{"product_id":"mater-2-10-hwang-sok-yong-9781957363318","title":"Mater 2-10 | Hwang Sok-Yong","description":"\u003cdiv style=\"font-family: inherit; color: #333; line-height: 1.6;\"\u003e\n  \u003csection style=\"margin-bottom: 25px;\"\u003e\n    \u003cp style=\"font-size: 1.1em; font-weight: 500; margin-bottom: 20px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2c3e50;\"\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE\u003cbr\u003eAn epic tale that threads together a century of Korean history through the struggles of ordinary workers and railroad generations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n    \n    \u003ch2 style=\"color: #2c3e50; font-size: 1.5em; border-bottom: 1px solid #eaeaea; padding-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 20px;\"\u003eBook Overview\u003c\/h2\u003e\n    \u003cp style=\"margin-bottom: 15px;\"\u003eInternational Booker-nominated virtuoso Hwang Sok-yong is back with another powerful story—an epic tale that threads together a century of Korean history. In contemporary Seoul, a laid-off worker stages a months-long sit-in atop a sixteen-story factory chimney. During the long and lonely nights, he talks to his ancestors, chewing on the meaning of life, on wisdom passed down the generations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n    \u003cp style=\"margin-bottom: 15px;\"\u003eThrough the lives of those ancestors, three generations of railroad workers, \u003cem\u003eMater 2-10\u003c\/em\u003e vividly portrays the struggles of ordinary Koreans, starting from the Japanese colonial era, continuing through Liberation, and right up to the twenty-first century. It is at once a gripping account of a nation's longing to be free from oppression, a lyrical folktale that reflects the blood, sweat, and tears shed by modern industrial laborers, and a culmination of Hwang's career—a masterpiece thirty years in the making. A true voice of a generation, Hwang shows again why he is unmatched when it comes to depicting the roots and reality of a divided nation and bringing to life the trials and tribulations of the Korean people.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003c\/section\u003e\n\n  \u003csection style=\"margin-bottom: 25px;\"\u003e\n    \u003ch2 style=\"color: #2c3e50; font-size: 1.5em; border-bottom: 1px solid #eaeaea; padding-bottom: 5px;\"\u003eAbout the Author \u0026amp; Translators\u003c\/h2\u003e\n    \u003cp style=\"margin-bottom: 15px;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHwang Sok-Yong\u003c\/strong\u003e is widely recognized as South Korea's greatest living dissident novelist. Having spent decades on the frontlines of pro-democracy labor movements and serving five years in a maximum-security prison for his political activism, he brings absolute, unmatched authority to his depiction of factory strikes, union organizing, and political imprisonment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n    \u003cp style=\"margin-bottom: 15px;\"\u003eThis definitive English-language edition is masterfully translated by acclaimed translators \u003cstrong\u003eSora Kim-Russell\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eYoungjae Josephine Bae\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003c\/section\u003e\n\n  \u003csection style=\"margin-bottom: 25px;\"\u003e\n    \u003ch2 style=\"color: #2c3e50; font-size: 1.5em; border-bottom: 1px solid #eaeaea; padding-bottom: 5px;\"\u003eCore Audience \u0026amp; Intended Use\u003c\/h2\u003e\n    \u003cul style=\"padding-left: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px;\"\u003e\n      \u003cli style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLiterary Fiction \u0026amp; Award Collectors:\u003c\/strong\u003e Dedicated readers seeking acclaimed contemporary world literature and International Booker Prize finalists.\u003c\/li\u003e\n      \u003cli style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLabor History \u0026amp; Sociopolitical Enthusiasts:\u003c\/strong\u003e Readers examining industrial labor struggles, worker resistance, and twentieth-century Korean history.\u003c\/li\u003e\n      \u003cli style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWorld Literature Purists:\u003c\/strong\u003e Fans of sweeping multi-generational epics blending rigorous realism with ancestral folklore and magical realism.\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003c\/ul\u003e\n  \u003c\/section\u003e\n\n  \u003csection style=\"margin-bottom: 25px;\"\u003e\n    \u003ch2 style=\"color: #2c3e50; font-size: 1.5em; border-bottom: 1px solid #eaeaea; padding-bottom: 5px;\"\u003eProduct Specifications\u003c\/h2\u003e\n    \u003ctable style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; margin-top: 15px; font-size: 0.95em;\"\u003e\n      \u003ctbody\u003e\n        \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003cth style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; background-color: #f9f9f9; text-align: left; width: 35%;\"\u003eFull Title\u003c\/th\u003e\n          \u003ctd style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px;\"\u003eMater 2-10\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003c\/tr\u003e\n        \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003cth