Adult

In this Newbery Medal-winning book set in 12th century Korea, Tree-ear, a 13-year-old orphan, lives under a bridge in Ch’ulp’o, a potters' village famed for delicate celadon ware. He wants nothing more than to watch master potter Min at work, and he dreams of making a pot of his own someday. When Min takes him on as his helper, Tree-ear  is determined to prove himself --- even if it means taking a long, solitary journey on foot to present Min’s work in the hope of a royal commission.

It was the first war we could not win. At no other time since World War II have two superpowers met in battle. Now Max Hastings, preeminent military historian, takes us back to the bloody bitter struggle to restore South Korean independence after the Communist invasion of June 1950. Using personal accounts from interviews with more than 200 vets --- including the Chinese --- Hastings follows real officers and soldiers through the battles.

"Looking for a Mr. Kim in Seoul" has the same meaning as "finding a needle in a haystack" in English as Kim is one of the most popular family name in Korea. Expressions reflect the culture and the history of its people. Even if you know the meaning of each word, you probably will not understand the entire expression without understanding the culture. LOOKING FOR A MR. KIM IN SEOUL makes enjoyable the discovery of the connection between its language and the Korean people and their history and culture.

In the late 1980s, New York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester set out on foot to discover the Republic of Korea --- from its southern tip to the North Korean border --- in order to set the record straight about this enigmatic and elusive land. Fascinating for its vivid presentation of historical and geographic detail, KOREA is that rare book that actually defines a nation and its people.

During the Korean War, Hwanghae Province in North Korea was the setting of a gruesome 52-day massacre that resulted from malicious battling between Christian and Communist Koreans. Forty years later, Ryu Yosop, a minister living in America, returns to his home village, where his older brother once played a notorious role in the bloodshed. Yosop now must face the survivors of the tragedy and lay his brother's soul to rest.

When her boyfriend of seven years leaves her for another woman, the celebrated young chef Jung Ji-won shuts down the cooking school she ran from their home and sinks into deep depression. Returning to the kitchen of the Italian restaurant where her career first began, she slowly rebuilds her life, rediscovering her appreciation of food, both as nourishment and as sensual pleasure. She also starts to devise a plan for a final, vengeful act of culinary seduction.

Fukuoka Prison, 1944. Beyond the prison walls the war rages; inside a man is found brutally murdered. Watanabe, a young guard with a passion for reading, is tasked with finding the killer. The victim, Sugiyama --- also a guard --- was feared and despised throughout the prison, and investigations have barely begun when a powerful inmate confesses. But Watanabe is unconvinced; and as he interrogates both the suspect and Yun Dong-ju, a talented Korean poet, he begins to realize that the fearsome guard was not all he appeared to be.

Yu-Jung is in the hospital recovering from her third suicide attempt when she receives a life-changing visit. Her no-nonsense aunt appears by her side and suggests Yu-Jung accompany her on a charitable visit to death row. There she meets Yun-Soo, a convicted murderer who will soon be put to death. Through weekly, hour-long meetings, Yu-Jung and Yun-Soo slowly reveal to each other the dark secrets of their pasts and the hidden traumas that have shaped their lives.