Mujong (The Heartless)

Yi Kwang-Su (1892–1950) Was One Of The Pioneers Of Modern Korean Literature. When The Serialization Of Mujong (The Heartless) Began In 1917, It Was An Immediate Sensation, And It Occupies A Prominent Place In The Korean Literary Canon. The Heartless Is The Story Of A Love Triangle Among Three Youths During The Japanese Occupation. Yi Hyång-Sik Is A Young Man In His Mid-Twenties Who Is Teaching English At A Middle School In Seoul. Brilliant But Also Shy And Indecisive, He Is Torn Between Two Women. Kim Sån-Hyång Is From A Wealthy Christian Family; She Has Just Graduated From A Modern, Western-Style School And Is Planning On Continuing Her Studies In The United States. Pak Yång-Ch'Ae Is A Musically Gifted Young Woman Who Was Raised In A Traditional Confucian Manner; Due To Family Misfortune, She Has Become A Kisaeng But Remains Devoted To Hyång-Sik Whom She Knew As A Child. The Heartless Goes Beyond The Level Of Romantic Melodrama And Uses These Characters To Depict Korea'S Struggles With Modern Culture And National Identity. A Long Critical Introduction Discusses Yi Kwang-Su'S Life And Work From His Birth In 1892 To The Publication Of His First Novel The Heartless In 1917. It Contains In-Depth Analyses Of The Novel, Yi Kwang-Su'S Literary Theory, And Early Short Stories.