Yi Kwangsu

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This article is about the Korean writer. For the South Korean actor and entertainer, see Lee Kwang-soo.
In this Korean name, the family name is Yi.
Yi Kwangsu
File:Lee Kwang-su 1942.jpg
Native name
이광수; 리광수
Born(1892-02-01)February 1, 1892
Chŏngju County, Pyongan Province, Joseon
DiedOctober 25, 1950(1950-10-25) (aged 58)
Manpo, Chagang Province, North Korea
OccupationWriter
LanguageKorean, Japanese
Alma materWaseda University
Children5
Korean name
Hangul
이광수
Hanja
李光洙
RRI Gwangsu
MRI Kwangsu
Art name
Hangul
춘원
Hanja
春園
RRChunwon
MRCh'unwŏn
Childhood name
Hangul
이보경
Hanja
李寶鏡
RRI Bogyeong
MRI Pogyŏng

Yi Kwangsu (Korean: 이광수; Hanja: 李光洙; February 1, 1892 – October 25, 1950) was a Korean writer, Korean independence activist, and later collaborator with Imperial Japan. Yi is best known for his novel Mujŏng (ko) (The Heartless), which is often described as the first modern Korean novel.[1][2]

His art names were Ch'unwŏn and Koju. He adopted a Japanese name, Kayama Mitsurō (香山光郞).[3]

Biography

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Yi Kwangsu was born on February 1, 1892[4] in Chŏngju, North Pyongan Province, Joseon.[5][6] He was born into a poor yangban (upper class) family.[6] He enrolled at a seodang (traditional school) in 1899.[5]

In 1902, he was orphaned at age 10, when both his parents died of cholera.[6][5] He was taken in by Pak Ch'anmyŏng (박찬명; Lua error: not enough memory.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.), a local leader of the native Korean religion Tonghak.[5]Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1. Through the religion, he was able to receive an education.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1. In August 1905, he received a scholarship from the organization Iljinhoe to study abroad in Japan, and enrolled in the Daise Middle School (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.) in March 1906.[5]Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1. That same year, he returned to Korea due to tuition issues. He went back to Japan in 1907, and transferred into Meiji Gakuin.[5][a]

He graduated from Meiji Gakuin in March 1910, and returned to Korea. He then became a teacher at the Osan School (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.; Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.) in Chŏngju, and its headmaster in 1911. In November 1913, he quit the school in order to travel. He and several others went to Shanghai. They intended to then go to the United States, where he was to be appointed lead writer of the newspaper Sinhan Minbo, but this plan was interrupted by the outbreak of the 1914–1918 First World War. They then returned to Korea.[5] By the 1910s, he was renowned in Korea as a writer. He was considered a vocal reformist and harsh critic of Confucianism.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.

In September 1915, he went back to Japan and enrolled in Waseda University.[5]Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1. By 1917, he entered the university's department of philosophy.[5] He fell seriously ill with a lung disease in 1918. Despite having been married in 1910, he fell in love with another woman who nursed him to health, and the two decided to elope together. They went to Beijing in China in October 1918.[5]Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.

Yi returned to Korea in mid-November 1918.[5]Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1. There, he advocated for a national independence movement to leaders of the native Korean religion Cheondoism.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1. He then went to Japan in December.[5] In January 1919, he joined the Korean Young People's Independence Organization (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.; Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.) and served as the lead author of the February 8 Declaration of Independence.[5]Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.[7] The declaration was publicly proclaimed. The declaration served as a catalyst for the nationwide March First Movement protests in Korea.[8][7] A few days before his declaration was announced, he left Japan by way of Kobe and went to Shanghai, China.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1. Meanwhile in Japan, his compatriots were arrested en masse. He was charged, tried, and sentenced in absentia to nine months in prison.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1. In Shanghai, he settled into the French Concession, and joined the Korean Provisional Government (KPG). He eventually became the editor-in-chief of that organization's official newspaper, Tongnip sinmun (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.)Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1..Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.

In March 1921, Yi returned to Korea. He was briefly arrested at the border owing to his previous sentencing in 1919, but was released soon afterwards. Soon afterwards, he met with Governor-General of Chōsen Saitō Makoto.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1. In November, he was arrested again for reasons that are reportedly unknown, but again quickly released.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1. In May 1923,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1. he joined the newspaper The Dong-A Ilbo. Through the paper, he published Korean literature and initially appeared to be a faithful member of the independence movement. However, historian Michael Shin argues that Yi became increasingly viewed with skepticism by Korean nationalists over time. While his writing was beloved, his increasing ties to colonial leadership were treated with skepticism.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.

File:Yi Kwang-su 2.JPG
Yi in the 1930s

Yi was imprisoned in 1937 due to the Self-Cultivation Friendship Association (修養同友會/수양동우회) incident, and released half a year later due to illness. During this period he recanted his anti-Japanese stance and leaned more towards collaboration. In 1939, Yi became the first head of the pro-Japanese Korean Writers Association (朝鮮文人協會/조선문인협회) and lead intense efforts to Japanize (hwangminhwa) Korea. He eagerly adopted the name Kayama Mitsurou (香山光郎) as soon as the Sōshi-kaimei policy came into effect.

