Lee Mu-young (1908~1960) was a South Korean novelist. Alongside Sim Hun and Park Yeong-jun, he was one of the forerunners of agriculture literature in twentieth-century Korea. His representative works include “Je-1-gwa je1-jang” (제1과 제1장 Act 1, Scene 1) (1939), “Heugui noye” (흙의 노예 Slave to Soil) (1940), and Nongmin (농민 Farmers) (1950).
1. Life
Pre-liberation
Lee Mu-young was born in 1908 in Eumseong-gun, North Chungcheong Province. He dropped out of Hwimun High School in 1925 and went to Japan in 1925. Lee attended Seijo Middle School and stayed with the Japanese author Takeo Kato as a live-in student in writing for four years.[1] During this time, Lee extensively studied Japanese, French, and Russian literature, and is said to have read Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment over five times.[2] He made his literary debut via Joseon Mundan in 1926 with the short story “Dalsun-ui chulga” (달순의 출가 Dalsun Leaves Home).
In 1929, Lee returned to Korea and continued to write while working in a variety of positions, from school instructor to an employee at a publishing house to a journalist for a magazine. In 1931, his play “Hannaje kkumkkuneun saramdeul” (한낮에 꿈꾸는 사람들 People Who Dream in the Day) was selected by the Dong-A Ilbo daily, and in 1932 his mid-length story “Jichugeul dollineun saramdeul” (지축을 돌리는 사람들 The People Who Make the Earth Go Round) was serialized, solidifying his position as a writer.[3] He began to write as a member of the Guinhwe literary club in 1933. In 1934, he began a five-year career at the Dong-A Ilbo as a reporter, and quit in 1939 to return to the countryside. He worked as a farmer and a novelist, focusing entirely on his agricultural novels.[4] During this period, he wrote his representative works “Je-1-gwa je-1-jang” and “Heugui noye.”
Starting in 1942, Lee began to write pro-imperial Japanese novels and editorials that covered up the empire’s exploitation and praised its imperialistic invasions.[5] Lee was awarded the Joseon Governor-General’s Prize for the Arts for his Japanese-language novel “Cheonggiwajip” (靑瓦の家 House of Blue Roof Tiles) (1943).
Post-liberation
Following the liberation of Korea, Lee went into seclusion for a time before erasing his record as a Japanese sympathizer through his activities in right-wing literary circles like the Young Writers’ Association and returning to the literary world. In 1946, he published the short story “Gwengjangsojeon” (굉장소전 Biography of Greatness) (1946) to discredit efforts to hold Japanese sympathizers accountable.[6] At the outbreak of the Korean War, Lee enlisted in the South Korean Navy as a military writer before being named captain in 1955. In 1956, Lee attended the International PEN Congress as the South Korean representative, and went on to teach at a university and continue his literary career. Lee died in 1960.
Starting in 1994, Lee Mu-young’s hometown of Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province has held the Muyoung-je annual literary festival. A literary award was named in his honor in 2000. In 2009, Lee was listed in the Dictionary of Pro-Japanese Names, a compilation of names of imperial Japanese sympathizers, belatedly raising awareness about his activities and sparking demand for a re-evaluation of his legacy and the closure of commemoration events held in his honor.[7]
2. Writing
Lee Mu-young is the author of multiple novels centered on farmers and farming areas, and is known as one of the forerunners of agricultural literature in twentieth-century Korea alongside Sim Hun and Park Yeong-jun.[8] Although he also wrote about romance and religious tensions[9], his agricultural stories were the most well-received. His specialty genre can be divided into three periods:
1932-1938
Lee’s agricultural literature from this period is based on anarchist resistance[10] and often depicts the despair of farmers suffering in poverty. “Heugeul geurineun maeum” (흙을 그리는 마음 The Heart that Longs for Soil) (1932) is his most representative work from this time.
1939-1945
In 1939, Lee’s literary life underwent a massive transition as he took up agriculture alongside his literary activities. Although he had originally written about both urban and rural settings, he consciously began to devote himself to agricultural novels following his move to the countryside. This period was Lee’s literary golden age, when he depicted farmers stubbornly persevering in the face of poverty and hardship. “Je-1-gwa je-1-jang” is almost autobiographical in nature, starring an intellectual newspaper reporter who once studied in Japan quitting his job and returning to the countryside, joining the local community and adjusting to life on the far.[11][12] “Heugui noye” is a detailed examination of daily life in rural Korea, where impoverished farmers were exploited under Japanese colonial rule and the cruelty of landlords. It is also an ode to the diligence of farmers and a moving portrayal of farmers’ attachment to the land.[13] “Je-1-gwa je-1-jang” and “Heugui noye” show the maturation of the urban intellectual as he returns to the countryside and struggles between the urban and the rural.[14]
1950-
Starting in 1950, Lee published works such as the trilogy of “Nongmin” (농민 Farmers) (1950), “Nonggun” (농군 Farm Hands) (1953) and “Nonong” (노농 Farm Laborers) (1954), which featured the struggles of farmers and history of resistance in the form of an epic historical novel. “Nongmin” in particular is the clearest representation of Lee’s agricultural viewpoint. In this work, Lee focuses not on the traditional farmers who endure all suffering, but those who rail against injustice and take action.[15]
Reference
[1] Wikipedia, https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%9D%B4%EB%AC%B4%EC%98%81_(%EC%86%8C%EC%84%A4%EA%B0%80.
[2] Kim, Jin-chan, Hangugeolloninmulsahwa 8.15-jeonpyeon: ha, Association of Korean Press, 1992, p.430.
[3] Kwon, Youngmin, Online Encyclopedia of Modern Korean Literature, https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=333731&cid=41708&categoryId=41737.
[4] Online Dictionary of Korean Language and Literature, https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=689862&cid=60533&categoryId=60533.
[5] Lee, Hwa-yeong, “Lee Mu-young, the Class-1 Japanese Sympathizer Who Betrayed his People in Spite of Convictions,” OhmyNews, April 18, 2012, http://www.ohmynews.com/NWS_Web/view/at_pg.aspx?CNTN_CD=A0001723002.
[6] Online Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=541907&cid=46645&categoryId=46645.
[7] Yu, Tae-jong, “End of Commemorative Events for suspected Japanese Sympathizer Lee Mu-young,” Chosun Ilbo, October 12, 2011, http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/10/11/2011101102674.html.
[8] Publisher comments, http://www.kyobobook.co.kr/product/detailViewKor.laf?mallGb=KOR&ejkGb=KOR&linkClass=&barcode=9788974564063.
[9] Interpark book introduction, http://book.interpark.com/product/BookDisplay.do?_method=detail&sc.prdNo=201471798.
[10] Kwon, Youngmin, Online Encyclopedia of Modern Korean Literature, https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=333731&cid=41708&categoryId=41737.
[11] Kwon, Youngmin, Online Encyclopedia of Modern Korean Literature, https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=333731&cid=41708&categoryId=41737.
[12] Lee, su-hyeong, Chapter 1, Unit 1, Classics of Korean Literature Navercast, https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=3571679&cid=58822&categoryId=58822.
[13] Online Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=541907&cid=46645&categoryId=46645.
[14] Kyobo Book Centre Online, http://www.kyobobook.co.kr/product/detailViewKor.laf?mallGb=KOR&ejkGb=KOR&linkClass=&barcode=9788974564063.
[15] Digital Dictionary of Korean Folk Culture, https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=2620958&cid=51892&categoryId=53798.
