'The Tale of Cho Ung' introduces Korean classic tale to English speakers

Despite being “the best-selling fictional narrative during the late Chosŏn period” (1392-1910) of pre-modern Korea, little is known about the provenance of . The author remains unknown and its initial composition has been narrowed down to a 200-plus-year-window, with a guesstimate falling somewhere between the late-18th to early 19th centuries. Its efficacy as immersive fiction, however, has historical documentation: originally popularized by professional storytellers reciting in public spaces, the heroic escapades of the eponymous Cho Ung