Lee Ze-ha (born 1938) is a South Korean writer, poet and painter.
1. Life
Lee Ze-ha was born in Milyang, South Gyeongsang Province. He studied fine art and sculpture at Hongik University, and immersed himself in the works of William Faulkner and Albert Camus, while exploring expressioism and surrealism. He began his writing career when his children's story "Sujeong guseul" (수정구슬 Crystal Ball) was accepted by Saebeot. In 1957 his poems "Seollya" (설야 Snowy Night) and "Noeul" (노을 Sunset) were recommended for publication in Hyundae Munhak, and his story "Napal sanjo" (나팔산조 Trumpet Sanjo) appeared in Soseolgye in 1958. The following year, his story "Hwangsaek gangaji" (황색 강아지 Yellow Puppy) appeared in Sintaeyang. In 1961, his story "Son" (손 Hand) was chosen as one of the winners of the Hankook Ilbo New Writer's Contest.
Lee's major published works include Chosik (초식 Herbivore), Imgeumnimui gwi (임금님의 귀 The King's Ears), Yong (용 Dragon), and Nageune neun gil eseodo swiji anneunda (나그네는 길에서도 쉬지 않는다 A Traveler Does Not Rest Even on the Road), for which he won the Yi Sang Literary Award in 1985. Lee Ze-ha continues to explore various modes of artistic expression. In addition to literary activities, he has written movie scripts, composed soundtracks, and held exhibitions of his artworks. He taught creative writing at Myongji University.
2. Writing
Lee Ze-ha’s literary method has been described as “fantastic realism”: rather than abiding by the principle of coherence or consistency, as realist novels are wont to do, Lee Ze-ha’s works of fiction create complex composites by piecing together conflicting strands of thought. This method is predicated on the author’s belief that traditional modes of storytelling express certain realities but suppress others from emerging to the surface. For Lee Ze-ha, the blending of fantasy and reality not only reflects the confused state of the world and contradictions inherent in human nature, but offers a way out of this impasse.
Chosik, set in a rural port city, depicts the life of Seo Gwang-nam, an ice vendor who decides to run for the national assembly a third time despite having failed miserably in his previous two attempts. As in the past, Set puts himself on a strictly vegetarian diet and focuses on his campaign as his son, the narrator, looks on helplessly. Seo loses again and finally gives up his ambition to become a representative. The notoriously corrupt election of 1960 throws the country into turmoil, with the April 19 Student Revolution finally putting an end to Lee Seung-man's 12-year reign, but hopes for democracy are dashed when Park Chung-hee seizes power with a military coup.
Seo is thrown into despair in the days following the Student Revolution. He visits a slaughterhouse where he discovers an embodiment of the ordinary people's suffering, and slicing off his finger, writes the character for "grass" in blood. The next year, the owner of the slaughterhouse misunderstands Seo's act, interpreting his bloody writing to be instead a passionate declaration of allegiance to the new government. With a single sweep of an ax, the cow which represents the meek and tortured masses is slaughtered and all those gathered marvel at the butcher's skill.
Yeolmang (열망 Aspiration), winner of the Hankook Ilbo Literary Award, was first serialized under the title Gwanghwasa (광화사 Gwanghwasa Temple), a reference to Kim Dong-in. The protagonist, Kang Ji-yo, is a former aspiring artist with a failed marriage. The real focus of the novel, however, is not an individual's search for fulfillment in artistic expression, but the milieu of the art world in 1970s Korea. Against the turbulent backdrop of a rapidly industrializing society, Lee Ze-ha attempts a dissection of a world filled with disillusionment, madness, and wild deviation from social norms.
