The Naked Tree

For the graphic novel version, see The Naked Tree (graphic novel).

The Naked Tree (Hangul: 나목, Hanja: 裸木, romanization: Namok) is a 1970 novel by Park Wan-suh.

It was the first novel made by the author. An English translation by Yu Young-nan was published in 1995 by Cornell University. This is also the first complete large work by the author to be given an English translation.

Kyung-a is the main character in the story, which occurs in the Korean War.

Reception

Reviewer Yearn Hong Choi praised the English translation.

Stephen J. Epstein of the Victoria University of Wellington wrote that the book overall is a "welcome addition" and that the translation is overall "very readable and largely unobtrusive".

Michael J. Pettid of the University of Hawaii wrote that Park had a strong "technique" in developing the narrative in a way that a mystery book would develop, and that in summation the work is "captivating".

Legacy

There is a Korean-language graphic novel adaptation, The Naked Tree.

References

• Epstein, Stephen J. (1998). "The Naked Tree by Pak Wan-sô (review)". Acta Koreana. 1. Keimyung University, Academia Koreana: 169–171 – via Project MUSE. - Electronic version
• Pettid, Michael J. (1997). "The Naked Tree by Pak Wan-so, Yu Young-nam". Korean Studies. 21: 151–153. JSTOR 23719023. ProQuest 1311644593. – Also at Project MUSE

Further reading

• Gard, Greta (2012). "The Naked Tree". The Literature of War. Vol. 3. pp. 173–176.

External links

• The Naked Tree – Cornell University Press
• The Naked Tree – Digital Library of Korean Literature, Literature Translation Institute of Korea