Choi Myeongik (1902 – 1972) is a South Korean novelist. In the 1930s, he received attention for his psychological novels which delicately portray everyday life in modern cities and the intellectuals’ feelings of helplessness under the Japanese colonial rule. After Korea’s independence, he remained in North Korea to continue to write novels, and after the 1950s, released several full-length historical novels.
1. Life
Choi was born in Gangseogun, Pyeongannamdo. His father worked as a trader, traveling back and forth between Pyongyang and Incheon. He went to a private school, which was established by his father, before entering Pyeongyang High School in 1916. At this time, he read works of Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy and began to be interested in literature. In 1920, he entered Seisoku English School (today’s Seisokugakuen School) in Tokyo to study. Shortly after returning to Korea, he joined suyangdonguhoe (수양동우회), a national movement group founded by the independence activist Ahn Chang-ho, but withdrew soon. In 1926, he married Yang Eun-gyeongand ran a glass factory in Pyongyang. He began his literary work in 1928 after releasing novels and essays in literary magazine Baek Chi, which he founded together with Hong Jong-in, Kim Jae-gwan and Han Su-cheol. He released “Huiryeonsidae” (희련시대 The Era of Huiryeon) (1928) and “Cheoui hwajang” (처의 화장 The Makeup of My Wife) (1928) in the first edition of the magazine, which are regarded just as practice pieces.
After releasing short story “Bioneun gil” (비오는 길 Walking in the Rain) in monthly magazine Jo Gwang, he wrote novels in earnest. Working in Pyongyang, he presented seven short stories before the liberation of Korea. His pre-liberation works mainly deal with the inner world of intellectuals who are closed and psychologically isolated from the outside world. With a release of “Jangsamisa” (장삼이사 Ordinary People) (1941), which exposes the falsehood of intellectuals [1], he stopped writing and barred himself in the house of his mother’s side in his hometown until the independence of Korea in 1945.
Since then he resumed his work, staying in North Korea. He was elected as a chairman of Pyongyang Art and Culture Conference (평양예술문화회의), which was founded in 1945, and joined North Korea Literature and Fine Arts General League (북조선문학예술총동맹) in 1946 [2]. In the 1950s when the Korean War ended, he released several full-length historical novels, mainly about historical figures, such as “Seosandaesa” (서산대사 The Buddhist Great Master Seosan) (1956).
2. Writing
Critique of his early works
Choi’s early works are affected by socialist literature, which then was prevalent in the literary communities in Russia, Japan, and Korea. In 1931, he refuted the argument of “Yeoui jakgajeong taedo” (여의 작가적 태도 The Attitude of Writers of Rest) against Lee Kwang-su, a great figure in Korean literary community; In his critique “Igwangsussiui jakgajeong taedoreul nonham” (이광수씨의 작가적 태도를 논함 Lee Kwang-su’s Attitude As a Writer) (1931), Choi defined Lee, a great figure in Korean literary community, as a popular writer who promoted nationalism, and emphasized the importance of economic foundation and the class of literature.
Psychological novels before liberation
Since the 1930s when Choi wrote novels in earnest, his works became psychological and modernistic. He was one of the members of so-called dancheungpa which published the literary magazine Dan Cheung in Pyongyang—along with Yu Hang-rim and Kim I-seok. “Walking in the Rain” (1936) [3] is technically his debut work as well as one of his major early works. Through the closed journey route, the work shows the stifling mood created by the repetitive, routine life of the main character, who commutes between the house and a factory across Pyongyang Castle every day. Its main focus is on the existential self-consciousness of urban people rather than on the analysis of their economic foundations, which shows that the work is away from the influence of socialist literature [4]. The work is highly regarded for its delicate description of the inner world of the intellectuals, who stick to being isolated from the outside world, with the use of elements such as sealed windows and motifs of riding and walking [5]. Later he presented several novels including “Pyeheoin” (폐허인 Lungfish Men) (1939) and “Simmun” (심문 The Shape of Heart) (1939), making him one of the representative writers of the intellectual novels in the 1930s, along with author Yi Sang. Choi’s works are highly regarded for their effective depiction of the helplessness and despair of colonial Korea, by contrasting intellectuals who suffer from excessive self-consciousness and helplessness and selfish people who are faithful to worldly desires.
Historical novels after liberation
While his pre-liberation novels portray the self-consciousness of intellectuals and observe the life of urban people, the post-liberation novels depict the people’s will to build a new country with their passion and belief. In “Maengnyeong” (맥령 Barley Hump) (1946), the first short story presented after the liberation, the intellectual “Seong Jin” meets youth in rural areas to reflect on his closed self-consciousness and participate in the construction of a new country. In 1947, he wrote “Macheonryeong” (마천령 Macheonryeong Hill) based on his experiences during the period when he was sent to Seongjin, Hamgyeongbukdo on a mission for Movement for Mobilizing Nation-Founding Ideology (건국사상총동원운동). During the Korean War, he released novels about the struggle of the North Korean army, including “Jogugui moksori” (조국의 목소리 The Voice of the Fatherland) (1951) and “Gigwansa” (기관사 The Engineer) (1951), to mobilize the people for the war. Since the 1950s, he presented a series of historical novels based on the lives of historical figures, such as “Seosandaesa” (1956) and “Imonyeonui seoul” (임오년의 서울 Seoul in the Year of Im-o) (1962) [6]. “Seosandaesa,” one of his major historical works, depicts people’s struggle and liberation to protect Pyongyang Castle under the direction of the Buddhist master Seosan, a real person, set in the siege of Pyongyang during the early period of the Imjin War (Japanese invasion of Korea that begain in 1592). The novel clearly sends the message that the people are the protagonists of our history while making the king and bureaucrats the objects of satire and ridicule [7].
Reference
1) About Choi Myeongik, Gojeonhaeseolzip (고전해설zip Commentary on Classic Literature), NAVER Dictionary
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=730767&cid=60608&categoryId=60608
2) Choi Myeongik, Encyclopedia of Korean Culture
http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Index?contents_id=E0057291#
3) Walking in the Rain, Hangungmunhagui gojeon (한국문학의 고전 Classics of Korean Literature), NAVER Cast
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=3571548&cid=58822&categoryId=58822
4) About “Walking in the Rain,” Hanguk munhak daesajeon (한국문학대사전 Korean Literature Dictionary), NAVER Dictionary
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=335565&cid=41708&categoryId=41737
5) Korean modern literature, Wikidok
http://ko.kliterature.wikidok.net/wp-d/5bf50811f24495da68f85812/View
6) Jeong Yeon-sik, “North Korean magazine introduces novelist Choi Myeongik,” Tongilnews, 2003.11.19.
http://www.tongilnews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=37452
7) Seosandaesa, Bukanmunhaksajeon (북한문학사전 North Korean Literature Dictionary), NAVER Dictionary
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=1692145&cid=60594&categoryId=60594
