secondary sources in Korean, English, and Japanese, The Making of the First Korean President meticulously lays out the key developments of Rhee’s pre-presidential career, including his early schooling in Korea, involvement in the reform movement against the Taehan (“Great Korean”) Empire, and his six-year incarceration in Seoul Prison for a coup attempt on Emperor Kojong. Rhee’s life in the U.S. is also examined in detail: his education at George Washington, Harvard, and Princeton universities; his evangelical work at the Seoul YMCA; his extensive activities in Hawai‘i and attempts to maintain prestige and power among Koreans in the U.S. Lew concludes that, despite the manifold shortcomings in Rhee’s authoritarian leadership, he was undoubtedly best prepared to assume the presidency of South Korea after the onset of the Cold War in the Korean Peninsula. Essential reading for anyone with an interest in modern Korean history, this work will serve as a lasting portrait of one of the pivotal figures in the evolution of Korea as it journeyed from colonial suppression to freedom and security.
Download or read book The Making of the First Korean President written by Young Ick Lew and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2013-11-30 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The only full-scale history of Syngman Rhee’s (1875–1965) early career in English was published nearly six decades ago. Now, in The Making of the First Korean President, Young Ick Lew uncovers little-known aspects of Rhee’s leadership roles prior to 1948, when he became the Republic of Korea’s first president. In this richly illustrated volume, Lew delves into Rhee’s background, investigates his abortive diplomatic missions, and explains how and why he was impeached as the head of the Korean Provisional Government in 1925. He analyzes the numerous personal conflicts between Rhee and other prominent Korean leaders, including some close friends and supporters who eventually denounced him as an autocrat. Rhee is portrayed as a fallible yet charismatic leader who spent his life fighting in the diplomatic and propaganda arena for the independence of his beleaguered nation—a struggle that would have consumed and defeated lesser men. Based on exhaustive research that incorporates archival records as well as secondary sources in Korean, English, and Japanese, The Making of the First Korean President meticulously lays out the key developments of Rhee’s pre-presidential career, including his early schooling in Korea, involvement in the reform movement against the Taehan (“Great Korean”) Empire, and his six-year incarceration in Seoul Prison for a coup attempt on Emperor Kojong. Rhee’s life in the U.S. is also examined in detail: his education at George Washington, Harvard, and Princeton universities; his evangelical work at the Seoul YMCA; his extensive activities in Hawai‘i and attempts to maintain prestige and power among Koreans in the U.S. Lew concludes that, despite the manifold shortcomings in Rhee’s authoritarian leadership, he was undoubtedly best prepared to assume the presidency of South Korea after the onset of the Cold War in the Korean Peninsula. Essential reading for anyone with an interest in modern Korean history, this work will serve as a lasting portrait of one of the pivotal figures in the evolution of Korea as it journeyed from colonial suppression to freedom and security.
Author: Robert Oppenheim
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Published: 2016-06-01
Total Pages: 416
ISBN-13: 0803288816
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIn the nineteenth century the predominant focus of American anthropology centered on the native peoples of North America, and most anthropologists would argue that Korea during this period was hardly a cultural area of great anthropological interest. However, this perspective underestimates Korea as a significant object of concern for American anthropology during the period from 1882 to 1945--otherwise a turbulent, transitional period in Korea's history. An Asian Frontier focuses on the dialogue between the American anthropological tradition and Korea, from Korea's first treaty with the United States to the end of World War II, with the goal of rereading anthropology's history and theoretical development through its Pacific frontier. Drawing on notebooks and personal correspondence as well as the publications of anthropologists of the day, Robert Oppenheim shows how and why Korea became an important object of study--with, for instance, more published about Korea in the pages of American Anthropologist before 1900 than would be seen for decades after. Oppenheim chronicles the actions of American collectors, Korean mediators, and metropolitan curators who first created Korean anthropological exhibitions for the public. He moves on to examine anthropologists--such as Ales Hrdlicka, Walter Hough, Stewart Culin, Frederick Starr, and Frank Hamilton Cushing--who fit Korea into frameworks of evolution, culture, and race even as they engaged questions of imperialism that were raised by Japan's colonization of the country. In tracing the development of American anthropology's understanding of Korea, Oppenheim discloses the legacy present in our ongoing understanding of Korea and of anthropology's past.
