The Korean Myths: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes and Legends
Heinz Insu Fenkl and Bella Myŏng-wŏl Dalton-Fenkl
Korean myths are a living and evolving part of society, in both the North and South. With the export of Korean film across the globe, K-pop, fashion, K-dramas, literature and comics there is a growing desire to understand the folklore and mythical underpinnings of contemporary Korean Culture. Insu and Bella Fenkl bring together a wealth of knowledge of both the new and the old, the traditional and the modern to guide the reader through this fascinating history and help understand the people, their traditions and culture.
From the Changsega (‘Song of Creation’) sung by shamans, to the gods, goddesses and monsters who inhabit the cosmos, including the god Mireuk, creator of the world, and the giant Grandma Mago, who was able to create mountains from the mud on her skirt, these myths have been disseminated for centuries and continue to resonate in popular culture today.
Heinz Insu Fenkl is a professor of English at the State University of New York, New Paltz. He is known internationally for his collection of Korean folktales and translations of contemporary Korean fiction and classical Buddhist texts. He is a PEN/Hemingway Award finalist and was included in the Barnes & Noble ‘Discover Great New Writers’ selection.
Bella Myong-wol Dalton-Fenkl is a writer and artist. She graduated from Vassar College, where she studied English, Art History and Asian Studies. She translates poetry from the Korean and Classical Chinese and her writing, translations, and artwork have appeared in Asymptote, The Adirondack Review, Words Without Borders, Sijo: An International Journal of Poetry & Song, AZALEA: Journal of Korean Literature & Culture, the International Examiner, the Guardian and the Korean Quarterly. She has received a number of awards for her poetry, including the Mary Rousmaniere Gordon Prize sponsored by the Academy of American Poets and the Sister Arts Poetry Prize.
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