The Literature of the Enlightenment Period

Korean modern literature was formed against the background of the crumbling feudalistic society of the Joseon Dynasty, the importation of new ideas from the West, and the new political reality of rising Japanese imperial power in East Asia. The first stage in the establishment of Korea's modern literature extends from the late-19th century to the early 20th century, and is designated as the literature of the Enlightenment (gaehwa gyemong) period.

The change from traditional to modern literature during the Enlightenment period was largely due to the effects of the New Education and the Korean Language and Literature movement. After the Gabo Reforms of 1894, a new brand of education was enforced, new Western-style schools were established, and new textbooks for teaching Western knowledge were published. The literature of the Enlightenment Period secured its social base through newly emerged media like newspapers. Most newspapers, including the Dongnip Sinmun (The Independent), Hwangseong Sinmun (The Imperial City Newspaper), Daehan Maeil Sinbo (Korean Daily News), Jeguk Sinmun (Imperial Newspaper), Mansebo (The Forever Report), Daehan Minbo (The Korean People's Report) all published serial novels, as well as sijo, and gasa. It was at this time that a class of professional writers also began to form. Commercial publishing of literary works became possible with the introduction of new printing techniques and the emergence of publishing companies.

In this period, the changga (new type of song) and the sinchesi (new poetry) were hailed as the new poetic forms. They contributed greatly to the formation of the modern jayusi (free verse poem). Receiving their influence from free verse poetry, the sinchesi abandoned the fixed meter of traditional poetry, thus making new genres possible in poems like Choe Nam-seon's Hae egeseo sonyeon ege (From the Sea to the Youth) (1908), Kkot dugo (Laying Down the Flowers) and Taebaeksan si (Poems of Mt. Taebaeksan). But despite the novelty of the new forms, there were also many instances where the poetic voice was politicized, a sharp contrast to the lyric poetry of old, which gave primary expression to individual sentiment and feeling.

This period also saw the emergence of many biographical works based on enlightenment tastes, designed to cultivate patriotism and awaken the national consciousness. Representative works include Aeguk buinjeon (Tale of the Patriotic Lady) (Jang Ji-yeon, 1907) and General Eulji Mundeok (Sin Chae-ho, 1908). The biographies presented images of the kind of hero called for by the realities of the period. An Guk-seon's Geumsu hoeuirok (Notes From the Meeting of the Birds and Beasts) (1908) is the representative of this kind of work: it centers around the orations of animals who criticize the human world's moral depravity.

While a professional class of writers began to be formed by men like Yi In-jik, Yi Hae-jo, Choe Chan-sik and Kim Go-je, a new literary form called the sinsoseol (new novel) secured a popular readership base. Yi In-jik's Hyeoruinu (Tears of Blood) (1906) and Eunsegye (The Silver World) (1908), were followed by Yi Hae-jo's Gumageom (The Demon-Ousting Sword) and Jayujong (The Freedom Bell). Choe Chan-sik's Chuwolsaek (The Color of the Autumn Moon) (1912) is also a well-known work. The sinsoseol, all written in Han-geul, achieved mass popularity. These novels portrayed Enlightenment ideals against the background of the realities of contemporary life, and the unrealistic, transcendental worlds of old are absent from their plots. It was in the sinsoseol that time reversal was first applied as a structural technique. The authors also adopted a vernacular prose style that brought them closer to the form of the modern novel. However, in the wake of the Japanese takeover of Korea in 1910, the character of the sinsoseol began to change. The later works gave more weight to the fates of individual characters, and commonplace love-struggles became more prominent.


Literature of the Japanese Colonial Period

Korea suffered a great deal under Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945). Coercing the Korean government to conclude the Korean-Japanese Annexation Treaty, Japan then installed a Governor-General in Korea and enforced military rule. Restrictions governing speech and publications were especially severe. As a result, Korea's spirit of self-reliance and independence, together with its will to proceed with the Enlightenment ideals, no longer could find expression in its literature.

The Korean literature of the Japanese colonial period began with the March First Independence Movement of 1919. It was during this period that the Korean people began to exhibit a more positive attitude in coping with their national situation. Strengthened by feelings of national self-awakening which had been stirred up by the March First Independence Movement of 1919, the literature of that period began to show an interest in themes of self-discovery and individual expression, as well as an increased interest in concrete reality. Literary coterie magazines emerged, like Changjo (Creation) (1919), Pyeheo (The Ruins) (1920), and Baekjo (White Tide) (1922), and literary circles formed. With the publication of magazines like Gaebyeok (The Opening) (1920), creative literary efforts also began to become more actively developed. In particular, the publication of national newspapers, like the Dong-A Ilbo and the Chosun Ilbo, contributed toward establishing a broad base of support for artistic endeavors.

