When Adam Opens His Eyes (Library of Korean Literature, 03)

First published in 1990, this is a sensational and highly controversial novel by one of Korea's most electrifying contemporary authors. 

A preposterous coming-of-age story, melding sex, death, and high school in a manner reminiscent of some perverse collision between Georges Bataille and Beverly Cleary, the narrator of this book plows through contemporaneous Korean mores with aplomb, bound for destruction, or maturity—whichever comes first.

Jang Jung-il was born in 1960. Self-educated, Jang's wide-ranging tastes led him to try his hand at various genres once he began his career as an author. Jang Jung-il is infamous—and has even been jailed—for his erotic and violent fiction. He continues to write, albeit with less controversy, given Korean society's increasing liberality.

Horace Jeffery Hodges is a retired professor of composition and culture at Ewha Women's University in South Korea. His translation of The Soil by Yi Kwang-su was recognized as a Notable Translation by World Literature Today.

Sun-Ae Hwang is a translator from the Korean. Her translation ofThe Soil by Yi Kwang-su was recognized as a Notable Translation by World Literature Today.