Korean fictional works concurrently provide avenues for historical remembrance and reimagination. While some novels from the 1900s depict Korea during the Japanese colonial era through a gritty and realistic lens, some fictional films reimagine that period to impart vengeance on the colonizers—a feat Koreans could not achieve in real life. Likewise, in the contemporary era, fiction is often used as a method not only to highlight but also to reimagine social norms. This course will explore modern and contemporary Korea through notable fictional works. More specifically, we will cover over a hundred years of Korean fiction from the 1900s to the contemporary era. We will explore how Korean fictional works depict notable historical moments in Korea, such as the Japanese colonial period, the Korean War, military dictatorship, and contemporary issues of gender, race, and class. By engaging with different types of fiction, including novels, films, and television dramas, we will examine Korean fiction’s chronology and critically analyze modern and contemporary Korean history as depicted in those works of fiction. All course instruction and assigned materials will be in English or have English subtitles.