‘Beasts of a Small Land’ Praised in the US... "The Emotion Is the Philosophy of Korean Literature"

A Work Called the Second Pachinko... Kim Juhye, the Writer Who Immigrated to the US, Receives Praise

Artist Juhye Kim. Photo by Bitna Chung (c)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo Mideum] Winter of 1917, deep in the mountains of Pyeongan Province. Amidst extreme cold, a hunter fighting hunger and chasing beasts saves the life of a Japanese officer from a tiger attack. This encounter fatefully connects their lives, unfolding a story spanning half a century. The tumultuous lives of hunters, soldiers, gisaeng, gangsters, students, businessmen, and revolutionaries are tightly intertwined by the thread of ‘inyun’ (fate), meeting, parting, and reuniting to weave the history of the Korean Peninsula.

The novel “Beasts of a Small Land” (Dasan Books), which contains this story, has been praised as the second “Pachinko.” The author is Kim Juhye (36), a Korean-born writer who immigrated to the United States at age nine. When published in the U.S. last year, it was selected as Amazon’s “Book of the Month” and named “Best Book of 2021” by various media outlets. It is currently a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, awarded to literary works contributing to world peace, awaiting announcement.

His choice to set the story against Korean history was greatly influenced by his grandfather. For Kim, who had a strong interest in history, his independence activist grandfather inevitably became the subject of his work. At an online press conference held on the 28th, Kim said, “While writing the novel, the story of my grandfather, an independence activist whom I had heard about since childhood, came to mind,” adding, “The scene in the prologue seems to be my grandfather with light hazel eyes appearing unconsciously as a tiger and a hunter.”

The work features various characters. Among them, the gisaeng stands out, reflecting the author’s intention to erase negative stereotypes about gisaeng. Kim explained, “At that time, gisaeng contributed greatly to the women’s movement. They even had their own literary magazines, which emphasized the importance of forming one’s identity rather than being confined to lyrics,” adding, “In Western literature, gisaeng are not portrayed solely in a sexualized manner. I wanted to show their strong patriotism.”

The book received intense attention immediately after its release in the U.S. Regarding this, he said, “I experienced severe racial discrimination in the U.S., but despite that, American readers who didn’t know much about Korean culture told me, ‘I cried reading this book,’ and ‘I’m glad to learn about Korea,’ which made me happy,” adding, “The novel deals with themes like war, love, equality, and justice purely and without irony. Such themes are rare even in American works, which tend to be individualistic.” After quitting his publishing job due to severe racial discrimination and starting his writing career, Kim created this work “in a situation where I couldn’t even afford a $4 pumpkin pie.”

Regarding the recent spotlight on works by Korean-American authors such as “Pachinko” and “Minor Feelings,” he pointed to “Korean storytelling” as the secret. He analyzed, “In Korean storytelling, it’s important to make characters human rather than black-and-white, putting them in difficult situations and hardships so readers root for and empathize with them. Creating characters with complexes is a Korean approach,” adding, “Korean literature’s philosophy is to move readers with clear emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure.”

To Korean readers, he said, “The people I was most conscious of and wanted encouragement from were Korean readers, and receiving so much encouragement makes me feel loved,” adding, “To repay that love, I will strive as an artist and work hard to show a good image.”

His next work is being planned based on his childhood experience with ballet. Kim said, “It’s an artistic love story of a ballerina set in Russia,” adding, “Ballet is a theme that reveals myself and an art form I love.”