Kim Dongin

Kim Dongin

Photo Credit: LASZLO ILYES

Kim Dongin was a pioneer who vigorously fought for literature to be treated as an art, and not be used for other purposes such as propaganda. He is considered a father of modern Korean fiction for his use of realism in his literature. Potatoes and A Seaman’s Chant are perfect examples of his realist lens, which portrayed the lives of the Korean people during the early 1900s. In fact the way Kim Dongin portrayed males in these two stories became commonplace later in Korean literature and film, which further cemented his place as one of the pioneers of modern Korean fiction.

Kim Dongin was born in Pyonyang in 1900[1] into a wealthy landowning family[2] and died in Seoul in 1951.[3] He went to Japan to achieve his higher education, which is where he was introduced to Western authors and their works. These had a deep impact on him and convinced him to write in a realist style[4]. He was a pioneer. He wrote in an era of Korean writers who used didactic literature to further their ideological beliefs.[5] However, he took a stand for literature. He vigorously fought for literature to be used for its pure aestheticism, to be viewed simply as art and not propaganda.[6] He saw literature as its own field, its own territory, separate and untouched from social and moral considerations.[7] This was revolutionary considering, as mentioned before, most Korean writers at the time used literature for didactic aims, like Lee Gwang-su.[8] It is not a far-fetched idea to think his belief of using literature simply as art is connected to his realist background. He fought against didactic Korean literature using a number of different methods. He created the Ch’angjo (creation) journal, which criticized didactic literature by Korean writers that were used for social engagement.[9] In 1946 he took it even further forming the Pan-Korea Writers Association. The purpose of the association was to unite Korean writers to counter other organizations that promoted didactic literature.[10] His very fight against didacticism showed how he was modern. His works went against Neo-Confucian didactic literature, which were pre-modern.

Not only did he write short stories, he wrote a number of historical novels starting in the 1930s[11]. He wrote four total historical novels. He wrote The Young Ones first, which was published between 1930-1931. He came out with his next one two years later, in 1933, with Spring at Unhyeongung Palace. The Decline of the Dynasty was released in 1935 and his last historical novel, Great Prince Suyang, was published in 1941.[12] He was also considered by many to be a prolific essay writer and critic[13].

Kim Dong-in is considered to be one of the most public figures of the first modern Korean writers[14] through his work, journal, organization, and literature criticism, but also because of his involvement with and against the Japanese occupiers. In 1939, he publically visited Manchuria on behalf of the North Chinese Imperial Army, which was a Japanese army. Korean people saw this as an act of collaboration by Kim Dongin.[15] However, only three years later, in 1942 he was thrown into prison on the charge of lese-majesty against the Japanese emperor.[16] His later works, Traitor written in 1946 and Popularity of a Ruined Nation written in1947, greatly criticized the Korean writers who collaborated with the Japanese, including Lee Gwang-su.[17] All of these actions by Kim Dongin made him a public figure to the Korean people. He was so revered that the Dong-in Literary Award was created to praise all the achievements Dong-in had accomplished.[18]

Potatoes (1925) and The Seaman’s Chant (1921) are similar to the other works written by Kim Dongin. Both fall under his realist writing style, as do most of his works. Both are short stories, which he mostly wrote in, except for his historical novels. In fact, Potatoes is very similar to his stories, Distinguished Statement (1924) and Hwang the Rustic (1925) because of how naturalist they are, which was even farther realist than realism.[19] Like his other literature, Potatoes and The Seaman’s Chant are written with the same intent of pure aestheticism.[20] Sonata Appassionato (1930) and Gwanghwasa Temple (1930) are the two works Kim’s pure aestheticism of literature comes out the most[21]. While both, Potatoes and The Seaman’s Chant, fall under realism there is more that connect them than that. They both share themes of infidelity and morality as well a theme of negativity towards men and the un-masculinity of Korean men. Also Pyongyang, Kim Dongin’s hometown, is featured in both showing the importance of hometown to him.

