무정(無情)

Yi Hyeong-sik, a young English teacher in colonial Seoul, is pulled between the gisaeng Pak Yeong-chae, once promised to him, and the well-bred Kim Seon-hyeong, whom he is expected to marry. Serialized in 1917, it is usually called the first modern Korean novel and ends with a flood that gathers its young people around a cause larger than their own hearts. This book uses the racial and other slurs of its period as written; the Book Guide explains these words where they occur. This edition omits one or more passages describing sexual acts involving children; each omission is marked in the text. This book contains scenes of violence as its author wrote them.

Summary written with Claude Sonnet 5.5.