style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; background-color: #f9f9f9; text-align: left;\"\u003eAuthor(s)\u003c\/th\u003e\n          \u003ctd style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px;\"\u003eHwang Sok-Yong\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003c\/tr\u003e\n        \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003cth style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; background-color: #f9f9f9; text-align: left;\"\u003eTranslator(s)\u003c\/th\u003e\n          \u003ctd style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px;\"\u003eSora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003c\/tr\u003e\n        \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003cth style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; background-color: #f9f9f9; text-align: left;\"\u003ePublisher \u0026amp; Imprint\u003c\/th\u003e\n          \u003ctd style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px;\"\u003eScribe Publications (Scribe US\/UK Edition Profile)\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003c\/tr\u003e\n        \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003cth style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; background-color: #f9f9f9; text-align: left;\"\u003ePublication Date\u003c\/th\u003e\n          \u003ctd style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px;\"\u003eJune 11, 2024\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003c\/tr\u003e\n        \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003cth style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; background-color: #f9f9f9; text-align: left;\"\u003eBinding Format\u003c\/th\u003e\n          \u003ctd style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px;\"\u003eTrade Paperback (PB)\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003c\/tr\u003e\n        \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003cth style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; background-color: #f9f9f9; text-align: left;\"\u003ePrint Length\u003c\/th\u003e\n          \u003ctd style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px;\"\u003e496 Pages\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003c\/tr\u003e\n        \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003cth style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; background-color: #f9f9f9; text-align: left;\"\u003eLanguage\u003c\/th\u003e\n          \u003ctd style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px;\"\u003eEnglish\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003c\/tr\u003e\n        \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003cth style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; background-color: #f9f9f9; text-align: left;\"\u003eISBN-13 \/ ISBN-10\u003c\/th\u003e\n          \u003ctd style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px;\"\u003e9781957363318 \/ 1957363319\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003c\/tr\u003e\n        \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003cth style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; background-color: #f9f9f9; text-align: left;\"\u003ePrimary Genre (BISAC)\u003c\/th\u003e\n          \u003ctd style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px;\"\u003eFICTION \/ Literary\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003c\/tr\u003e\n        \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003cth style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; background-color: #f9f9f9; text-align: left;\"\u003eSub-Genres (BISAC)\u003c\/th\u003e\n          \u003ctd style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px;\"\u003eFICTION \/ Historical \/ General; FICTION \/ Political; FICTION \/ Cultural Heritage\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003c\/tr\u003e\n        \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003cth style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; background-color: #f9f9f9; text-align: left;\"\u003eItem Condition\u003c\/th\u003e\n          \u003ctd style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px;\"\u003ePre-Owned \/ Very Good\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003c\/tr\u003e\n        \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003cth style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; background-color: #f9f9f9; text-align: left;\"\u003eDimensions \u0026amp; Weight\u003c\/th\u003e\n          \u003ctd style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px;\"\u003e5.10 x 1.40 x 7.80 inches | 13.6 oz (approx. 0.85 lbs)\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003c\/tr\u003e\n      \u003c\/tbody\u003e\n    \u003c\/table\u003e\n  \u003c\/section\u003e\n\n  \u003csection style=\"margin-bottom: 30px;\"\u003e\n    \u003ch2 style=\"color: #2c3e50; font-size: 1.5em; border-bottom: 1px solid #eaeaea; padding-bottom: 5px;\"\u003eFrequently Asked Questions About Mater 2-10\u003c\/h2\u003e\n    \n    \u003cdetails style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; border: 1px solid #eaeaea; padding: 10px; border-radius: 4px; background-color: #fcfcfc;\"\u003e\n      \u003csummary style=\"font-weight: bold; cursor: pointer; color: #2c3e50; outline: none;\"\u003eDid this novel achieve any major international literary milestones?