The Seaman’s Chant was published in 1920.[22] At its core the story is an is an “Unashamed melodrama redeemed by its haunting remorse that exerts a strong appeal on our primal sympathy.”[23] As mentioned before, this story is grounded in realism. For example the farmer admits that he beat his wife regularly. Although not pretty or moral, domestic abuse happens as this story captures. The story tells it as it is. There is no moral. There is no didactic message. There is no happy ending. The story is just a snapshot of the time of two normal human beings living.

While the domestic abuse projects realism, it also touches upon the theme of the un-masculinity of Korean men that Kim Dong-in might have purposely, or not purposely inserted. The farmer/fisherman felt his masculinity being stripped away from him resulting in a feeling of helplessness. Therefore he beat his wife as a way to try to regain his masculinity through domination over a thing more helpless, in this case, a woman. His wife was very popular with males and was very friendly with his brother. The fisherman felt jealous because he unconsciously felt he was not enough for her to keep her eyes and friendliness to himself. He felt his masculinity being stripped away. He felt helpless so he beat her and eventually caused her death to try to at least gain some masculinity back. He felt he was losing his wife and he felt the way to keep her as his woman was to abuse her.[24] In the past men who did not have high self-esteem would keep their women faithful by abusing them, just as the fisherman did.[25]

Kim Dongin also used contrast very well in The Seaman’s Chant to symbolize Korea at that time. The young man represented the future of Korea as it was thought at that time. He actually sung about spring. He sings, “I will rise, to the affection of the warm spring.” [26] Spring is about hope and rebirth. The idea of a young man itself is that a young man has a bright future with his whole life ahead. He is one without regrets or sorrow. The young man represented the hope and rebirth of Korea. The old man was the opposite. He was full of regrets. He regretted causing the death of his wife through his words. He regretted forcing his brother to leave. He says, “He was to blame for all the miseries.”[27] While the young man sings about spring and happiness, the old man sings about sorrow. He sings, “Oh, sad is this lot, this life on earth.”[28] The idea of the old man is that an old man has lived his life and is looking back at all the regrets and mistakes he has made. He represented the past of Korea when it lost its independence and suffering Korea endured under the first 10 years of colonial military rule.

Potatoes is perhaps Kim Dongin’s most famous work and was published in Choson mundane in 1925.[29] The story is about “a woman who gradually loses all sense of decency and degenerates into a common prostitute as she tries to overcome economic hardships”[30]. This story is a shining example of realist writing. That was a way of life for some during that time, and this story does not shy away from it. It tells it as it is. As much as neo-Confucianism proclaimed about traditional morality the reality was infidelity and taking of mistresses, bedding with prostitutes, etc. happened. Kim Dongin probably knew of it because he came from a rich landowning family.

Potatoes is very representative of Kim Dongin because it was a blatant criticism of didacticism, which was connected to Neo-Confucianism. Potatoes went against Neo-Confucianism through the moral degradation of Pongnyo, who at the beginning followed Confucian values. The moral degradation of Pongnyo ultimately meant for the time period that survival is paramount, and the shift of women having to become the breadwinners of the family. It also ultimately meant that Confucian society was falling apart.

   
A major theme in Potatoes is the un-masculinity of Korean men. It actually served as an allegory to Korean history. The man in this story was a helpless lazy man, who would not have been able to survive without his wife. He did absolutely nothing. Ironically while Kim Dongin felt he was separate from nationalist literature his story was an allegory for what was happening to Korea during that time. The lazy husband represented the men of Korea. Not because they were lazy, too, but because of what happened to Korea. A lot of literature about and during Japanese occupation to the 1970s to 1980s focused on the helpless Korean men. It was common thought that when the Koreans couldn’t prevent the annexation of the peninsula to Japan that Korean men lost their masculinity and became helpless.

