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Korea and Japan

Chris Harding reads from The End of August, a new novel by Yu Miri, and explores the legacy of earthquakes in Japan.

1930s Japanese-occupied Korea ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and a marathon runner in present day Japan are paired in the latest novel from Yu Miri. It has been translated into English as The End of August by Morgan Giles and they both join presenter and Japan expert Chris Harding as part of a programme exploring links between Korea and Japan. He also looks back at the Great Kantō Earthquake a hundred years ago and disaster planning today.

Producer: Luke Mulhall

On the Free Thinking programme website you can find a collection of conversations exploring South and East Asian Culture which includes episodes about My Neighbour Totoro, Japan's equivalent to Sherlock Holmes - The Black Lizard, photographs by Mika Ninagawa, writing by Hideo Yokoyama, Yukio Mishima and Tomoyuki Hoshino, ideas about nature and about city living.

Available now

44 minutes

Last on

Wed 1 Nov 2023 22:00

Broadcast

  • Wed 1 Nov 2023 22:00

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