\u003c\/summary\u003e\n      \u003cp style=\"margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 0;\"\u003eYes, exceptionally so. Mater 2-10 achieved massive global literary acclaim by being officially shortlisted for the 2024 International Booker Prize. The Booker judges celebrated the sweeping multi-generational text as a monumental achievement in contemporary world literature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n    \u003c\/details\u003e\n\n    \u003cdetails style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; border: 1px solid #eaeaea; padding: 10px; border-radius: 4px; background-color: #fcfcfc;\"\u003e\n      \u003csummary style=\"font-weight: bold; cursor: pointer; color: #2c3e50; outline: none;\"\u003eWhat is the main narrative hook and historical premise driving the plot?\u003c\/summary\u003e\n      \u003cp style=\"margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 0;\"\u003eThe framing story centers on Lee Jino, a modern-day laid-off Korean worker staging a high-stakes, solitary protest atop a sixteen-story factory chimney. As he spends nights trapped in the freezing air, the narrative expands outward into a massive, century-spanning epic that chronicles three generations of a family of railroad workers, charting their lives through the brutal Japanese colonial occupation, World War II, the Korean War, and the subsequent division of the peninsula.\u003c\/p\u003e\n    \u003c\/details\u003e\n\n    \u003cdetails style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; border: 1px solid #eaeaea; padding: 10px; border-radius: 4px; background-color: #fcfcfc;\"\u003e\n      \u003csummary style=\"font-weight: bold; cursor: pointer; color: #2c3e50; outline: none;\"\u003eWhat exactly does the title \"Mater 2-10\" mean and refer to in the book?\u003c\/summary\u003e\n      \u003cp style=\"margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 0;\"\u003e\"Mater 2-10\" refers directly to a historic, powerful Japanese-built steam locomotive that ran across the Korean peninsula during the colonial era. The train acts as a vital structural symbol throughout the text, representing the rapid introduction of industrial capitalism, structural colonial exploitation, and the heavy physical labor of the working-class people who laid the tracks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n    \u003c\/details\u003e\n\n    \u003cdetails style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; border: 1px solid #eaeaea; padding: 10px; border-radius: 4px; background-color: #fcfcfc;\"\u003e\n      \u003csummary style=\"font-weight: bold; cursor: pointer; color: #2c3e50; outline: none;\"\u003eHow does this novel blend realism with elements of Korean folklore?\u003c\/summary\u003e\n      \u003cp style=\"margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 0;\"\u003eWhile the book functions as an uncompromising, scrupulous labor history, Hwang Sok-Yong masterfully infuses the text with magical realism and ancestral shamanistic spirits. The ghosts of deceased family members frequently cross paths with the living, keeping ancient cultural memories, oral traditions, and folklore alive across shifting political regimes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n    \u003c\/details\u003e\n\n    \u003cdetails style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; border: 1px solid #eaeaea; padding: 10px; border-radius: 4px; background-color: #fcfcfc;\"\u003e\n      \u003csummary style=\"font-weight: bold; cursor: pointer; color: #2c3e50; outline: none;\"\u003eWho is the author, and what unique background authority does he bring to this text?\u003c\/summary\u003e\n      \u003cp style=\"margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 0;\"\u003eThe book is written by Hwang Sok-Yong, widely recognized as South Korea's greatest living dissident novelist. Because he spent decades working on the frontlines of pro-democracy labor movements and served five years in a maximum-security prison for his political activism, he writes about the gritty, psychological realities of factory strikes, union organizing, and political imprisonment with absolute, unmatched authority.\u003c\/p\u003e\n    \u003c\/details\u003e\n\n    \u003c!-- DISCLAIMER BDB --\u003e\n    \u003cdetails style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; border: 1px solid #eaeaea; padding: 10px; border-radius: 4px; background-color: #f4f6f8; border-left: 3px solid #2c3e50;\"\u003e\n      \u003csummary style=\"font-weight: bold; cursor: pointer; color: #2c3e50; outline: none;\"\u003eCondition Notice: Pre-Owned \/ Second-Hand Product\u003c\/summary\u003e\n      \u003cp style=\"margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAll books, box sets, and multi-volume collections\u003c\/strong\u003e offered by Bust-Down Books are sold in pre-owned, used, and second-hand condition, unless explicitly designated as new in the individual product listing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n      \n      \u003cp style=\"margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 5px;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition Details \u0026amp; Grading:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n      \u003cul style=\"padding-left: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;\"\u003e\n        \u003cli style=\"margin-bottom: 6px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePrevious Ownership:\u003c\/strong\u003e These items have been previously owned, handled, and read. As such, copies may exhibit typical signs of shelf wear, including but not limited to minor creasing, scuffing, edge wear, bent page corners, remainder marks, or spine softening. Paperback editions may show minor cover curling or crease lines.