South Korea (Overview) –
South Korea, with a population of approximately 51-million people (2016), has standard Korean as its most prevalently spoken language, although there are various dialects according to the region. Further, there is a large community of Chinese speakers in Korea; hence, Hanja may be encountered, the use of Chinese characters to write Korean words (quite common in classical Korean literature), Japanese may also be spoken by the older population due to Japan’s rule over Korea in the early 1900s. Geographically speaking, South Korea is located in eastern Asia, on the southern part of the Korean peninsula, with coastlines along the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea.
Literature (Overview) –
Korea is plentiful in its works of literature, containing many forms of prose (narratives: myths, legends and folktales; fiction) and poems, divided into classical and modern periods, varying in the form of language written in (Korean language or Classical Chinese, mostly written in Hanja). Further, there are multiple forms of Korean poetry, the four major traditional forms being: hyangga, pyolgok, sijo and kasa. These forms of Korean poetry were originally designed to be sung, their forms and styles reflecting their melodic origins. Additionally, another of Korean literature, oral literature, text that was transmitted orally through generations until the invention of the Korean alphabet, hangul, involved: ballads, legends, masked plays, puppet-shows derived from text, and pansori texts (sung stories). Moreover, Korea’s over 1,500 years of literary history is rich in Korean culture and, unsurprisingly, history, surviving through many dynasties and the Japanese rule, often revealing what life was like during those periods; recently, many works of Korean literature have been affected by Western influences.
From classical Korean literature, ‘Rain Shower’ by Hwang Sun-won is considered as a timeless Korean classic by Koreans; it is studied in Korea as western countries study Shakespeare, so most Koreans are acquainted with the story. Due to its popularity, there have been many films and show adaptations of it. The author, Hwang Sun-won, was noted for his refusal to write in Japanese even during the Japanese occupation of Korea and is a highly-acclaimed short story author.
On the other hand, popular contemporary book, ‘The Vegetarian’ by Han Kang is a South Korean novel, published in 2007. Set in Seoul, ‘The Vegetarian’ tells the story of a woman who decides to live as a vegetarian after a nightmarish dream depicting human cruelty, leading to devastating consequences. The book won the prestigious Man Booker International Prize, with much appraise directed to the translation by Deborah Smith and the author’s writing style; due to its critical acclaim, the book was translated into many different languages.
Literature (Short Stories) –
‘A Lucky Day’: https://gimfltranslation.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/a-lucky-day.pdf
‘A Lucky Day’ by Hyun Jin-geon is a story set in Seoul, Korea, in the early 1920s, around the same time it was published. It was during Japan’s forced occupation of Korea, and the story portrays the lives of people living in Seoul at the time, along with the state and appearance of the city.
‘A Lucky Day’ begins innocently enough with a man, Kim Cheomji, experiencing an unusual string of good-luck to end his streak of bad luck which has resulted in 10 days of earning no money and a very sick wife. He is able to pull in a number of customers this particular day, working as a rickshaw driver, and earns more money than he could ever imagine; thus, he is ecstatic, yet he cannot help but feel a sudden pang of guilt and worry due to something his wife said to him in the morning. “Please, stay home. I’m in so much pain.” She begs him, but he mercilessly chastises her before leaving. Due to this anxiety of arriving home to an unpleasant scene, Kim Cheomji decides to visit a roadside bar to bathe in his joy for a little while longer.
In the bar, Kim Cheomji quickly becomes drunk, laughing then crying crazily, trying to repress thoughts of his sickly wife. However, when the time comes to return home, he buys a ‘Seollongtang’ (A type of Korean food) his wife so desperately wanted before he enters his eerily quiet house. He finds his wife dead with his 3-year-old son sucking at the empty nipple of his wife. Kim Cheomji is devastated and cries aloud at the dark turn his oddly fortunate day has taken.
As mentioned before, ‘A Lucky Day’ tells us a lot about South Korea during the 1920s with Japan’s invasion. The 1920s was the beginning of a modern-day Korea; factories, schools and hospitals forming around Seoul. In the short story, businessmen, school children and busy trains are present, reinforcing the point of a modernising Korea. Yet, Rickshaws, like Kim Cheomji’s, were still common forms of transport as they were convenient for busy people. However, despite all this, the story focuses on the lives of lower-class citizens and their struggle. Kim Cheomji wrestles earning enough money to survive with helping take care of his illness-stricken wife, this accurately reflects the struggles of living as a lower-class citizen during the 1920s of Korea during Japanese occupation. Money was so scarce, people still had to work when family was dying. Hence, the poverty was well-demonstrated in ‘A Lucky Day’.
