Distinguished scholars, policymakers, and journalists compare the effects of prolonged war on ancient Athens during the war with Sparta, and on the United States and the two Koreas, North and South, during the Korean War. Despite the very different circumstances of the two conflicts and the radically different way that each was viewed in its own time, the contributors point to many underlying similarities between the two wars.

Bringing together distinguished Classicists, Koreanists, and Americanists, this book examines the cultural and political/institutional dimensions of war's impact on society by comparing the effects of prolonged war on ancient Athens during the war with Sparta, and on the United States and the two Koreas, North and South, during the Korean War. Despite the very circumstances of the two conflicts and the radically different way each was viewed in its own time, the contributors point to many underlying similarities between the two wars and put each in a fascinating and unique perspective.

The Classical Moment is a reexamination of the concept of a supreme moment in the literatures of Greece, Mesopotamia, India, China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Taking the case of Greece as its starting point, it examines what such "moments" have in common, how they are created, and what effect they have on subsequent literary creation.

This is the first English translation of selected poems by one of the most important and unusual modern poets of South Korea. In contrast to the strident political protests found in the poetry of many of his contemporaries, Pak Chaesam's work is characterized by intimate portraits of place, nature, childhood, and human relationships, and by indirection, nostalgia, and reflectiveness.

Often focused upon the border of this world and some other, Pak writes with a spareness of presentation but a cornucopia of imagery, meticulously exploring objective and subjective realms of existence and memory. Encouraging the reader to see and listen, and to allow the sensory to reshape the analytical, Pak's poetry opens up new realms of experience. A fellow Korean poet described Pak's poetry as being "the most exquisite expression of the Korean sense of han," or melancholy.

A generous selection of poems by one of Korea's most honored and highly regarded poets. Kim Namjo published her first book of poems, Life (Moksum), in 1953. In the years since then, in another ten collections of poems, she has explored in her books, an intensely experienced religious faith, and a passionate affirmation of life. This is the first collection of poems by a Korean woman writer to be published in English language translation.

A generous selection of poems by one of Korea's most honored and highly regarded poets. Kim Namjo published her first book of poems, Life (Moksum), in 1953. In the years since then, in another ten collections of poems, she has explored in her books, an intensely experienced religious faith, and a passionate affirmation of life. This is the first collection of poems by a Korean woman writer to be published in English language translation.

The sijo is the most popular and most Korean of all traditional Korean poetic forms, originating with the old songs of the Hyangka of the Sylla Empire (668-936) and the prose songs of the Koryo Dynasty (918-1392). Sometimes likened to haiku for its brevity, a typical sijo poem follows a three-line pattern, with each line containing approximately fifteen syllables. The first two lines mimic one another both in form and content, but the last line often introduces a twist or countertheme, not only bringing the poem to a close, but sharpening the theme developed in the first two lines. The popularity of the sijo in Korea--writers range from royalty to common citizens--is always a challenge for the translator, who must often inhabit widely differing backgrounds to completely understand a poem's subtle nuances. Richard Rutt's translations, considered to be some of the best available in English, remain true to the unique structure of the original Korean lyric. The Bamboo Grove will interest not only poets and students of poetry, but scholars of Korean culture curious to view history through this important and significant form of verse. The white snow has left the valleys where the clouds are lowering, Is it true that somewhere the plum trees have happily blossomed? I stand here alone in the dusk and do not know where to go. YI SAEK (1328-1396) Richard Rutt is also the editor and translator of the book Virtuous Women: Three Classic Korean Novels and, most recently, The Zhou Yi: A New Translation with Commentary of the Book of Changes. David R. McCann is Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Literature and Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University.

Once again, readers will discover a rich and varied array of contemporary Korean literary and image work in the current issue of Azalea journal. We celebrate the 100th anniversary of the births of two of the twentieth century's great Korean writers, Midang So Chongju, the poet, and Hwang Sunwon, the short story and novelwriter. Periodically, as the cultural, political, and historical tides in Korea have fallen and risen only to fall and rise again, these two writers have been lionized, denigrated, taken as emblems of Korea's literary capabilities and accomplishments, or set to the side as passe, out-of-sync, politically unacceptable, or just too old to matter. Yet readers will find a rich array of reflections on these two writers and examples of their literary accomplishments. May you savor and treasure. Let us resolve to keep these writers central to our understanding of the terrain that Korean literature traversed in the twentieth century and to comprehend how much it would lose if it did not value, even treasure, these and others in the twenty-first. Then we find writers who have taken the stage in the twentyfirst century, now already a century since So Chongju and Hwang Sunwon were born. Contemporary fiction from our featured writer, Lee Eyunkee, whose work gives a new, contemporary meaning to that term, is followed by the work of a series of poets and otherfiction writers of today, as well as a nostalgic glance back at the twentieth-century poet Chong Chiyong. Readers are invited once again to savor the results of Chicago's Sejong Cultural Society's annual sijo-writing contest. Nearly one thousand entries came in, from all over. It is a pleasure to see the enthusiasm for the sijo growing among younger writers in their English-language practice of the form and to be able to make roomfor their works in our journal. One hundred years from now, may Korean poetry and fiction, graphic arts, photography, and yes, the sijo, be more widely known and ever more deeply appreciated. Finally, we are grateful for the encouragement and support that the International Communication Foundation has provided to Azalea's growth and vitality as a literary journal dedicated to these ends. Yet we join with the Foundation and with family members in sadness at the passing last year of Dr. Yeo Seok-ki, the Foundation'spresident. A dedicated visionary in seeking to encourage the wider and deeper appreciation of Korean literature, Dr. Yeo was also a nimble raconteur and conversationalist. I enjoyed the luncheon meetings that I was fortunate to have with him over the years, as well as the more formal communications regarding workshops and other program initiatives. He was always there, and he will be-in our thoughts, memories, and hearts.

Special Feature: Inside North Korea, edited by Heinz Insu Fenkl Includes excerpts from a graphic novel by Guy Delisle and a comic book by Cho Pyong-kwon & Rim Wal-yong Photographs by Peter Sobolev Poetry by O Yong-jae, Li Chong-dok, and Chon Pyong-gu Fiction by Hyejin Kim, Hong Sok-chung, and Ch'oe Ryon Other writing by John M. Frankl, David R. McCann, and Yu Hua This issue also includes fiction by Shin Kyung Sook, Eun Hee Kyung, Jo Kyung Ran, Cheon Woon Young, Pyun Hye-Young; poetry by Chong Hyon-jong, Yi Seong-Bok, Jang Jung Il, Ra Hee-Duk.