The Emergence of a Tradition-Subverting Narrative with a Strong Experimental BentIn the literary history of Korea, there exist three distinct works bearing the same title, A Day in the Life of Kubo the Novelist, authored by three different writers. Pak Taewon's original, set against the backdrop of 1930s Seoul, Choe Inhun's serialized novel from the early 1970s, espousing a fresh perspective, and lastly, Ju In-seok's The Blues of Black Wounds – A Day in the Life of Kubo the Novelist, published in 1995, encapsulating the absurdities of late 1980s and early 1990s societal realities in five short stories.These three works, though differing only in the temporal settings they portray, share a common thread of adopting the author’s critical perspective and their disillusionment with the socio-political and cultural realities of their respective eras. They delve deep into the introspective journey of a novelist's self-awareness, tracing the flow of the protagonist's consciousness.Among them, Choe Inhun's novel, A Day in the Life of Kubo the Novelist stands out as a pinnacle of narrative experimentation and intellectual scrutiny. It showcases the author's narrative innovation and reflective musings. This work signifies a departure from the philosophical thinking of the 1960s, propelling Choe Inhun to explore new literary forms in the 1970s, eventually ascending to literary heights with "The Odyssey of Ulysses," leaving a monumental piece in the annals of Korean literature.The Portrait of an Intellectual in Hard TimesFirst published in 1969 in Wolgang Joongang (the monthly Joongang magazine) and spanning until early 1972 at the Wolgan Munhak, A Day in the Life of Kubo the Novelist consists of a total of 15 interconnected short stories, despite its misleading title. It does not chronicle a day in the life of its protagonist, the esteemed novelist Mr. Kubo. Instead, it traces his confused meandering journey through Seoul, a city where he remains on the periphery of society and culture.During the three years, from April 1969 to May 1972, Mr. Kubo struggled to find a path that would allow him to become an agent of historical change within the new global landscape, with China joining the United Nations. Meanwhile, South Korean universities see student protests and shutdowns, and the possibility of North-South dialogue emerges alongside the infiltration of armed spies. Amidst these bewildering changes, Mr. Kubo, who had fled alone from the North over twenty years ago, still finds himself unable to be part of the zeitgeist, to give voice to his own narrative as a writer, or to discover a literary form that best expresses his experiences. Instead, he keenly perceives the gaping disparity between literature and reality, viewing himself as nothing more than an "object of history," a mere puppet.In the midst of deepening anguish and endless wanderings, the only answer is the stark reality surrounding the frail and insignificant protagonist. The novel's foundation lies in the repetition of the profoundly narrow routine – waking up, observing daily life, the narrator responding, expressing his feelings, and retiring to bed at the end of each day. This repetitive structure ultimately reveals a facet of the author's consciousness: "Life fundamentally consists of the repetition of days."In this novel, there are no significant events; it is a narrative of mundane repetitions. Yet, through the honest lamentations of the speaker, who grapples with his place in the world, a rich and delicate realm of ideas unfolds – a world made possible by Choe Inhun's wit and refinement. In short, this is a unique and profound realm of thought that only Choe could have conjured before us, all while remaining an artist, intellectual, and modern individual, entangled in the tedious folds of everyday life.“Not a single soul seeks to jump off a tower of books, and so the barley cannot decay under the soil. No one aspires to become salt; they long to be chewing gum and caramel. Disasters. Abundant disasters. Children are conceived and breathe in their first lungful of sin within this rich tapestry of time, in sunshine, in hail, and in nuclear dust.Choe Inhun, "The Bridge of the Sky/The Dumangang River," pp. 90-91Walking and Literary Inquiry in the Real WorldAfter the release of Typhoon in 1973, Choe Inhun stopped writing for a while. This hiatus is understood as the result of "the writer's despair as somebody who understands the world but is faced with the utter inability to do anything about it, and the differences between the writer's intent to rectify the form of the novel and its traditional form which is accepted in our customs" (Kim In-ho, literary critic). Using fiction as a tool to contemplate life and explore literature through life, Choe, who aspired to transform himself through new literary forms, soon ended his long silence to produce Hwadu, a new discourse that corresponded with the changed times and became his magnum opus. Just as Hwadu in 1994 and Plaza in 1960 did, A Day in the Life of Kubo the Novelist in the early 1970s presented an awareness and realist rendering of the society of its time, which continues to remain relevant to our world today –questions of perception and ideology. The enduring relevance and contemporaneity of Choe’s novels, still full of vitality in the 21st century, are difficult to miss."One must not only express but also simultaneously destroy what they have expressed. It is not about expressing while destroying, but rather, it is about devising the paradoxical act where expression is destruction and destruction is, in fact, expression. Thus, I endeavored to differentiate and integrate the fragments of life that entered Kubo's radar as a novelist, tracking both the terrain of his intellect and his emotions.I shall, therefore, refer to this novel, A Day in the Life of Kubo the Novelist, as my very own 'Ulysses,' narrated in the utmost bourgeois manner."-Choe InhunReference: Moonji Publishing Co.,Ltd. . "A Day in the Life of Kubo", https://moonji.com/book/5947/. accessed 11 October 2023.