In the early 1920s, the base support for Korea's modern literature began to expand as people experienced a renewed self-awakening and recognition of their national predicaments in the wake of the March 1919 uprising. The novels of this period describe the sufferings of the intellectual who drifts through reality, and expose the sad lives of the laborers and farmers. Yi Gwang-su's short story Sonyeonui Biae (The Sorrow of Youth) in which he writes of the inner pain of the individual, was followed by his full-length novel Mujeong (Heartlessness) (1917), the success of which placed him at the center of Korean letters. Mujeong was not thoroughgoing in its apprehension of colonial period reality, but as a novel combining the fatalistic life of the individual with the Zeitgeist of the period, it is recognized as being modern in character. With Baettaragi (Baettaragi Song) (1921) and Gamja (Potatoes) (1925), Kim Dong-in also contributed greatly to the short-story genre. In it, he minutely describes in realistic detail the shifting fates of man. Hyeon Jin-geon's Unsu joeun nal (The Lucky Day) (1924) is also a work which employs superb technique in describing people coping with the pain of their reality. Yeom Sang-seop's Pyobonsirui cheonggaeguri (Green Frog in the Specimen Gallery) (1921) deals again with the wanderings and frustrations of the intellectual; and in Mansejeon (The Tale of Forever) (1924), Yeom gives expression to the colonial realities of a devastated Korea.

The poetry of this period also established a new and modern Korean poetry as it borrowed from the French techniques of vers libre. Both the free verse of Ju Yo-han's Bullori (Fireworks) (1919) and Kim So-wol's poetry collection Jindallae kkot (Azaleas) (1925) made enormous contributions toward establishing the foundations of modern Korean poetry. Kim reconstructed the meter of the traditional folk ballad, successfully giving poetic shape to a world of sentiment. Yi Sang-hwa, in his works entitled Madonna and Ppae-atgin deuredo bomeun oneun-ga (Does Spring Come to the Lost Field?), attempted to come to terms with the suffering of the age and the agony of the individual, through the poetic lamentation of the realities of colonialism. Based on Buddhist thought, Han Yong-un, in his Nimui chimmuk (Thy Silence) (1926) sang of an absolute existence, and tragically compared the reality of Koreans' loss of their nation to that of the loss suffered by a woman who must endure the separation of her loved one or husband.

In the mid-1920s, Korean literature was divided into national and class literatures, in accordance with the democratic and socialist ideals that were popular that time. By 1925 the class literature movement began to solidify with the organization of the Korea Proletarian Artist's Federation (KAPF). The proletarian literature movement, by expanding its organization and targeting the elevation of class consciousness through literature, sought to strengthen class ideology in society. In order to achieve mass support from the farmers and laborers, it poured its energies into the creation of a "labor literature" and a "farmer literature." Most notable of this kind of novel include Choe Seo-hae's Talchulgi (Record of an Escape) (1925), Jo Myeong-hui's Nakdonggang (The Nakdonggang river) (1927), Yi Gi-yeong's Gohyang (Hometown) (1934), and Han Seol-ya's Hwanghon (Twilight). These works are for the most part based in class consciousness and emphasize the struggles against colonialism, with farmers and laborers playing the central protagonists in that struggle. In the case of poetry, Bak Se-yong, Im Hwa and Kim Chang-sul all took aim at the class contradictions under colonialism and published many Gyeonghyangsi (Trend Poems) the consciousness of class struggle.

During the 1930s, Korean literature underwent important changes as Japanese militarism was strengthened and ideological coercion began to be applied to literature. Pursuit of the communal ideology, which until that point had formed the course of Korean literature, became a thing of the past. New and various literary trends began to emerge.

Many novels written during this period experimented with new styles and techniques. In Nalgae (Wings) and Jongsaenggi (Record of the End of a Life), for example, Yi Sang used the technique of dissociation of the self from the world around him. Yi Hyo-seok's Memilkkot pil muryeop (When the Buckwheat Flowers Bloom) and Kim Yu-jeong's Dongbaek Kkot (Camellia Blossoms) are counted as masterful works of this genre. Also, Bak Tae-won's Soseolga Gubossiui iril (A Day of Gubo the Novelist) (1934) and Yi Tae-jun's Kkamagwi (The Crow) (1936) opened up new vistas for the novel with their new stylistic sensibilities. In these novels, novelistic space grows from within the interior of the self. By contrast, the full length novels of Yeom Sang-seop's Samdae (The Three Generations) (1931), Bak Tae-won's Cheonbyeon punggyeong (Views by the Riverside) (1937), Chae Man-sik's Tangnyu (The Muddy Stream) (1938), and Hong Myeong-hui's Imkkeok-jeongjeon (Tale of Im Kkeok-jeong) (1939), all narrate the story of the lives of their characters against the backdrop of Korea's tumultuous history.

