Anger and Change in Korean American Literature

This book illustrates how Korean American novels and poetry use anger to enact change, foregrounding the various ways it can pinpoint injustice and suggest alternatives. Experiences of the "forgotten" Korean War, Korean military-mediated immigration to the US in the twentieth century, and the role of Korean Americans in some of the largest upheavals in American history all inform a specific relation to anger and both its expression and use in Korean American literature. Through various texts comprised of both poetry and prose from authors including Steph Cha, Cathy Park Hong, Eugene Lim, and Yongsoo Park, Willems highlights how anger is seen to function in some contexts as a positive fulcrum for change. 

List of contents

Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: An Angry Light: Franny Choi, Don Lee, Emily Jungmin Yoon, and Alexander Chee.- Chapter 3: Bitterness and Recognition: The Novels of Steph Cha.- Chapter 4: Collective Tension: Leonard Chang's The Fruit 'N Food.- Chapter 5: Surface Change: Yongsoo Park's Boy Genius.- Chapter 6: The World is Angry: The Poetry of Cathy Park Hong.- Chapter 7: Get Angry at the Algorithm: Eugene Lim's Search History.- Chapter 8: Conclusion: Agonistic Anger.

About the author

Brian Willems is Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Split, Croatia. 

Product details

• Authors: Brian Willems
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 19.05.2025
• EAN: 9783031848643
• ISBN: 978-3-0-3184864-3
• No. of pages: 161
• Dimensions: 148 mm x 13 mm x 210 mm
• Weight: 325 g
• Illustrations: XI, 161 p.
• Series: American Literature Readings in the 21st Century
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > English linguistics / literary studies; Literaturtheorie, Asien, Nordamerika (USA und Kanada), Kulturwissenschaften, Literaturwissenschaft: 1900 bis 2000, Contemporary Literature, anger, Literary theory, Asian Culture, North American Literature, Asian Literature, Anger in literature, Asian American Studies, Korean American culture, Korean American literature