Registered members may receive e-mail updates on the subjects of their choice.
"For over a decade now, some of our nation's most impressive new plays have been written by Korean American dramatists. Esther Kim Lee's important anthology gathers together the groundbreaking work of these artists, who are transforming American theater with their energy, innovations, and sheer talent."—David Henry Hwang, playwright
"In this exciting anthology of work by Korean diasporic playwrights, Esther Kim Lee has assembled plays that are diverse thematically and aesthetically. Portrayals of diasporic identities vary significantly. The experimentation of History K, Mina, Yi Sang Counts to Thirteen, and the children's play Hongbu and Nolbu is nicely balanced by the more conventionally staged 99 Histories, Satellites, and American Hwangap. Lee's strong, assured introductions to the collection and each play add useful information and analysis."—Josephine Lee, author of Performing Asian America: Race and Ethnicity on the Contemporary Stage
If you are requesting permission to photocopy material for classroom use, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center at copyright.com;
If the Copyright Clearance Center cannot grant permission, you may request permission from our Copyrights & Permissions Manager (use Contact Information listed below).
If you are requesting permission to reprint DUP material (journal or book selection) in another book or in any other format, contact our Copyrights & Permissions Manager (use Contact Information listed below).
Many images/art used in material copyrighted by Duke University Press are controlled, not by the Press, but by the owner of the image. Please check the credit line adjacent to the illustration, as well as the front and back matter of the book for a list of credits. You must obtain permission directly from the owner of the image. Occasionally, Duke University Press controls the rights to maps or other drawings. Please direct permission requests for these images to permissions@dukeupress.edu.
For book covers to accompany reviews, please contact the publicity department.
If you're interested in a Duke University Press book for subsidiary rights/translations, please contact permissions@dukeupress.edu. Include the book title/author, rights sought, and estimated print run.
Instructions for requesting an electronic text on behalf of a student with disabilities are available here.
Showcasing the dynamism of contemporary Korean diasporic theater, this anthology features seven plays by second-generation Korean diasporic writers from the United States, Canada, and Chile. By bringing the plays together in this collection, Esther Kim Lee highlights the themes and styles that have enlivened Korean diasporic theater in the Americas since the 1990s. Some of the plays are set in urban Koreatowns. One takes place in the middle of Texas, while another unfolds entirely in a character's mind. Ethnic identity is not as central as it was in the work of previous generations of Asian diasporic playwrights. In these plays, experiences of diaspora and displacement are likely to be part of broader stories, such as the difficulties faced by a young mother trying to balance family and career. Running through these stories are themes of assimilation, authenticity, family, memory, trauma, and gender-related expectations of success. Lee's introduction includes a brief history of the Korean Peninsula in the twentieth century and of South Korean immigration to the Americas, along with an overview of Asian American theater and the place of Korean American theater within it. Each play is preceded by a brief biography of the playwright and a summary of the play's production history.