Korean Diaspora Literature) Chunja’s Nanjing

<KR>
About the book
책 소개

춘자의 난징은 한중 문학뿐만 아니라 중국 문학에서도 일본군의 '위안부'에 관한 최초의 소설입니다.

소설은 조선족 학생이자 전 '위안부' 춘자의 손자인 종혁이 일본인 여자친구 하루코와 함께 연변, 헤이룽장, 난징, 마쓰야마, 도쿄를 여행하는 과정을 따라갑니다. 이야기가 전개되면서 아직 해결되지 않은 일본군 성노예 문제의 개인적, 역사적 측면이 부각되어 3대에 걸쳐 조선족, 중국인, 일본인의 갈등과 불화, 변화하는 역사의식이 드러납니다.

춘자의 난징은 동아시아에서 새로운 평화와 발전의 가능성을 예술적으로 제시하면서 일본군의 성범죄 피해자들의 가슴 아픈 역사를 증언하는 문학적 걸작입니다.


<ENG>
Chunja’s Nanjing is the first novel about “comfort women” of the Japanese military in Korean-Chinese literature as well as in Chinese literature.

The novel follows Jonghyeok, a Korean-Chinese student and the grandson of the former “comfort woman” Chunja, in his travels with his Japanese girlfriend Haruko to Yanbian, Heilongjiang, Nanjing, Matsuyama, and Tokyo. As the story unfolds, the personal and historical aspects of the yet-to-beresolved issue of Japanese military sex slaves come to the fore, revealing the conflicts, discord, and changing historical consciousness of Korean-Chinese, Chinese, and Japanese over three generations.

Chunja’s Nanjing is a literary masterpiece that artistically presents the possibilities of a new peace and development in East Asia while testifying about the poignant history of the victims of Japanese military’s sexual war crimes.

<FR>
À propos du livre

Le Nanjing de Chunja est le premier roman sur les « femmes de réconfort » de l'armée japonaise dans la littérature coréenne-chinoise ainsi que dans la littérature chinoise.

Le roman suit Jongyeong, étudiant coréen-chinois et petit-fils de l'ancienne « femme de réconfort » Chunja, dans ses voyages avec sa petite amie japonaise Haruko à Yanbian, Heilongjiang, Nanjing, Matsuyama et Tokyo. Au fur et à mesure de l'histoire, les aspects personnels et historiques de la question des esclaves sexuels militaires japonais sont apparus, révélant les conflits, la discorde et l'évolution de la conscience historique des Coréens-Chinois, Chinois et Japonais sur trois générations.

Le Nanjing de Chunja est un chef-d'œuvre littéraire qui présente artistiquement les possibilités d'une nouvelle paix et d'un développement en Asie de l'Est tout en témoignant de l'histoire poignante des victimes des crimes de guerre sexuels de l'armée japonaise.

Table of Contents

Part I

Botchan Karakuri Clock

A Testimony in Spring

A Tragedy in Deer Valley

Flower Grave

A Hymn on a Moonlit Night

Part II

Into the Tunnel

Factory Girl Recruitment

Khaki-Colored Terror

A Party in Hell

The Fiery Lake of Burning Sulfur

A Pipe That Couldn’t Be Played

Blood Rain

Part III

Haruko’s Nanjing

Cats Cry for Spring

Monochrome Memories

A Sturdy Pipe

Our Time

Endnotes

Publisher book reviews

How would you feel if you found out that your grandmother is a surviving “comfort woman”? When Jonghyeok, a Korean-Chinese student studying in Japan, falls in love with a Japanese girl named Haruko, he decides to introduce her to his grandmother, Chunja. Yet, upon his arrival at the small village in Yanbian, China, he finds his grandmother surrounded by reporters. He learns that she used to be a “comfort woman” who had been forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II. Through Chunja’s retelling of her past experiences, Chunja’s Nanjing delineates violent historical injustices perpetrated by Japan against Koreans and Chinese in the border region of Gando (Jiandao) and in Nanjing.

Yet, rather than simply dwelling on the tragic past, the book brings the issue of “comfort women” to the present through Jonghyeok and Haruko-the grandson of a Korean comfort woman and the granddaughter of a Japanese soldier who served in China during the war. It is through these two young people that the author offers a glimpse of hope for reflection and reconciliation as they come to understand each other’s pain and search for a way to move forward.

Chunja’s Nanjing is an artistic journey that takes the readers through a powerful testimony about the appalling treatment of Korean “comfort women” during the war and the possibility of a new peace and resolution in Northeast Asia.