In 1945, after Korean independence, Yi fled to the countryside. He was arrested for collaboration in 1949. After the war, the Special Committee for the Investigation of Anti-nationalist Activities found Yi guilty of collaboration. In 1950 Yi was captured by the North Korean army and died in Manpo on October 25, most likely of tuberculosis.[9]

Personal life

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Yi had two younger sisters, Yi Aegyŏng (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.) and Yi Aeran (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.).

In July 1910, Yi married for the first time at age 18, in what was possibly an arranged marriage to Paek Hyesun (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.; Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.).[5]Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1. After his 1915 return to Japan, he fell ill in 1918. He fell in love with the woman who nursed him back to health, Hŏ Yŏngsuk (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.). He divorced his first wife that year, and married Hŏ in 1921.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.

He had three sons, Lee Chinkŭn (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.), Lee Ponggŭn (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.), and Lee Yŏnggŭn (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.); and two daughters, Chung-Nan Lee Kim (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.) and Chung-Wha Lee Iyengar (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.).

Writing career

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In late 1909, while at Meiji Gakuin, Yi published his first work of literature: a Japanese-language short story entitled "Is It Love" (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.). It was published in the school's student newsletter, Shirogane gakuhō.[5]Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1. Around this time, he was reading the works of mostly Russian authors, including Alexander Pushkin, Maxim Gorky, and Leo Tolstoy. Tolstoy would later go on to reportedly become of Yi's largest literary influences; Yi reportedly even developed the nickname of "The Tolstoy of Korea".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1. He also read a number of Japanese authors, including Tōson Shimazaki, Kenjirō Tokutomi, Kinoshita Naoe, and Natsume Sōseki.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.

In November 1916, Yi published what is considered the first modern work of literary theory in Korea, which was entitled "What Is Literature" (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.). It was published in the Maeil sinbo newspaper.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.

His most famous work is now considered the first modern Korean novel: Mujeong (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.)Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1. (name sometimes translated as The Heartless).[10]Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1. Mujeong reflected the complexities of Korea's modernization efforts.[10]

From the early 1920s to the 1930s, Yi transformed into a dedicated nationalist and published a controversial essay, "On the Remaking of National Consciousness", which advocated a moral overhaul of Korea and blamed Koreans for being defeatist.[9] The third period, from the 1930s on, coincided with Yi's conversion to Buddhism, and his work consequently became noticeably Buddhist in tone. This was also the period in which, as noted above, Yi became a Japanese collaborator.

Yi's professional judgment could be as fickle as his politics. In one famous case he befriended then abandoned the fellow writer Kim Myeong-sun, allegedly because his own beliefs about modernism had shifted.[11] Yi has also been considered one of the pioneers of queer literature in Korea with the publishing of Is it Love (Ai ka) in 1909, when Yi was 17.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.

Bibliography

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  • Is It Love (사랑인가 愛か), 1909
  • Young Sacrifice (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.)
  • Mujeong (Heartless) (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.), 1917Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.
  • Reincarnation (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.)
  • A Boy's Sorrow (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.)
  • Pioneer (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.)
  • Nameless (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.)
  • Soil (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.), 1932
  • Crown Prince Maui (마의태자 麻衣太子), 1928
  • Danjong Aesa (단종애사 端宗哀史), 1929
  • Oil Well (유정 油井)
  • Love (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.), 1938
  • Sejo of Joseon (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.)
  • Wife of the Revolutionary (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.)
  • Aeyog-ui Pian (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.)
  • Grandmother (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.)
  • Kashil (가실 嘉實)
  • My Confession (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.)
  • Ambassador Wonhyo (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.)
  • Death of Yichadon (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.)
  • Biography of Yi Sun-sin (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.)
  • Biography of Ahn Changho (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.)
  • Dosan, Ahn Changho (도산, 안창호)
  • Stone Pillow (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.)

Translated works in English

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  • Mujŏng, translated by Ann Sung-Hi Lee (Cornell University: Cornell East Asia Series, 2005) Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.
  • The Soil, translated by Sun-Ae Hwang and Horace Jeffrey Hodges (Dalkey Archive Press, 2013) Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.
  • Kashil and Best Essays by Yi Kwang-su, translated by Chung-Nan Lee Kim (Archway Publishing, 2014) Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.

Notes

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  1. ^ Although the school was affiliated with Christianity, Yi did not convert.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.

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References

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  1. ^ Understanding Korean Literature. Kim Hunggyu M. E. Sharpe. Armonk, NY. 1997.
  2. ^ Shin 2018, p. 11.
  3. ^ Shin 2018, p. 20.
  4. ^ Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.
  6. ^ a b c Shin 2018, p. 10.
  7. ^ a b Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.
  8. ^ Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.
  9. ^ a b Korean Literature Translation Institute DatabaseLua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.
  10. ^ a b Understanding Korean Literature. Kim Hunggyu M. E. Sharpe. Armonk, NY. 1997. P. 118
  11. ^ Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.

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Sources

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  • Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.
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