The modernism movement was the most impressive feature of the poetry of this period. It emerged as sunsusi (pure poetry). The pioneering poems of Jeong Ji-yong and Kim Yeong-nang embody poetic lyricism through intricate linguistic sensibility and refined technique. Yi Sang, in particular, played a central role in the development of this new kind of experimental poetry. Also, aligned with this movement was the so-called Saengmyeongpa (the life poets) movement which included writers like Seo Jeong-ju and Yu Chi-hwan. Another significant trend during this period was the nature-poems of Bak Du-jin and Bak Mok-wol, among others. The poetry of Yi Yuk-sa and Yun Dong-ju was also important in that it captured the emotion of the people in their resistance to Japanese imperialism.


Literature of the Period of National Division

After the liberation from the Japanese in 1945, Korea became embroiled in the political maneuvers of world powers, and the division into South and North became unavoidable. This division in political thought also made a significant impact on the literary world, as the factionalism and struggles began to occur between Southern and Northern literatures. The Korean War (1950-1953) was a tragic interim which solidified Korea's division into South and North. Postwar Korean society's emergence from the wounds and chaos of that war had a considerable impact on the development of Korean literature.

For the most part, the postwar novel in South Korea deals with the struggles of the Korean people to achieve deliverance from their national pain and anguish. The writings of Kim Dong-ri and Hwang Sun-won are representatives of this new type of literature. Also included in this genre is An Su-gil, whose novel Bukgando (1959) portrays the pioneering fortitude and steadfast spiritual power of Koreans who migrate to Manchuria. In addition, many of the postwar generation writers took as their predominant theme the collapse of the traditional socio-moral value systems, as seen in O Sang-won's Moban (Revolt) (1957) and Son Chang-seop's Injo in-gan (Artificial Man) (1958). Bak Gyeong-ri's Bulsin sidae (The Age of Mistrust) (1957), Jeong Gwang-yong's Kkeoppittan yi (Captain Lee) (1962) and Lee Beom-seon's Obaltan (An Accidentally Fired Bullet), in particular, deal squarely with the chaos and moral collapse of postwar society. Lee Ho-cheol's Nasang (The Nude Portrait) (1957) and Choe Sang-gyu's Pointeu (Point) (1956) describe people living their lives in a veritable pit of bleak reality.

The search for a new poetic spirit and technique was also a significant feature of Korea's postwar poetry. Among the postwar trends was the Jeontongpa (traditionalists) movement, marked by a style rooted in traditional rhythms and folk sentiment. The centrality of individual sentiment and sensibility in the Jeontongpa, combined with the traditional rhythmic base, brought a broad, folkish sentiment into the realm of poetry. In addition to Bak Jae-sam, whose Piri (Flute) and Ureumi taneun gang (The Saddened River) was inspired by the world of traditional sentiment and folk feeling, Gu Ja-un, Lee Dong-ju and Jeong Han-mo were also significant contributors to this movement. Another trend in postwar poetry was the Silheompa (experientialists) who, while venturing to bring new experiences to poetic language and form, concentrated on changing the tradition. Kim Gyeong-rin, Bak In-hwan, Kim Gyu-dong, Kim Cha-yong and Lee Bong-rae, as well as a coterie of writers called the Huban-gi (The Later Years), were central to this new postwar modernist movement. In particular, Bak Bong-u and Jeon Bong-geon, brought critical recognition and a satirical approach to social conditions through poetry.

At the close of the 1950s, writers like Kim Seung-ok, Bak Tae-sun, Seo Jong-in, Lee Cheong-jun, Hong Seong-won and Choe In-hun made their literary debut. Choe In-hun's Gwangjang (The Square), for example, gave expression to the agony, wanderings and frustrations of the intellectual using a unique novelistic structure. Kim Seung-ok, later in his "Seoul 1964, gyeo-ul" (Seoul, 1964, Winter), wrote about the life of the petit bourgeois.

Shortly after the April 19th Revolution of 1960, poetic trends also changed. Poets like Sin Dong-yeop and Kim Su-yong emphatically rejected the sentimental escapism of the postwar period and began to advocate the necessity to engage its readership with the political reality of the times. Kim Su-yong's Dallara-ui jangnan (The Prank of the Moonland) (1959) and Sin Dong-yeop's long poem Geumgang (The Geumgang river) (1967) for example, both express this new realistic perception by advocating the view that poetry become a significant means for political expression.

