Descriptive rather than analytic in approach, this article attempts to redraw the topography of Korean American literature. It argues that Korean American literature began with Hansu’s Journey (1922), a novella written by Philip Jaisohn (Seo Jae-Pil), neither with When I was a Boy in Korea (1928) by Il-han New nor with The Grass Roof (1931) by Younghill Kang. Under the pseudonym of N. H. Osia, Philip Jaisohn had serialized the novella in Korea Review, a monthly magazine published in Philadelphia, from April through September, 1921 before he published it in book form in 1922. The article further argues that Hansu’s Journey is different in significant ways from other Asian American literatures like Japanese American literature and Chinese American literature in that the novella is not an autobiographical narrative in the strict sense of the word, but fiction proper. In addition, it regards Ilhan New’s book as an important contribution to Korean American literature especially in terms not only of what has been called “a spiritual autobiography,” but also of a book in comparative cultural perspectives. The Grass Roof by Kang, together with Jaisohn’s novella and Il-han New’s book, played a pivotal role in the development of the Korean American literature in particular and Asian American literature in general. The current “boom” of Korean American literature would not be possible without their pioneering works in the 1920s and the 1930s.
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