Choi Seo-hae (1901-1932)[1] was a Korean novelist. He is considered to be the greatest singyeonghyang (lit. new trend) literary writer of his time,[2] and is known for his faithful and detailed depictions of the suffering and protests of the working classes during the Japanese occupation. In spite of the realistic depiction of the exploitation of the poor by the rich, Choi’s stories tend to end abruptly with extreme solutions and no long-term vision suggested, for which his work is criticized.
1. Life
Choi Seo-hae was born in Seongjin, North Hamgyeong Province, to a poor farming family. He developed an eye for literature from an early age through the literary magazines Cheongchun and Hagjigwang, as well as a variety of sinsoseol and classical Korean novels. In 1918, he crossed over to Jiandao, China, and worked as a dock laborer, a live-in servant, and a delivery man, during which time he acquired a stomach condition and became addicted to opium to ease the pain. These experiences are heavily reflected in Choi’s stories set in Jiandao, including “Talchulgi” (탈출기 Escape) (1925).
In 1923, he returned to Korea and worked as a laborer near his hometown. He exchanged correspondences with writers such as Yi Kwang-su and Kim Dong-hwan, and nurtured his own dreams of literature. He was inspired by Yi’s The Heartless (1917) and met the author in person in Seoul in 1924. Through Yi’s introduction, Choi went to a Buddhist temple, where he wrote his magnum opus “Escape.” After an argument with the head priest, Choi left the temple and was introduced to Pang In-gun by Yi, and assisted Pang in editing the magazine Joseonmundan. Choi also published his works at this time.
Choi’s literary debut was in 1918, when three of his poems were published on Hagjigwang.[3] However, he was not widely known until 1924, when he published short stories such as “Tohyeol” (토혈 Vomiting Blood) and “Goguk” (고국 Home Country)/ In 1925, he was hired by Joseonmundansa and published one of his most famous works, “Giawa saryuk” (기아와 살육 Famine and Slaughter). He also joined the Korea Artista Proleta Federacia (KAPF),[4] which was formed in August of the same year, and became one of its most active writers. Choi was impoverished all his life, and barely made ends meet while going from one magazine or newspaper company to the next. He published his first anthology Hyeolheun (혈흔 Bloodstain) in 1926, and his second anthology Hongyeom (홍염 Crimson Flames) in 1931. He died of stomach conditions in 1932.
2. Writing
Style
The singyeonghyang writing style is a predecessor of socialist literature, and first originated as a criticism of romanticism and naturalism, which were the dominant styles of writing in 1924. Choi Seo-hae is often named alongside Park Yong-hui as a representative writer of the singyeonghyang movement, but in terms of quality, Choi is considered to be the undisputed top writer of the style. Where Park expressed his awareness of class differences with abstract and conceptual depictions and descriptions, Choi used his personal experiences as a working-class citizen to faithfully depict the miserable conditions faced by the lower classes, and directly voiced his anger and resistance against society. His early works like “Escape,” “Giawa saryuk,” and “Hongyeom” are set in Jiandao, China, and reflect Choi’s personal experiences as a laborer. His detailed portrayal of the lives of the impoverished laborers are a vivid recreation of the oppression and exploitation of the lower classes.
“Escape” (1925)
An epistolary short story, “Escape” stars a man who is outraged by the fact that his starving mother and wife both work themselves to the bone and are not compensated for their work, forever relegated to poverty. He decides to join a socialist independence movement, even if it means abandoning his family—the result of the understanding that the blame for personal poverty and suffering lies with society. “Escape” is the story of an individual’s sense of responsibility leading to the liberation of a people.[5]
“Giawa saryuk” (1925)
The protagonist, who lives in Jiandao, lacks the funds to treat his wife’s illness. His mother is mauled by a dog. Driven mad with despair, the man kills his own family and goes into the streets, murdering people indiscriminately, and even destroys the police station. The extreme nature of the conclusion means the story is limited in its lack of class awakening and organized resistance, but is memorable for the unbridled expression of individual despair and rage against reality.[6]
“Hongyeom” (1927)
The protagonist is a tenant farmer who is unable to pay the debt to his Chinese landowner no matter how hard he works. The landowner takes his daughter when the protagonist cannot make his payment, resulting in the illness and death of the protagonist’s wife. The protagonist ultimately sets the landowner’s house on fire, kills the landowner with an axe, and retrieves his daughter. Where Choi’s previous works did not specify a cause for the misfortunes of the individual, “Hongyeom” specifically expresses how the class differences between a laborer and a capitalist is what led to the family’s tragedy. At the same time, this story also ends with an extreme conclusion that is not constructive to an organized and planned resistance.[7]
Choi’s early works were met with mixed reception; some critics hailed the detailed depiction of personal tragedy in a class-divided society, while others criticized the repetitive plots and the impulsive endings. Choi took the criticism to heart, and starting in 1928, took a self-reflective stance by portraying the lives of the poor in urban settings. In these stories, the humble intellectuals of the city are powerless and impoverished, unable to take action.
Critical reception
Choi Seo-hae is often mentioned alongside Park Yong-hui as one of the two pillars of the singyeonghyang style of writing. The uniquely Korean term was first coined in 1925 by Park in a movie review, and describes works that star impoverished lower-class protagonists and the extreme conflicts and struggles between capitalists and laborers. They are characterized by the inability to organize for solidarity and solve the class issues, instead resolving the crisis with impulsive actions like murder and arson.[8] Poet and critic Im Hwa thought highly of Choi’s works for their elements of naturalist literature, which describe society and human lives in a details manner, and for their use of proletarian literature elements, which are aimed at describing the lives of laborers and the liberation of people from class differences. Im categorized singyeonghyang literature into two schools—the romantic and conceptual Park Yong-hui school, and the objective and realistic Choi Seo-hae school.
Reference
[1] Choi Seo-hae’s real name was Choi Hak-song. His father was a student of traditional Korean medicine and Chinese classics who served in a rural government post before migrating to Jiandao in 1910.
[2] “Choi Seo-hae,” Encyclopedia of Contemporary Korean Literature, https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=333969&cid=41708&categoryId=41737.
[3] “최서해,” Wikipedia, https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%B5%9C%EC%84%9C%ED%95%B4.
[4] “Korea Artista Proleta Federacia,” Doosan Encyclopedia, https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=1141879&cid=40942&categoryId=34645.
[5] “Escape,” Encyclopedia of Contemporary Korean Literature, https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=335579&cid=41708&categoryId=41737.
[6] “Giawa saryuk,” Encyclopedia of Contemporary Korean Literature, https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=335576&cid=41708&categoryId=41737.
[7] “Hongyeom,” Doosan Encyclopedia, https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=1201761&cid=40942&categoryId=33384.
[8] “Singyeonghyangpa,” Doosan Encyclopedia,
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=1118673&cid=40942&categoryId=32867
