Cho Chong-Rae is among the most popular contemporary Korean writers, dealing in his fiction with the personal trials and social agonies of Korea's division.Chun Kyung-Ja holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and is Professor of English at the Catholic University of Korea. She has published many translations of modern Korean prose and poetry, including such novels as Peace Under Heaven by Ch'ae Man-Sik (M.E. Sharpe, 1991) and The Shadow of Arms by Hwang Suk-Young (Cornell East Asia Series).

Playing with Fire is densely layered with symbolism throughout. Each character's name and each place name reveals a range of possible meanings too complex to summarize here. While this penchant for symbolism might seem an unnecessary affectation at times, particularly when it appears to be obvious, it would be a mistake to leap to conclusions before careful consideration of these gestures from a variety of perspectives.(Korean Quarterly)