'Encounters between Korean Art and Literature in the Modern Age' - Night at the Museum

For Korean culture, those were troubled and fascinating times; times of repression and expression, times of Western influences, Japanese occupation, and Korean affirmation. 

Those were modern times, and yet intemporal times. 

When young stars didn't just remain neatly aligned in their respective constellations. When pens and brushes blurred the lines between literature and modern art. With such a conjunction of talent, despair, hope, and urgency.

In a brilliant exhibition, MMCA brings us back to that era in - what better symbol? - its Deoksugung branch.

We see young minds avidly embrace the avant-garde, experiment with sometimes a French touch (Rene Clair, Jean Cocteau, JEONG Ji-yong's 'Cafe France'), we see painters and writers meet and collaborate, we see writers and critics become visual artists, we browse a mesmerizing library with rare first editions (KIM Sowol's Azaleas, MA Hae-song''s fairy tales illustrated by LEE Byung-hyun and KIM Jeong-hwan...), and scores of newspaper extracts - a bit like XIXth century Europe, Korea experienced a democratization of literature, only with a much more powerful poetic force. 

Strolling through the palace by night made the visit even more magical:

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 A great exhibition, reminiscent of the exceptional tribute to LEE Jung-seob in the same building:

'Captivating LEE Jung-seob exhibition in MMCA Deoksugung, Seoul' (@theseoulvillage - 20160806 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/761763045584404480)

KIM Whanki takes a lot of space as he tends to do in collections, but the zeitgeist is much better framed by this 'Portrait of a friend': gifted artist GU Bon-ung capturing genius poet YI Sang:

If the mapping of this creative galaxy aptly remains focused on people always on the move (more than a few ended in North Korea), I couldn't help but imagine a Seoul Museum of History version featuring geographical maps. Just to see where all Guinhoe members lived, how far from Seochon or Yi Sang's Jebi Madang...

We know writers and painters can be artists, authors, neither, or both. And sometimes it runs in the family. PARK Taewon's grandson happens to be an author who can sketch, and even do decent movies (BONG Joon-ho).

Byeolgeongon July 1933 - cover art by HWANG Jeong-su

• Encounters between Korean Art and Literature in the Modern Age at MMCA Deoksugung (Galleries 1 to 4): until May 30th, 2021, free entrance (except for the entrance to the palace).

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Korean Literature Rocks

Let's make a test: if I tell you "lecture about Korean literature", what do you see?
. if you see a yangban scholar watching his pupils silently read in a Andong seowon, you know your classics
. if you see a cheering crowd and a Californian guy bringing the house down, you were at last Sunday's 10 Magazine Book Club meeting with Charles Montgomery




Charles Montgomery and the "Explorers Guide to Korean Literature" he prepared for the lecture.

Montgomery, who teaches at Dongguk University's English Interpretation and Translation Division, proves that you can do a lot to promote modern Korean literature without being fluent in Korean. Yes, he relies on translations, and yes, he's very much aware of the gaps they induce with the original works, but precisely: translation being the main channel trough which literature reaches new shores, you want to make sure that foreign readers enjoy to the fullest this wide array of tastes and flavors.

And nowadays, modern Korean literature is reaching new shores and levels of popularity. The literature originating from the peninsula as well as the one originating from the Korean diaspora: long before SHIN Kyung-sook won the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize for "Please look after mom"* (2009), Chang-rae LEE claimed the 1996 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for "Native speaker" (1995), a book written in English.

Let's hope Korean publishers won't feel tempted to follow the suicidal path of a national movie industry that relies almost exclusively on blockbusters, and completely forgets to nurture its diversity**. As long as it respects and feeds the rest of the ecosystem, "commercial" literature shouldn't be despised. Just like with Korean cinema, Korean literature managed to bloom in France without the help of airport novels or bestsellers, but in general, such driving forces do make a difference: Montgomery monitors the sales of a panel of Korean authors on Amazon, and he noticed how, each time a new hit came out, the whole community received a boost beyond the individual who wrote it.

Even if he remains a "paper book" lover, Montgomery knows the importance of ebooks (his wife already owns hundreds of them), and the power of online media. His blog-portal Korea Modern Literature in Translation (ktlit.com***) reviews countless pieces of fictions, sharing bios and links to online resources and texts in the public domain. But that's never a tedious journey for the readers, who are regularly entertained with jokes and anecdotes, and routinely OMGed, LOLed or ^^ed. Montgomery also shares knowledge through Wikipedia, a preferred source that optimizes the chances for web surfers to become acquainted with Korean literature.

When you think that even Korean "airport novels" can't be found in Korean airports! The most obvious entry points for Korean culture are too often overlooked, as is the case with Korean cuisine (e.g. in Seoul, only 2 international 5 star hotels have a Korean restaurant****).

Hopefully, Koreans are reconsidering and reviving their literary heritage, and as we've seen before (in "Seochon's Dead Poets Society (YI Sang, YUN Dong-gu)"), nowhere as strongly as in Seochon area, where it all began. Note that on the Friday preceding this book club meeting, there was a party for a photo expo at YI Sang's former home along Baekundongcheon (now Jahamun-ro 7-gil), and that many came dressed and hair-styled according to the theme: 1930s Seoul. Saved by Arumjigi and renamed "제비다방" / "Jebi Dabang" / "Swallow Teahouse", after the two places the author opened in Seoul, the tiny house was soon completely packed. A perfect alibi to retreat to Aux Petits Verres across the street, and to enjoy nice coffee and cakes while comfortably observing a parade that really looked like 1930s Seoul... except maybe for the fact that rickshaws that probably never set a wheel in the peninsula, and that I rather felt on the "Roaring Myeongdong" than on the "Cultural Resistance Seochon" side of the city.

