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A Korean pioneer of women’s rights, who was 100 years ahead of her time, a challenger against patriarchy and misogyny in the early 20th century, a woman of heart and steel who refused to be silenced, Na Hye-seok.

Is there anything more admirable than the voice of a woman that broke through the oppressive silence, fighting to free people from their oblivion to the injustice unfolding right before them? When her voice soared up, dancing her way through the clouds, lightning struck, thunder raged, clamping down on the dancing figure. Every time lightning sizzled and thunder rumbled, Na Hye-seok still went dancing away into the night, refusing to let her voice be silenced. She had her pen as a writer and her brush as a painter to fuel and stir her artistic spirits that liberated her and pushed her to liberate others. The translated collection of six fictional stories, such as Kyeonghee and fourteen nonfiction pieces, such as Confessions of a Divorcee are filled with Na Hye-seok’s spirits that dance to and fro. They call for the freedom from the social confinements of gender norms by demanding liberation from the ‘Good Wife and Wise Mother’ obligation and female chastity. The translated collection of short stories and essays by Na Hye-seok boldly criticized the institutional sexism passed down in Korean family customs. Yet, her unorthodox views had been trampled down and as a divorcee in the 1930s, she fell into disgrace, stained with a scarlet letter, socially ostracized, abandoned by friends and family, left destitute and all alone on her deathbed at the age of 54. She still, with every ounce of her strength, endured through the struggles in her life to support herself, the women of the time, and beyond. Her voice transcends the boundaries of time, and her passionate, inspiring words written in the translated works have historical value that would resonate with a global audience today.

About the Author: Na Hye-seok
About the Translator: Hyeon Chaewun
About the Book Cover Designer: Amelia Tan
Translator’s Introduction in Korean
Translator’s Introduction in English

1. Fiction
Kyeonghee (경희)
The Anguish of a Grass Widow (규원)
Grudge (원한)
A Single Woman’s Theory on Chastity (독신 여성의 정조론)
Hyeon-sook (현숙)
Mother and Daughter (어머니와 딸)

2. Nonfiction
Ideal Madam (이상적 부인)
Painting and Joseon Woman (회화와 조선 여자)
A Report on Becoming a mother (모된 감상기)
Response to Baekgyeolsaeng (백결생에게 답함)
The Q&A between a Husband and a Wife (부처 간의 문답)
My Experience Raising a Child (내가 어린애 기른 경험)
Companionate Marriage, Experimental Marriage (우애 결혼, 시험 결혼)
Happiness in Not Forgetting Myself (나를 잊지 않는 행복)
Family Life of a Western Madam (구미 부인의 가정 생활)
If I become the Female Mayor of Seoul? (내가 서울 여시장 된다면?)
Confessions of a Divorcee (이혼 고백장)
Entering a New Life (신생활에 들면서)
My Time as a Lady Teacher (나의 여교원 시대)
An Account of an Interview with a Suffragette from Britain and the United States (영미 부인 참정권 운동자 회견기)

Translator’s Notes
번역자의 말
Acknowledgements

“Oh my! How heavy the monsoon rain is,” said the porky lady-in-law, the mother-in-law of Kyeonghee’s sister, while lighting a pipe, having visited after a long time.
(26쪽)

It has been half a year since the two people met. While the man was invited by the woman, originally, the man had been waiting for this opportunity to arrive.
(141쪽)

First of all, what would an ideal, a so-called ideal be referring to? In other words, an ideal is the idea of desire.
(186쪽)

Among the same arts, because literature and music are quite pervasive, while literary magazines and music concerts open occasionally, it is quite disappointing that only painting lags behind this much.
(190쪽)

Whoever it is, we wish and hope to live with fortune, in other words, with happiness. Also, we want to do it the way it is done.
(261쪽)