Author Description

Father and Son focuses on the age-old struggle between the generations within the context of modern industrialization and the battle for democratic freedoms in Korea. In this novel, Chu-ch’ol, a successful poet-publisher, is tormented by his son’s antigovernment activities and lack of filial respect, by the cynical questioning of a cousin-turned-government agent, and, not least, by his own guilty conscience. Through Chu-ch’ol and his extended family, the author explores the role of the intellectual in modern Korean society and the changing face of the Korean family as tradition gives way to economic growth and social upheaval.