Anyway, on Sunday, when Roaring Charles encompassed at a fox trot pace centuries of Korean literature, everybody danced along. Of course that didn't leave us much time to discuss the selection of short stories he recommended ahead of the meeting*****, but we came back home with stimulating reading suggestions. Feel free to add your own suggestions to his "All modern Korean literature in translation online" list, and of course to join Barry Welsh's 10 Magazine Book Club (on Facebook: facebook.com/#!/groups/208460045872355).

If you're LOL (Literary Object Lover), that is.


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* not to be confused with LTI Korea, formerly KLIT (Literature Translation Institute of Korea - http://eng.klti.or.kr/). KTLIT on Twitter: @ktlit.
** see "Saving Korean cinema... and even Chaebolplex". BTW if you're more into movies than into books, the Korean Film Archive uploaded a collection of movies dating from the 1940s to the 1990s on its YouTube channel (youtube.com/user/KoreanFilm), where you can watch them for free and with subtitles.
*** not to be confused with "Please look after dad's mummy", by KIM Jong-un
**** see "Korean Cuisine Aiming At World's Top Five. China is watching." And the Korean education system is also a problem for literature readership, but at least Seoul is creating new libraries (beyond the old City Hall, see "Seoul village libraries").
***** From the "colonial era" (1905-1945): "A society that drives you to drink" (HYON Chin-gon). From the "separation era" (1945-1965): "The crane" (HWANG Sung-won). From the "miracle on the Han River era": "The city of machines" (CHO Se-hui). From the "post-modern era": "Whatever happened to the guy in the elevator" (KIM Young-ha). NB: I also second Charles's motion when he recommends "The Road to Sampo" HWANG Sok-yong

Seochon's Dead Poets Society (YI Sang, YUN Dong-gu)

YI Sang (1910-1937) and YUN Dong-ju (1917-1945), two of the greatest Korean poets of the last century, died at an early age in Japan after being jailed for crime of opinion. They never lived in a free country: YI was born the very day the annexation treaty was concluded, YUN died a few months before the liberation. YUN did get involved in the independence movement but anyway, being a Korean poet was already a crime of opinion since under the Japanese occupation, Korean culture itself was illegal.

Both used to live in Seochon, west of the Gyeongbokgung. And like the rest of the neighborhood, their long forsaken places are now back in favor:

. YI's hanok was until recently split between two street shops, but it has been restored by the National Trust for Cultural Heritage and Arumjigi, and hosted the "Conversations with Yi Sang" event in spring last year. The address is 18 Jahamun-ro 7-gil (formerly Tongin-dong 154-10, Jongno-gu). A temporary street name if I ever saw one. I bet this strategic diagonal street will be renamed, but not after YI Sang. To me, this is Baekundongcheon-gil, after the main Cheonggyecheon tributary (supposedly) about to be restored*.

. YUN's house (actually the house of his classmate, a novelist) is now a nondescript 'villa' about halfway along Ogin-dong's main axis, at 57 Ogin-gil, formerly Nusang-dong 9, Jongno-gu. Ogin-gil connects Tongin Market and the not sorely missed Ogin Apartment, and that's probably the way YUN went up Inwang mountain for the walks that inspired him. He must have often followed the path towards Bugaksan (under which the Jahamun Tunnel was dug half a century later**), because the spot renamed "Hill of the Poet Yun Dong-ju" ("윤동주 시인의 언덕") in 2009 is located much further, next to Changuimun, the North Gate of Seoul fortress. Making up for the lack of museum to honor the poet, a Yun Dong-ju Literature House has recently been inaugurated on this hill. It hosts a collection of artifacts as well as literary events:
Yun Dong-ju Literature House (윤동주 문학관):
3-100 Cheongun-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea (119 Changuimun-ro).
Tel: +82 2.765.0703.

Unfortunately, not all former residences of artists have been saved***, yet the trend is definitely positive. As Seochon reclaims its past glory and welcomes more and more tourists, cultural assets are a key differenciator compared to Bukchon. Note that the other side of the Gyeongbokgung is also promoting preservation: the home of painter GO Hui-dong (1886-1965) in Wonseo-dong was saved from destruction at the last moment, and for a long while you could see it rot between protective metal walls. The hanok is now illuminating the elbow of Changdeokgung-gil.

For centuries, the names of many Seochon neighborhoods have been resonating in Korean literature, and if I wouldn't want to see the whole place transformed into a city-museum or a theme park, I wish less prestigious landmarks were also included in the big picture. I'm thinking about the cult Daeo Bookstore (대오서점), a tiny Blue House that recently threatened to fold its last pages:

 

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* see "Baekundongcheon / Gwanghwamun-gil - A River Runs Through It".
** see "2 more tunnels up North"
*** not to mention a former empress (another Yun's place, see "The Empress's Last Bang").

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UPDATE 20120808: I added the 3 places on Seoul Village Map (reminder: the blue line follows Baekundongcheon's path):


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