Download or read book An Asian Frontier written by Robert Oppenheim and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2016-06-01 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the nineteenth century the predominant focus of American anthropology centered on the native peoples of North America, and most anthropologists would argue that Korea during this period was hardly a cultural area of great anthropological interest. However, this perspective underestimates Korea as a significant object of concern for American anthropology during the period from 1882 to 1945--otherwise a turbulent, transitional period in Korea's history. An Asian Frontier focuses on the dialogue between the American anthropological tradition and Korea, from Korea's first treaty with the United States to the end of World War II, with the goal of rereading anthropology's history and theoretical development through its Pacific frontier. Drawing on notebooks and personal correspondence as well as the publications of anthropologists of the day, Robert Oppenheim shows how and why Korea became an important object of study--with, for instance, more published about Korea in the pages of American Anthropologist before 1900 than would be seen for decades after. Oppenheim chronicles the actions of American collectors, Korean mediators, and metropolitan curators who first created Korean anthropological exhibitions for the public. He moves on to examine anthropologists--such as Ales Hrdlicka, Walter Hough, Stewart Culin, Frederick Starr, and Frank Hamilton Cushing--who fit Korea into frameworks of evolution, culture, and race even as they engaged questions of imperialism that were raised by Japan's colonization of the country. In tracing the development of American anthropology's understanding of Korea, Oppenheim discloses the legacy present in our ongoing understanding of Korea and of anthropology's past.
Author: Marn J. Cha
Publisher: University Press of America
Published: 2010-10-11
Total Pages: 280
ISBN-13: 0761852212
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis book tells the Korean immigrants' life stories in California's eight San Joaquin Valley farm communities. It describes how they survived through discrimination and injustices in the early 20th century America, and also details the Korean immigrants' efforts to regain their lost motherland from Japanese colonialism (1910-1945).
Download or read book Koreans in Central California (1903-1957) written by Marn J. Cha and published by University Press of America. This book was released on 2010-10-11 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book tells the Korean immigrants' life stories in California's eight San Joaquin Valley farm communities. It describes how they survived through discrimination and injustices in the early 20th century America, and also details the Korean immigrants' efforts to regain their lost motherland from Japanese colonialism (1910-1945).
Author: Wayne Patterson
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Published: 2000-01-01
Total Pages: 287
ISBN-13: 0824851145
DOWNLOAD EBOOKOn January 13, 1903, the first Korean immigrants arrived in Hawai'i. Numbering a little more than a hundred individuals, this group represented the initial wave of organized Korean immigration to Hawai'i. Over the next two and a half years, nearly 7,500 Koreans would make the long journey eastward across the Pacific. Most were single men contracted to augment (and, in many cases, to offset) the large numbers of existing Chinese and Japanese plantation workers. Although much has been written about early Chinese and Japanese laborers in Hawai'i, until now no comprehensive work had been published on first-generation Korean immigrants, the ilse. Making extensive use of primary source material from Korea, Japan, the continental U.S., and Hawai'i, Wayne Patterson weaves a compelling social history of the Korean experience in Hawai'i from 1903 to 1973 as seen primarily through the eyes of the ilse. Japanese surveillance records, student journals, and U.S. intelligence reports--many of which were uncovered by the author--provide an "inner history" of the Korean community. Chapter topics include plantation labor, Christian mission work, the move from the plantation to the city, picture prides, relations with the Japanese government, interaction with other ethnic groups, intergenerational conflict, the World War II experience, and the postwar years. The Ilse is an impressive and much-needed contribution to Korean American and Hawai'i history and significantly advances our knowledge of the East Asian immigrant experience in the United States.