Historical context is always important, but especially for any of Kim Dongin’s works because they are realist literature. To be able to capture the life of a common person the world they live in has to be understood. The historical context that Kim Dongin was living in greatly influenced Potatoes and The Seaman’s Chant. Potatoes reflected the clash between traditional and modernity, the fall of Confucian society, and the price it had on the suffering common people that Kim Dongin actually observed in his own life. At that time the very foundation of life was crumbling when Confucian society was falling apart. There was a great clash between Western Learning (Sohak) and Eastern Learning (Tonghak).[31] The turmoil and corruption of officials at this time period actually resulted in the Tonghak Insurrection of 1894 that engulfed Korea into conflict, death, and suffering.[32] Potatoes reflected the common people’s need for survival no matter the cost and the means during this conflict riddled time. This is exactly the sort of thing people had to do at that time, and so historical context is crucial to understand that and why Potatoes was written the way it was since it was realist literature.

The Seaman’s Chant, on the other hand, focused on life under Imperial Japan. When he wrote the story life under Japan was at a crossroads and the story reflected that through the symbolism of the old man and young man mentioned before. Under Japanese rule Korea went through periods of severe oppression as well as relaxed rule.[33] At the time that this story was being written Japan had relaxed some of its restrictive policies during phase two of Japanese rule after the March 1 Movement.[34] It appeared at that time that Korea had the chance for a brighter future with the increased freedoms it had gained from the March 1 Movement. That is the hope Kim Dongin and many Koreans had, which was represented through the young man in The Seaman’s Chant. However, the first period of rule by Japan was run by the Japanese military. It was a period of severe suffering by the Koreans. The old man represented that pain of colonial rule, but also the pain of Koreans by being annexed by Japan.

Kim Dongin has greatly impacted Korean literature to the point he is considered a Father of Modern Korean Fiction. There is even a major literary award given out bearing his name. Although I do not think he purposely focused on the un-masculinity of Korean men in his works, that theme and symbolism has appeared in many other great works after The Seaman’s Chant and Potatoes. That includes Yi Sang’s Wings, Chae Mansik’s My Innocent Uncle, Yi Hochol’s Far from Home, and Hwang Sun-Won’s Coarse Sand. All these stories have male protagonists who feel powerless and are helpless, just like how Korean men felt from losing their country to Japan to being unable to throw off the chains of dictatorship.

This theme of the un-masculinity of Korean men did not end in literature. Many Korean films during these dark periods emphasize the un-masculinity of men that led to the misfortunes of Korea and women having to sacrifice to survive. The movie, Spring in My Hometown, is a good example of this and is a reminder of Potatoes and The Seaman’s Chant. All three reflect on the un-masculinity of Korean men during that time period. The theme of Korean women having to do what they can to survive economic hardships in Potatoes is also in Spring in My Hometown. In the movie a mother prostitutes herself to American GIs because her husband is not present. She gave up her morality because of her dire financial situation. Just like in The Fisherman’s Chant the theme of Korean men having their masculinity being stripped away leaving only helplessness is present in this film. The two boys in Spring in My Hometown discover the old mill where Korean women prostitute themselves to the local American GIs. The son of the mother who prostitutes herself sees her in the act of prostitution one day. He cannot do anything at that time and is helpless. Since he cannot help his mother and cannot stop her prostituting herself he feels the absence of his masculinity. As a result, just like in The Fisherman’s Chant, the male takes it out on someone who cannot defend him or herself. In the movie the son decides to burn the old mill. He traps an American GI and one of the Korean women and burns them inside the old mill to try to regain some masculinity. [35] [36]

Kim Dongin is still known in Korea for great reasons. He ushered in a new age of literature for Korea. His work greatly influenced others, which can be seen in the countless works that followed his themes and realism writing style. He captured how life really was in Korea highlighted by The Seaman’s Chant and Potatoes. He fought for literature as an art, not simply as a tool for propaganda uses. Kim Dongin achieved much in his life, for which he should be praised and remembered.

Works Cited

Fulton, Bruce, and Youngmin Kwon. Modern Korean Fiction: An Anthology. New York: Columbia University Press, 2005.

