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.