Download or read book The Ilse written by Wayne Patterson and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2000-01-01 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On January 13, 1903, the first Korean immigrants arrived in Hawai'i. Numbering a little more than a hundred individuals, this group represented the initial wave of organized Korean immigration to Hawai'i. Over the next two and a half years, nearly 7,500 Koreans would make the long journey eastward across the Pacific. Most were single men contracted to augment (and, in many cases, to offset) the large numbers of existing Chinese and Japanese plantation workers. Although much has been written about early Chinese and Japanese laborers in Hawai'i, until now no comprehensive work had been published on first-generation Korean immigrants, the ilse. Making extensive use of primary source material from Korea, Japan, the continental U.S., and Hawai'i, Wayne Patterson weaves a compelling social history of the Korean experience in Hawai'i from 1903 to 1973 as seen primarily through the eyes of the ilse. Japanese surveillance records, student journals, and U.S. intelligence reports--many of which were uncovered by the author--provide an "inner history" of the Korean community. Chapter topics include plantation labor, Christian mission work, the move from the plantation to the city, picture prides, relations with the Japanese government, interaction with other ethnic groups, intergenerational conflict, the World War II experience, and the postwar years. The Ilse is an impressive and much-needed contribution to Korean American and Hawai'i history and significantly advances our knowledge of the East Asian immigrant experience in the United States.
Author: David P. Fields
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Published: 2019-04-19
Total Pages: 264
ISBN-13: 0813177219
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe division of Korea in August 1945 was one of the most consequential foreign policy decisions of the twentieth century. Despite the enormous impact this split has had on international relations from the Cold War to the present, comparatively little has been done to explain the decision. In Foreign Friends: Syngman Rhee, American Exceptionalism, and the Division of Korea, author David P. Fields argues that the division resulted not from a snap decision made by US military officers at the end of World War II but from a forty-year lobbying campaign spearheaded by Korean nationalist Syngman Rhee. Educated in an American missionary school in Seoul, Rhee understood the importance of exceptionalism in American society. Alleging that the US turned its back on the most rapidly Christianizing nation in the world when it acquiesced to Japan's annexation of Korea in 1905, Rhee constructed a coalition of American supporters to pressure policymakers to right these historical wrongs by supporting Korea's independence. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Rhee and his Korean supporters reasoned that the American abandonment of Korea had given the Japanese a foothold in Asia, tarnishing the US claim to leadership in the opinion of millions of Asians. By transforming Korea into a moralist tale of the failures of American foreign policy in Asia, Rhee and his camp turned the country into a test case of American exceptionalism in the postwar era. Division was not the outcome they sought, but their lobbying was a crucial yet overlooked piece that contributed to this final resolution. Through its systematic use of the personal papers and diary of Syngman Rhee, as well as its serious examination of American exceptionalism, Foreign Friends synthesizes religious, intellectual, and diplomatic history to offer a new interpretation of US-Korean relations.
Download or read book Foreign Friends written by David P. Fields and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2019-04-19 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The division of Korea in August 1945 was one of the most consequential foreign policy decisions of the twentieth century. Despite the enormous impact this split has had on international relations from the Cold War to the present, comparatively little has been done to explain the decision. In Foreign Friends: Syngman Rhee, American Exceptionalism, and the Division of Korea, author David P. Fields argues that the division resulted not from a snap decision made by US military officers at the end of World War II but from a forty-year lobbying campaign spearheaded by Korean nationalist Syngman Rhee. Educated in an American missionary school in Seoul, Rhee understood the importance of exceptionalism in American society. Alleging that the US turned its back on the most rapidly Christianizing nation in the world when it acquiesced to Japan's annexation of Korea in 1905, Rhee constructed a coalition of American supporters to pressure policymakers to right these historical wrongs by supporting Korea's independence. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Rhee and his Korean supporters reasoned that the American abandonment of Korea had given the Japanese a foothold in Asia, tarnishing the US claim to leadership in the opinion of millions of Asians. By transforming Korea into a moralist tale of the failures of American foreign policy in Asia, Rhee and his camp turned the country into a test case of American exceptionalism in the postwar era. Division was not the outcome they sought, but their lobbying was a crucial yet overlooked piece that contributed to this final resolution. Through its systematic use of the personal papers and diary of Syngman Rhee, as well as its serious examination of American exceptionalism, Foreign Friends synthesizes religious, intellectual, and diplomatic history to offer a new interpretation of US-Korean relations.