During the 1970s, Korean society found itself in the throes of rapid industrialization in which the gap between the rich and the poor, as well as regional disparities in industrial development, became markedly visible. As the political angst among the people increased, a new anti-establishment literary movement exploded onto the scene. The most important characteristic of the Korean novel during this period was its positive concern for various social problems which began to appear during the industrialization process. Lee Mun-gu's Gwanchon supil (Gwanchon Essays) (1977), for example, portrays the actual conditions of farmers who were neglected and became impoverished in the midst of the industrial development of the nation. The lifestyles of Seoul's "border citizens" (those living on the outskirts of the city) and the labor scene were also vividly portrayed in Hwang Seok-yeong's Gaekji (The Strange Land) (1970) and Sampo ganeun gil (The Road to Sampo) and Jo Se-hui's Nanjang-iga ssoaollin jageun gong (Small Ball Thrown by a Dwarf) (1978). Clearly, these novels opened up new possibilities for the labor novel as they gave new expression to the depravities and sufferings borne by the lives of the laborers in Korea during this period in history. Lee Cheong-jun's Dangsindeul-ui cheon-guk (Your Heaven) (1976), Janinhan dosi (The Cruel City) (1978) and O Jeong-hui's Yunyeon-ui Tteul (The Garden of Childhood) (1981), all examine the theme of human isolation and alienation which marked these laborers' experiences of industrial development. The social satire apparent throughout Bak Wan-seo's Hwicheong georineun ohu (The Reeling Afternoon) (1977) and Choe Il-nam's Taryeong (The Tune) (1977) was representative of important tendencies in the novel of this period.

There also emerged during this period what has been referred to as the "division novel" which brought to the fore a critical examination of national division. Kim Won-il's No eul (Sunset) (1978), Jeon Sang-guk's Abe ui gajok (Abe's Family) (1980) and Jo Jeong-rae's Taebaeksanmaek (The Taebaek-san Mountains) are representative of this new type of novel. Also noteworthy is the roman-fleuve, like Bak Gyeong-ri's Toji (The Land), judged to be one of the most important achievements of modern Korean literature.

In the realm of poetry, the works which centered around the experiences of the minjung (roughly translated as oppressed people or oppressed masses) most clearly defined the poetic trends of the times. Sin Gyeong-rim's Nongmu (Farmer's Dance) (1973) and Ko Eun's Munui ma-eul-e gaseo (Going to Munui Village) (1974), for example, both clearly demonstrate this concern for the lives of the minjung (people). Kim Ji-ha's Taneun mongmareum-euro (In a Burning Thirst) (1982), in particular, gave expression to the fighting spirit of the minjung in its struggle against industrial exploitation.


The Translation of Korean Literature in Foreign Languages

Korean literature was largely unknown to the world until the 1980s, when translations of Korean literary works began to appear in foreign countries. Since then, the types of works selected for translation have become increasingly diverse, and the quality of the translations themselves have improved steadily. Furthermore, as the translations principally are being published by overseas publishers, the translations have became available to a wider reading public.

Since the 1980s, Korean literature in English translation has spread widely in the English-speaking countries. Anthologies of Korean modern short stories such as Flowers of Fire (Peter H. Lee, University of Hawaii Press, 1974); and Land of Exile (Marshall R. Pihl and Bruce Fulton, New York: M.E. Sharpe, 1993) are widely taught in universities all across the English-speaking world.

The Korean novelists whose works have been most widely translated are Hwang Sun-won and Kim Dong-ri. Hwang's novel Umjigineun seong (The Moving Castle) was translated in the United States by Bruce Fulton. Other works, including Collected Short Stories by Hwang Sun-won translated by Edward Poitras, and another similar collection by Professor Holman, have also been available in English. Important works by Kim Dong-ri such as Eulhwa (Eulhwa, The Shaman Sorceress), Munyeodo (The Portrait of the Shaman) have been translated and published. Poetry selections by Han Yong-un (Thy Silence), Seo Jeong-ju (Winter Sky) and Hwang Dong-gyu (Wind Burial) can also be found in English translation.

In French-speaking countries, the scope of literary translation activities from Korean is limited compared to those in English-speaking countries; but in these countries too, projects are actively underway. Lee Mun-yeol has had his greatest overseas exposure through French translations. Translated works by Lee Mun-yeol include Urideurui ilgeureojin yeong-ung (Our Disfigured Hero) and Siin (The Poet). Other Korean novels available in French are Jo Se-hui's Nanjang-iga ssoaollin jageun gong (The Little Ball Thrown by a Dwarf). Translations of poetry by individual authors include those of Han Yong-un and Gu Sang. Such translation projects will continue in the future in an ongoing effort to introduce Korean literature to readers throughout the world.