\u003c\/li\u003e\n        \u003cli style=\"margin-bottom: 6px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMarkings \u0026amp; Personalization:\u003c\/strong\u003e Items may occasionally contain inscriptions, library stamps, owner names, marginalia, or highlighting. Individual item descriptions reflect significant deviations from standard acceptable condition.\u003c\/li\u003e\n        \u003cli style=\"margin-bottom: 6px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSupplemental Materials:\u003c\/strong\u003e Secondary and digital components—such as publisher access codes, CD-ROMs, bonus inserts, registration keys, or workbook activity pages—are not guaranteed to be included, active, or unredeemed unless specifically stated in the product description.\u003c\/li\u003e\n      \u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n      \u003cp style=\"margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 5px;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFirst Sale Doctrine \u0026amp; Non-Affiliation Statement:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n      \u003cp style=\"margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 10px;\"\u003eAll items sold on this platform are original, lawfully acquired copies being resold under the protection of the First Sale Doctrine (codified under U.S. copyright law, 17 U.S.C. § 109, and applicable international equivalents permitting the secondary resale of lawfully manufactured goods).\u003c\/p\u003e\n      \u003cp style=\"margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 0;\"\u003eBust-Down Books, LTD. is an independent, secondary-market bookseller. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, authorized by, or sponsored by the original authors, copyright holders, publishers, or trademark owners of the titles offered for sale. All registered trademarks, author names, book titles, and publisher imprints remain the sole property of their respective owners and are used strictly for nominative identification and descriptive purposes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n    \u003c\/details\u003e\n  \u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cscript type=\"application\/ld+json\"\u003e\n{\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n  \"@graph\": [\n    {\n      \"@type\": [\"Product\", \"Book\"],\n      \"name\": \"Mater 2-10\",\n      \"author\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Person\",\n        \"name\": \"Hwang Sok-Yong\"\n      },\n      \"translator\": [\n        {\n          \"@type\": \"Person\",\n          \"name\": \"Sora Kim-Russell\"\n        },\n        {\n          \"@type\": \"Person\",\n          \"name\": \"Youngjae Josephine Bae\"\n        }\n      ],\n      \"isbn\": \"9781957363318\",\n      \"sameAs\": \"1957363319\",\n      \"bookFormat\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\/Paperback\",\n      \"numberOfPages\": 496,\n      \"publisher\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n        \"name\": \"Scribe Publications\"\n      },\n      \"datePublished\": \"2024-06-11\",\n      \"inLanguage\": \"en\",\n      \"image\": \"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0855\/2077\/7531\/files\/9781957363318.jpg?v=1789204974\",\n      \"url\": \"https:\/\/bustdownbooks.com\/products\/mater-2-10-hwang-sok-yong-9781957363318\",\n      \"offers\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Offer\",\n        \"priceCurrency\": \"USD\",\n        \"price\": \"9.99\",\n        \"availability\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\/InStock\",\n        \"itemCondition\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\/UsedCondition\"\n      },\n      \"about\": [\n        {\n          \"@type\": \"Thing\",\n          \"name\": \"FICTION \/ Literary\"\n        },\n        {\n          \"@type\": \"Thing\",\n          \"name\": \"FICTION \/ Historical \/ General\"\n        },\n        {\n          \"@type\": \"Thing\",\n          \"name\": \"FICTION \/ Political\"\n        },\n        {\n          \"@type\": \"Thing\",\n          \"name\": \"FICTION \/ Cultural Heritage\"\n        }\n      ]\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"FAQPage\",\n      \"mainEntity\": [\n        {\n          \"@type\": \"Question\",\n          \"name\": \"Did this novel achieve any major international literary milestones?\",\n          \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n            \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n            \"text\": \"Yes, exceptionally so. 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