Mujŏng

The first modern Korean novel, Mujŏng (1917) by Yi Kwang-su, concludes with protagonist couple Yi Hyŏng-sik and Kim Sŏn-hyŏng visiting Korea while they were studying overseas at the University of Chicago. Having endured the many hardships of living under Japanese colonial rule, these characters choose to travel to the United States to study in a more liberal and independent environment. In real life, so too did Korean students who began coming to the US to study at the University of Chicago over a hundred years ago.