Lee Beomseon (1920-1982) was a South Korean novelist. Alongside Son Chang-sop, Chang Yong-hak, and Hwi Sunwoo, he was one of the representative writers of postwar literature in 1950s Korea. His main works include the short stories “Hangmaeul saramdeul” (학마을 사람들 The People of Hak Village) (1955) and “Obaltan” (오발탄 “A Stray Bullet”) (1959).
1. Life
Lee Beomseon was born in 1920 in Anju-gun, South Pyeongan Province as the second son among five sons and four daughters. His father owned large amounts of land and was a devout Christian. Lee’s mother was from a wealthy family as well, ensuring his plentiful childhood. Many of his novels and essays describe his hometown, which is depicted as an idyllic utopia. In Lee’s works, the concept of the hometown symbolizes prosperity and peace—the influence of his wealthy childhood and Christianity.[1]
Lee graduated from elementary school in 1933 and public high school in 1938. Afterwards, he worked as a bank teller in Pyeongyang before migrating to Manchuria for a clerical position. Although he had the financial means to attend university in Japan, he was forced to give up in order to avoid being conscripted as a student soldier. Lee was stricken by a spinal condition in 1940 and spent 20 months in convalescence, and suffered from a near-fatal case of typhoid fever in 1942. Following his recovery, Lee worked at a financial co-op and married Hong Sun-bo in October of the same year. He took on a bookkeeping position at a coal mine in North Pyeongan Province to avoid Japanese conscription, but was conscripted locally and was deployed into coal mine labor until the liberation of Korea. Following the liberation in 1945, he returned to his hometown, only to find his family’s lands had been confiscated, He fled to South Korea in 1946 and worked in various positions, including at the United States Army Military Government in Korea and a lightbulb company, before entering the Department of Literature at Dongguk University and graduating in 1949. Until the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, Lee went from one job to another, and lived in financial difficulty with his wife.
When the Korean War broke out in 1950, Lee was unable to escape Seoul and lived in the city under Korean People’s Army. To avoid North Korean conscription, he feigned illness while his wife supported the family financially. Lee escaped to Busan during the January 4 Retreat in 1951, and was introduced to a teaching position at a high school in Geojedo by Paek Nak-chun. In 1954, he returned to Seoul to work as a teacher at Daegwang High School, and began his literary career. Although he had had little interest in the field, his experiences in the Korean War drew him to literature. At Kim Tong-ni’s recommendation, Lee made his literary debut in the literary magazine Hyundaemunhak with the short stories “Ampyo” (암표 Illicit Ticket) and “Iryoil” (일요일 Sunday).
His representative short story “Hangmaeul saramdeul” was published in 1955, and in 1959, Lee published “Naui pinangi” (나의 피난기 Memoires of my Evacuation) and “Obaltan.” The sentence “I think I may be a stray bullet from the Creator” in the latter story caused problems at Daegwang High School, which was a Christian institute, leading to Lee’s resignation. Lee went on to become the chief of school affairs at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, before going on to become a lecturer at Seorabeol Art University and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. He spent the rest of his life as a university instructor.
Lee served as the vice-director of the Society of Korean Novelists, and as the director and vice-chair of the Korean Writers’ Association.[2] He was awarded the Dongin Literary Award Finalist Award (1960) and the Woltan Literary Prize (1970). Lee died from a stroke on March 13, 1981.
2. Writing
Along with Son Chang-sop, Chang Yong-hak, and Hwi Sunwoo, Lee Beomseon is considered one of South Korea’s foremost postwar writers. His short stories “Hangmaeul saramdeul” and “A Stray Bullet” solidified his place in Korean literary society. Lee’s works can be divided into sentimental lyricism and accusational realism, with both sharing the common ground of humanism.
Lee’s early story “Hangmaeul saramdeul” chronicles the tribulations faced by the people of Hak Village in the mountains of Gangwon Province from the Japanese occupation to the Korean War. The story is a dark reminder of the realities of the setting and focuses on the people who are helpless to prevent their own desecration.
Stories that fall into the category of “accusational realism” include the short story “Pihaeja” (피해자 Victim) (1958), “A Stray Bullet,” and the full-length novel Chumchuneun seoninjang (춤추는 선인장 The Dancing Cactus) (1966-1967). “A Stray Bullet”[4] takes place in post-Korean War Seoul and depicts the tragic lives of Song Cheol-ho and his family. Song is an actuarial clerk who lives with his mentally ill mother, who always begs to return to their hometown in North Korea. He has a wife who is about to give birth, a young daughter, a younger brother named Yeong-ho who curses society, and a younger sister named Myeong-suk who sells herself to US soldiers stationed in the country. “A Stray Bullet” explores the depressive society of postwar Korea and the lives of the underprivileged.[5] It was adapted into the movie Obaltan (오발탄 A Stray Bullet) in 1961[6], but the government forbade screenings as it was deemed “conducive to antisocial thought.”
Lee Beomseon’s final full-length novel Huin kkamagwiui sugi (흰 까마귀의 수기 Memoirs of the White Crow) (1979) is heavily autobiographical in nature. In this work, Lee detailed his own internal transformation in the 30 years following his crossing to South Korea. The autobiographical protagonist of the novel perceives himself not as an ordinary being but a white crow, and criticizes the political realities of the time while exposing his own suffering.[7]
Reference
[1] Kim, Yeong-seong, “The Literary Chronicles of Lee ‘Hakchon’ Beomseon: His Life and Literature Through the Lens of Autobiographical Records,” Bonjilgwa Hyeonsang 27, p.224-264, Spring 2012. This research is a structured record of Lee Beomseon’s life in relation to his literature. Based on Lee’s novels, essays, and acquaintance testimony, it provides a wealth of information on the reasons Lee began to write, his main motifs, and his characters.
[2] Korean Writers’ Association, “List of Former Directors,” http://www.ikwa.org/category/?cid=21090300, accessed July 16, 2019.
[3] Kwon, Youngmin, Encyclopedia of Modern Korean Literature, Seoul National University, 2004, https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=333737&cid=41708&categoryId=41737.
[4] Kim, Hyeongjung, “Obaltan,” Classics of Korean Literature, Moonji, 2011, https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=3572011&cid=58822&categoryId=58822.
[5] Kwon, Youngmin, Encyclopedia of Modern Korean Literature, Seoul National University, 2004, https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=333737&cid=41708&categoryId=41737.
[6] Obaltan film, https://www.kmdb.or.kr/db/kor/detail/movie/K/00641.
[7] Kwon, Youngmin, Encyclopedia of Modern Korean Literature, Seoul National University, 2004, https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=333737&cid=41708&categoryId=41737.
[8] “Jeonjaenggwa baenamu” was a short story originally published in the essay collection Oneul i harureul. When the latter was republished in 1975, the title of the anthology was changed to Jeonjaenggwa baenamu.
[9] The fifth Dongin Literary Award had no winner. Instead, Seo Giwon’s “Embrace in this Mature Night” and Lee Beomseon’s “A Stray Bullet” were named co-recipients of the Finalist award.
Park, Mun-gak, “Dongin Literary Award,” Encyclopedia of Current Affairs, PMG Jisikenjinyeonguso, November 23, 2017, https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=928249&cid=43667&categoryId=43667.