The dark, rainy day’s significance may foreshadow the story’s dark turn and also enhance the gloomy atmosphere of Kim Cheomji’s environment. Further, Kim Cheomji is a representation of the suffereing of the colonial people of Korea.
‘Rain Shower’: http://hompi.sogang.ac.kr/anthony/Shower.htm
‘Rain Shower’ or just ‘Shower’ or ‘Sonagi’, in Korean, is another Korean short story which is set in the past, but this time, in the country-side, published in 1959 by Hwang Sun-won. A ‘sonagi’ is a brief but heavy rain shower that begins without warning. It was published during the Korean War and some aspects may be reflected in the story.
‘Rain Shower’ is about a brief love encounter between a country boy and a city girl, from Seoul, who has just recently moved in. The story begins with the young boy encountering the girl playing by the stream on his way back home. After a few subsequent awkward encounters, the pair decide to venture beyond a hill that neither have been to, this leads to a series of events that, in turn, give way to the development of feelings for each other. However, their ‘adventure’ is abruptly cut short by a sudden burst of rain which quickly subsides. Not long after, the girl informs the boy that she will be moving out, to both of their disappointments. This story could be described as a tragedy as the girl eventually dies after falling very ill. Her last wish is to be buried in the stained clothes she wore the day of their little adventure, the very clothes she had worn every day since.
The sonagi symbolises the brief, heartbreaking tale of the young couple. Further, ‘Rain Shower’ shifts from past tense to present tense throughout the story, producing a sense of urgency. The urgency of their love.
The many themes of this short story may be: innocent adolescent love and the simplicity of true joy, nostalgia for a lost innocence, the fragility of human life, and the clear contrast between rural life against the difficulties of city life.
Literature (Poetry) –
‘Flower’ by Kim Chun-su
Before I spoke his name
he was simply
one set of gestures, nothing more.
Then I spoke his name,
he came to me
and became a flower.
Just as I spoke his name,
I hope that someone will speak my name,
one right for my color and perfume.
I long to go to him
and become his flower.
We all of us
long to become something.
You for me, and I for you,
we long to become a never-to-be-forgotten gaze.
At first glance, ‘Flower’ may seem as nothing more than a sentimental love poem, yet, upon further inspection, it seems to be a comment on a certain aspect of human nature. Our instinctive desire for human connection rather than dreaming about it. Accordingly, the third and fourth stanza addresses the longing for recognition and acknowledgement from others. Delving deeper, the poem seems to imply that the meaning to life arises through finding mutual tenderness within one another, becoming each other’s “flowers”. We gain purpose and define ourselves through interactions with others. Hence, it seems fitting that the beginning stanzas seem to describe the accustoming of two strangers, searching for purpose through human connection. For example: often, a stranger’s actions can be described as “one set of gestures, nothing more”; however, through familiarity we learn to pick up on the meaning of those gestures and empathise with the thought behind them.
Regarding the use of language, the poet employs a basic vocabulary of language, originally and translated, to address such a profound subject. Perhaps the purpose of such simplistic language is to indicate that the pursuit of human touch is the human’s basic, most primal instinct, coded in the very lines of our genes.
‘Back to Heaven’ by Cheon Sang-byeong
I’ll go back to heaven again.
Hand in hand with the dew
that melts at a touch of the dawning day,
I’ll go back to heaven again.
With the dusk, together, just we two,
at a sign from a cloud after playing on the slopes
I’ll go back to heaven again.
At the end of my outing to this beautiful world
I’ll go back and say: It was beautiful…
‘Back to Heaven’, as the name suggests, is a poem that could best be described as ‘existential or spiritual’, exploring those themes along with transcendence from the immediate world, and life after death. This poem depicts a man who encounters the after-life, his journey from life to death, describing it as though he was constantly passing from one place to another each time of the day. Dying only to be resurrected repeatedly. Drawn to ‘heaven’ due to its supreme beauty and looking back at it with a nostalgic longing, bringing with him the beauties of his own world.
