Park Kyung-ni - Toji (The Land)

Toji (The Land)

Toji (The Land) is the most famous of Park, Kyung-ni’s novels. The epic novel was started as a serial publication in the September 1969 issue of "Contemporary Literature" (현대문학, Hyundae Munhak). It took her 25 years to write. It depicts the turbulence at the turn of the 20th century when Korean people were struggling against Japanese imperialism. It has hundreds of characters from across the Korean peninsula and follows them from the late 19th century to the early 20th century through Japan’s colonial rule to the division of the peninsula. "Kim, Gil-sang" (김길상) and "Choi, Seo-hee" (최서희), the main heroes of the novel, like other heroes in Park’s novels, struggle to save their own dignity in the most turbulent period of Korean history. It has significant literary artistry in style, native folk language and diverse character portrayals, depicting Korea’s eventual and sadness-ridden modern history through the love of vast "Mother Earth". It is considered as a masterpiece of contemporary Korean literature. It has been made into a TV series, a movie, and an opera. It has been translated into several languages including English, French and Japanese. It also has been included in the UNESCO Collection of Representative Works.