The Seed of Joy: A Novel Korea

If you love sweeping K-dramas, deeply moving historical fiction, and forbidden romance in times of rebellion, you will love The Seed of Joy: A Novel of Korea. In 1979, South Korea has serious problems. A dictatorial president is in power. A right-wing faction within the South Korean military is on the rise. University students are growing restless, yearning for democratic reform, itching for a fight. Into this hornet's nest comes Paul Harkin, a naïve American Midwesterner. A newly-minted Peace Corps volunteer, he faces the challenges of every expat: a new language, cultural faux pas, homesickness. But when he falls in love with Han Mi Jin, a schoolteacher who supports Korea's democratic movement, his challenges intensify. Increasingly disturbing events swirl around the couple: the president is assassinated, the military takes control of the country and extends martial law, and political arrests become commonplace. But the worst is yet to come. Caught up in the carnage of the Gwangju Uprising, also known as the May 18 Democratization Movement, in which over 100 people are killed and thousands injured, Paul takes up Mi Jin's cause. In the chaos that follows, he wrestles with love and loss, freedom and duty. This edition of The Seed of Joy includes a new Afterword by Choi Yongju, former director of the National Fact-Finding Commission for the May 18 Democratization Movement. Perfect for readers who loved the raw emotional power of Human Acts by Han Kang, the sweeping cultural resilience of The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See, and the multi-generational scale of Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.