Kim, Jisoo. "History of Korea." Lecture, Class from The George Washington University, Washington, March 21, 2014.

Shin, Chi-Yun. New Korean Cinema. New York: New York University Press, 2005.

Shin, Susan. "The Tonghak Movement: From Enlightenment to Revolution." Korea Studies Forum 5 (1978).

Suh, Ji-Moon. The Rainy Spell and Other Korean Stories. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe, 1998.

"A Different Perspective on Why Male Partners Abuse Women." Femininity Dating Relationship Advice for Women The Feminine Woman. May 16, 2014. Accessed

"Author Database - Kim Dong-in." Author Database - Korea Literature Translation Institute. Accessed January 30, 2015. http://klti.or.kr/ke_04_03_011.do#tab_11.

"Spring in My Hometown." KOREAN FILM ARCHIVE. Accessed January 30, 2015. http://www.koreafilm.org/feature/home_2002_8.asp.

"20th CENTURY: Korea as a Colony of Japan, 1910-1945 | Central Themes and Key Points | Asia for Educators | Columbia University." 20th CENTURY: Korea as a Colony of Japan, 1910-1945 | Central Themes and Key Points | Asia for Educators | Columbia University. January 1, 2009. Accessed May 4, 2015. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/main_pop/kpct/kp_koreaimperialism.htm.

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[1] Bruce Fulton and Youngmin Kwon, Modern Korean Fiction: An Anthology (New York: Columbia University Press, 2005): 13.

[2] “Author Database- Kim Dong-in,” http://klti.or.kr/ke_04_03_011.do#tab_11.

[3] Fulton and Kwon, Modern Korean Fiction, 13.

[4] Fulton and Kwon, Modern Korean Fiction, 13.

[5] “Author Database- Kim Dong-in.”

[6] “Author Database- Kim Dong-in.”

[7] Ji-Moon Suh, Rainy Spell and Other Korean Stories (Armonk: M.E. Sharpe, 1998): 10.

[8] Suh, Rainy Spell, 10.

[9] Fulton and Kwon, Modern Korean Fiction, 13.

[10] “Author Database- Kim Dong-in.”

[11] “Author Database- Kim Dong-in.”

[12] “Author Database- Kim Dong-in.”

[13] Fulton and Kwon, Modern Korean Fiction, 13.

[14] Fulton and Kwon, Modern Korean Fiction, 13.

[15] “Author Database- Kim Dong-in.”

[16] “Author Database- Kim Dong-in.”

[17] “Author Database- Kim Dong-in.”

[18] “Author Database- Kim Dong-in.”

[19] “Author Database- Kim Dong-in.”

[20] “Author Database- Kim Dong-in.”

[21] “Author Database- Kim Dong-in.”

[22] “Author Database- Kim Dong-in.”

[23] Suh, Rainy Spell, 10.

[24] “A Different Perspective on Why Male Partners Abuse Women,” http://www.thefemininewoman.com/2014/05/why-men-abuse-women/.

[25] “A Different Perspective on Why Male Partners Abuse Women.”

[26] Suh, Rainy Spell, 12.

[27] Suh, Rainy Spell, 21.

[28] Suh, Rainy Spell, 14.

[29] Fulton and Kwon, Modern Korean Fiction, 13.

[30] “Author Database- Kim Dong-in.”

[31] Kim, Jisoo. "History of Korea." Lecture, Class from The George Washington University, Washington, March 21, 2014.

[32] Susan Shin, “The Tonghak Movment,” Korea Studies Forum 5 (1978): 43-44.

[33] “20th Century: Korea as a Colony of Japan, 1910-1945,” http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/main_pop/kpct/kp_koreaimperialism.htm.

[34] “20th Century: Korea as a Colony of Japan, 1910-1945.”

[35] “Spring in My Hometown,” http://www.koreafilm.org/feature/home_2002_8.asp.

[36] Chi-Yun Shin, New Korean Cinema (New York: New York University Press, 2005)