Na Do-hyang (30 March 1902 – 26 August 1927) was a Korean writer.
1. Life
Na Do-hyang was born Na Kyung-son in 1902. He wrote under the pen name Na Bin. After graduating from Baejae Normal High School, he was admitted to Kyeongseong Medical School but dropped out and went to Tokyo, Japan, to study literature.
Upon his return to Korea in 1919 he taught at an elementary school in Andong for one year. He began his literary career in 1921, publishing the short story "Chulhyang" (출향 Leaving Home) in his school paper, the Baejaehakbo, followed by "Chueok"(추억 Memory) in the magazine Sinmingongnon.
In 1922, as a member of the literary coterie magazine Baekjo, he published his short story "Jeolmeuniui sijeol" (젊은이의 시절 Season of Youth) in its first edition. In 1925, with the publication of his artistically mature pieces like "Mullaebanga" (물레방아 The Water Mill), "Ppong" (뽕 Mulberry), and "Beongeori samnyongi" (벙어리 삼룡이 Samnyong the Mute, he received much attention as a writer. He died on August 26, 1927. His full-length novel, Eomeoni (어머니 Mother), was published posthumously in 1939.
2. Writing
In Na Do-hyang's early years, his writings reflected an emotional and artistic world, but his later works like “The Water Mill” were much more realistic and used short story elements. He is considered to be a representative author of Korea under Japanese colonial rule, for he clearly depicted the dark realities of that time.
Na's early works reveal romantic inclinations characteristic of an author who has yet to acquire a mature perspective. "Jeolmeuniui sijeol," his debut story, and "Byeoreul angeodeun uljina malgeol" (별을 안거든 울지나 말걸 Do Not Cry Should You Embrace a Star) are full of emotional, dreamy sentimentalism, and have often been criticized for overabundance of modifiers.
With the publication of "Yeo-ibalsa" (여이발사The Lady Barber), however, Na began to move away from the romantic vision to acquire a more objective perspective and realistic voice. Other examples from this period include "Haengnang Jasik" (행랑 자식 The Drudge) and "Jagireul chatgi jeon" (자기를 찾기 전 Before She Found Herself), in which he describes a woman who overcomes difficulties by the strength of her will. His works depict Korean farm villages and people, and life during the 1920s.
“Samryong the Mute,” one of his best-known works, gives a tragic account of an ugly, mute servant who falls in love with his beautiful, kind-hearted mistress. The servant’s ill-fated love is akin to man’s admiration and longing for ultimate beauty which cannot be attained. A naturalist as well as realist fiction in essence, the story also displays the author’s growing awareness of the class issues and concern for those who belong to the lowest rung in the social strata.
Though Na Do-hyang never embraced proletarian literature movement, he continued to explore the grim reality of the abject poor in “Mulberry,” a story of a woman who prostitutes herself to villagers in order to support herself. The theme receives a more pronounced treatment in "The Water Mill"; a tenant-farmer, whose wife is seduced by the landowner, ends up murdering his wife and committing suicide. Although love continues to be a dominant subject matter in Na Do-hyang’s later works, it does not remain a mere romantic vision, but becomes a tool for investigating brutality nascent in human beings as well as the sexual corruption caused by unjust society.
