Island Ablaze and Other Stories
The US Empire in North and South Korean Literatures
Cornell University Press · Print & ebook · October 15, 2025
We earn from qualifying purchases.
- Who it’s for
- Thirteen stories trace Korean lives and US influence across North and South Korea.
- Genres
- War Fiction
- Published
- Cornell University Press, October 15, 2025
Nearest books
Matched by what the books are about, then ordered by what their readers also loved.
Cold War FriendshipsJosephine Nock-Hee Park, Josphine Nock Park61% match
Korea: Where the American Century BeganMichael Pembroke55% match
Korea at WarMichael J. Seth, Michael Seth55% match
A Love Story From the End of the WorldJuhea Kim54% match
The Korean WarBruce Cumings52% match
The Great East Asian War and the Birth of the Korean NationJaHyun Kim Haboush, William Haboush52% match
Hidden History of the Korean WarI.F. Stone, Gregory Elich52% match
The Korean MindBoye Lafayette De Mente51% match
For younger readers: When My Name Was Keoko, The Hundred Choices Department Store, All About Korea
Start with three books, and this one can be the first.
Members get a new edition every morning: a route out from their books to essays, research and talks, with the reason for each.
Start with this bookAbout this book
Island Ablaze and Other Stories is an anthology of thirteen stories?eleven from South Korea and two from North Korea?about these countries' complicated relationships with their most important ally and enemy: the United States. Set in times ranging from colonial Korea to the new millennium, these stories offer a look into the many ways that the US empire shapes the lives of Koreans.
Continue reading
In "Dawn," schoolgirl sweethearts living under Japanese colonial rule reconnect as young mothers amid celebrations of the attack on Pearl Harbor. "Till We Meet Again" addresses the adoption industry and America's treatment of Korean children following the Korean War. In the title story, a North Korean radio operator must choose between abandoning the soldier she loves or dying with him at the famous Battle of Incheon that turned the tide of the Korean War. From camp towns to sugarcane fields, missionary schools to international flights, Island Ablaze and Other Stories shows everyday Korean life in the shadow of the American empire.
Korean Lives Under Empire
Thirteen stories trace Korean lives and US influence across North and South Korea.
Come here for
- Stories set across colonial Korea and the new millennium
- Korean lives shaped by the United States
Expect
- Eleven stories from South Korea and two from North Korea
- Settings ranging from camp towns to sugarcane fields
Where it sits
| War Fiction | 60% |
|---|
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- War Fiction
- Korean History
- Short Story Criticism
- Authors
- Ruth Barraclough, Jae-Yong Kim, Jin-kyung Lee
- Publisher
- Cornell University Press
- Published
- October 15, 2025
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Reading lane
- War Fiction