As to the language, again, the poet uses simple language to describe such a complex concept. This use of condensed language may be as to not detract from the reader’s attention and the poem’s immersion, Cheon’s objective being to lift the reader into a higher plane of thought and feeling, just as those in his poems experience.
‘Azalea’ by Kim Sowol
You’re sick and tired of me.
When you go
I’ll bid you goodbye without saying a word.
I’ll gather azaleas on Yak Mountain,
The burning azaleas of Yongbyon,
And strew them in your path.
Tread gently, please,
Step by step, softly,
On the flowers of dedication.
You’re sick and tired of me.
When you leave
I’ll not weep though I die.
There are many interpretations to this poem. For one, it could be viewed from the perspective of a woman speaking to a lover who may soon leave her. In particular, the poet, Kim, emphasises the difficulty in finding the precise words to convey the exact feeling of an emotion, this theme is common in Korean literature.
Another interpretation may be to do with the Japanese occupation of Korea during the time this poem was published. A vague reference to the Japanese occupation and an anticipation for their departure; the poem being a form of cultural resistance, writing in the ‘purest Korean’, at a time when the language was under attack by the Japanese.
Poem by Admiral Yi Sun-sin
Autumn light darkens over the sea;
wild geese fly high in the cold air.
As I toss about anxiously in the night
moonlight catches my bow and sword.
The context of this poem is rich with Korean history. Admiral Yu Sun-sin (1545–1598) was a Korean naval commander famed for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin War, a Japanese invasion over Korea. Fascinatingly, he wrote poetry as well, writing the aforementioned unnamed poem representing his determination but agony before going off to war.
This poem was written in the form of ‘sijo’, a traditional Korean poetic form usually consisting of around three lines, each averaging around 14–16 syllables. It follows a certain structure as well; the first line introducing the situation and establishing the theme, the second line elaborating on this, with the last lines employing a ‘twist’, a surprise meaning.
‘Cried’ by Kim Myun-won
Ate one red pepper
And bawled my eyes out.
Because of one tiny harmless love
I put in my mouth,
I wept.
Short but sweet, ‘Cried’, is a metaphor for the rejection or loss of love. The pepper is described as “red”, a colour often symbolising passionate love, and the spice of the pepper representing burning desire. However, what happens when this burning desire is thwarted? When the one pursued “tiny harmless love” is rejected? One weeps with sorrow. Themes of intense desire and rejection are explored in this poem.
The purpose of this poem may be to express the poet’s misery, gaining comfort from voicing concerns in poetry.
Concluding Thoughts –
This research project has enlightened me on the many aspects of Korean culture and literature. My mum, being Korean, was surprised to hear me ask about items of Korean literature she had read or studied in Korea, and I was surprised to realise she knew many of the works of literature and authors examined in this project, even reciting some poems and excerpts from the short stories, in Korean of course. Further, I began to realise that culture and language are interrelated because culture begins when speech starts; consequently, they rely on one another to develop, influencing and evolving parallel to each other. Therefore, language is the backbone of culture as culture revolves around speech and communication, communication orally and through literary works. Hence, why I learnt so much on Korean culture just by reading their literature.
This led me to appreciate the fact we live in a culturally diverse world. Communicating among people of varying cultures leads to enlightenment and innovation through new perspectives and we are able to enjoy the unique and useful products or exotic food of different cultures around the globe. However, of course, with cultural diversity, cultural misunderstandings due to differences in thought may arise, but in the whole, the pros of diversity outweigh the cons.
References –
- En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Demographics of South Korea. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_South_Korea [Accessed 2 Sep. 2019].
- En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Korean literature. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_literature#targetText=Korean%20literature%20is%20the%20body,this%20distinction%20is%20sometimes%20unclear. [Accessed 2 Sep. 2019].
- Owen, D. (2019). Languages in South Korea. [online] Gap Year. Available at: https://www.gapyear.com/articles/travel-tips/south-korea-languages [Accessed 2 Sep. 2019].
- En.wikipedia.org. (2019). The Vegetarian. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vegetarian [Accessed 2 Sep. 2019].