Author: Ed Park
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2023-11-07
Total Pages: 545
ISBN-13: 0812988310
DOWNLOAD EBOOKPULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • A wild, sweeping novel that imagines an alternate secret history of Korea and the traces it leaves on the present—loaded with assassins and mad poets, RPGs and slasher films, pop bands and the perils of social media “Your view of twentieth-century history will be enlarged and altered. . . . A Gravity’s Rainbow for another war, an unfinished war.” —Jonathan Lethem, author of The Fortress of Solitude WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE • ONE OF PUBLISHERS WEEKLY’S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS’ CHOICE A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Public Library, Polygon, Kirkus Reviews In 1919, far-flung patriots establish the Korean Provisional Government to protest the Japanese occupation of their country. This government-in-exile proves mostly symbolic, though, and after Japan’s defeat in World War II, the KPG dissolves and civil war erupts, resulting in the tragic North-South split that remains today. But what if the KPG still existed—now working toward a unified Korea, secretly pulling levers to further its aims? Same Bed Different Dreams weaves together three distinct narrative voices with an archive of mysterious images, and twists reality like a kaleidoscope. Korean history, American pop culture, and our tech-fraught lives come together in this extraordinary and unforgettable novel. Soon Sheen, a former writer now employed by the tech behemoth GLOAT, comes into possession of an unfinished book seemingly authored by the KPG. The manuscript is a riveting revisionist history, connecting famous names and obscure bit players to the KPG’s grand project—everyone from Syngman Rhee and architect-poet Yi Sang to Jack London and Marilyn Monroe. M*A*S*H is in here, too, as are the Moonies and a history of violence extending from the assassination of President McKinley to the Reagan-era downing of a passenger plane that puts the world on the brink of war. From the acclaimed author of Personal Days, Same Bed Different Dreams is a raucously funny feat of imagination and a thrilling meld of history and fiction that pulls readers into another dimension—one in which utopia is possible.
Download or read book Same Bed Different Dreams written by Ed Park and published by Random House. This book was released on 2023-11-07 with total page 545 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • A wild, sweeping novel that imagines an alternate secret history of Korea and the traces it leaves on the present—loaded with assassins and mad poets, RPGs and slasher films, pop bands and the perils of social media “Your view of twentieth-century history will be enlarged and altered. . . . A Gravity’s Rainbow for another war, an unfinished war.” —Jonathan Lethem, author of The Fortress of Solitude WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE • ONE OF PUBLISHERS WEEKLY’S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS’ CHOICE A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Public Library, Polygon, Kirkus Reviews In 1919, far-flung patriots establish the Korean Provisional Government to protest the Japanese occupation of their country. This government-in-exile proves mostly symbolic, though, and after Japan’s defeat in World War II, the KPG dissolves and civil war erupts, resulting in the tragic North-South split that remains today. But what if the KPG still existed—now working toward a unified Korea, secretly pulling levers to further its aims? Same Bed Different Dreams weaves together three distinct narrative voices with an archive of mysterious images, and twists reality like a kaleidoscope. Korean history, American pop culture, and our tech-fraught lives come together in this extraordinary and unforgettable novel. Soon Sheen, a former writer now employed by the tech behemoth GLOAT, comes into possession of an unfinished book seemingly authored by the KPG. The manuscript is a riveting revisionist history, connecting famous names and obscure bit players to the KPG’s grand project—everyone from Syngman Rhee and architect-poet Yi Sang to Jack London and Marilyn Monroe. M*A*S*H is in here, too, as are the Moonies and a history of violence extending from the assassination of President McKinley to the Reagan-era downing of a passenger plane that puts the world on the brink of war. From the acclaimed author of Personal Days, Same Bed Different Dreams is a raucously funny feat of imagination and a thrilling meld of history and fiction that pulls readers into another dimension—one in which utopia is possible.
