Acclaimed as the most powerful and important piece of modern Korean writing, the epic sweep of Land is breathtaking in its conception and execution. Set against the background of the struggle between conservative and modernizing forces at the turn of the century, it follows the fortunes of several generations of Korean villagers during a time of unsurpassed turbulence and change. To Korean readers, upon whose imagination Land has an unparalleled hold, and for whom the characters and village itself have a palpable reality, it is the great national novel - the work that embodies the many elements that make up the Korea and the Koreans of today. Carrying on over forty years, the saga evokes the nation's past, with all its unresolved conflicts, hereditary sorrows and regrets, and is a unique study of the interaction of character, heredity, environment, and history.