Fiction. Asian Studies. Translated from the Korean by Hyun-Jae Yee Sallee. This collection of four short stories and a novella spans the time between the Korean War and the dawn of the 21st century. Korea has been a country divided for more than fifty years, yet for people who lived through it, the war preceding the division won't be over until their country is united. Wanting desperately to leave the past and all that's been lost behind, they find themselves reminded of it no matter where they go. Even a nursing home offers no refuge from ghosts of times past. Meanwhile, the younger generations of South Koreans struggle to find their identities in lives that have become nothing more than a quest to succeed in a consumer-driven society. For them, too, there is no escape, so they embrace the economic growth that has taken place since the war and rush headlong into a future devoid of meaning and tradition. Chung Yeun-hee is also the author of Ryangwhajin, Ranjido, winner of the Korea Literary Award, and The Horn, winner of the Yundongju Literary Award.