The Epic and the Alternative: Romance in Postcolonial Taiwan, Pei-yin Lin, Pages 55-79 (This looks in particular at Wang Lan’s The Blue and the Black and Guo Lianghui’s The Locked Heart. The former has an open ending, and the author states of the latter that "most marriages in the novel are dysfunctional and the concept of home and family as a place of love is in question" (74) so again, they're not "romances" as generally defined in the items in this database.)
Claiming Colonial Masculinity: Sex and Romance in Ch’ae Mansik’s Colonial Fiction, Su Yun Kim, Pages 81-109 ("Ch’ae’s short story “Kwadogi” (Transition, 1923) and novella, Naengdongŏ (Frozen Fish, 1940) in particular focus on romance (K. yŏnae, J. ren’ai) between Koreans and Japanese. These works dramatize their characters’ erotic desire and life in various sexual arrangements as well as the (im)possibility
of conjugality, an issue that lies at the heart of their plot" (86). So again, although these are stories about love/sexual relationships, they're not precisely "romances" as defined by most of the entries in this database.)
From the Detective to the Romance Genre: Popular Fiction in Postcolonial Korea, Su Yun Kim, Pages 111-137. (This focuses on Kim Naesŏng's "popular romance novel, Aein (The Lover, 1954–1955), which was serialized in the daily newspaper Kyŏnghyang sinmun from October 1, 1954 to June 30, 1955 in 265 installments" (112) but it should be noted that
The Lover ends with Chiun and Yŏngsim walking toward a cliff on a snow-covered mountain. The somber march of the couple foreshadows their imminent deaths, fulfilling their union. Echoing Professor Yim’s orthodox definition of romantic love as deadly serious, this ending shows us that, even in the 1950s, an idealized coupling ending in suicide was welcomed by readers. (127)
"The first half of this book is dedicated to Taiwanese and Korean literature from the 1930s to the 1960s, with a focus on the romance genre." (21)
This section contains:
Coining the Ideal Woman in Love/Marriage Fiction from Colonial Taiwan, Pei-yin Lin, Pages 29-54 ("Love/Marriage Fiction" is maybe more "romantic fiction" or "love stories" than "romance with happy endings")
The Epic and the Alternative: Romance in Postcolonial Taiwan, Pei-yin Lin, Pages 55-79 (This looks in particular at Wang Lan’s The Blue and the Black and Guo Lianghui’s The Locked Heart. The former has an open ending, and the author states of the latter that "most marriages in the novel are dysfunctional and the concept of home and family as a place of love is in question" (74) so again, they're not "romances" as generally defined in the items in this database.)
Claiming Colonial Masculinity: Sex and Romance in Ch’ae Mansik’s Colonial Fiction, Su Yun Kim, Pages 81-109 ("Ch’ae’s short story “Kwadogi” (Transition, 1923) and novella, Naengdongŏ (Frozen Fish, 1940) in particular focus on romance (K. yŏnae, J. ren’ai) between Koreans and Japanese. These works dramatize their characters’ erotic desire and life in various sexual arrangements as well as the (im)possibility
of conjugality, an issue that lies at the heart of their plot" (86). So again, although these are stories about love/sexual relationships, they're not precisely "romances" as defined by most of the entries in this database.)
From the Detective to the Romance Genre: Popular Fiction in Postcolonial Korea, Su Yun Kim, Pages 111-137. (This focuses on Kim Naesŏng's "popular romance novel, Aein (The Lover, 1954–1955), which was serialized in the daily newspaper Kyŏnghyang sinmun from October 1, 1954 to June 30, 1955 in 265 installments" (112) but it should be noted that