Exquisitely translated by Hyun-jae Yee Sallee, these stories by one of Korea’s most revered storytellers reflect poignantly on the lives of ordinary people in the midst of the economic miracle that has been taking place in Korea since the end of the Korean War. Having seen their homeland split in two, they cannot cope with the progress that is inexorably wiping out the last vestiges of the Korea they loved and knew. Lost and confused, they experience not only an identity crisis but question the entire meaning of life.