What are the best Korean books in English?

"Set in the time of the 1980s Korean revolution, the book follows a highly literate Korean woman as she recounts her tragic personal history along with those of her friends. Yoon is not only literate, but intelligent, however during this time, these are things that dont matter and this book does an excellent job showing the struggle that comes with knowing this. "

"An enthralling saga and panorama of Korean village life in the early 20th century (roughly 18951925) by that country's most highly acclaimed living novelist. The story, which possesses both the formal dimensions and the high seriousness of epic, is set in a period during which Japan held strong sway over Korea, regulating its business and industry and making arbitrary land grants to Japanese settlers. At the heart of the novel is a series of conflicts between Korean conservatives too enervated to oppose Japan's acquisitive energies and radical native insurgents. Their resistance culminated in the Dong Hak rebellion, a watershed historical event that casts long shadows over the intricately interwoven fates of Kyong-ni's vividly drawn characters--most especially Choi Chisoo, an arrogant, wealthy landowner, hated and envied by his neighbors and servants, and at continual odds with his embittered wife, whose ``failure'' to bear him a son provokes Choi's bitter displeasure and sets in motion a chain of events leading to his downfall. The author employs a kind of Upstairs, Downstairs structure, in which nondescript villagers and assorted second-class citizens observe, comment on, and in some ways parallel the lives of their ``betters.'' Among the most memorable are Pyongsan, an impoverished landowner waiting patiently through half a lifetime to be revenged on the avaricious Choi; the handsome villager Yongi; and the scheming Guinyo, the ambitious housemaid whose plan to rise above her station precipitates chaos, losses, and death, and drives the story to its stunning, tragic conclusion. The energy of melodrama surges through this big novel, yet as a portrait of a culture and a knowing psychological tale of the social and personal consequences of rigidly enforced class differences, it's a work of high literary distinction as well. A much-beloved work in Korea (where it was made into an equally popular television series) that should find many grateful admirers in America as well."

"The Guest: A Novel is a wonderfully translated Koran historical fiction novel. It really gives the reader insight to the life and times of the Korean war from a different perspective than the one we usually see in the Occidental world. Definitely among the best Korean books translated to English that I've ever read. "

"Although not a "feel good" book, I'd say recommended reading. While in prison, Ko Un decides to write a poem about every person he's ever met. Intriguing? Yep. This is just the tip of the iceberg with this book."

"What a heart-wrenching book, I couldn't put it down. Escape Camp 14 documents a lot of horrors of a man who was imprisoned, but escaped to freedom. This book really makes you think about how lucky we are to live in a free country and to have food/water readily available. This book really delves into North Korea's disgusting dictatorship. "