Yi Kwang-su is a South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

n writer.

Life

Famous (among other things) for writing Heartless the "first Korean novel," Yi Kwangsu was born Yi Bogyeong on February 1, 1892. Yi was orphaned at about age 10 and grew up with Donghak

Donghak

Donghak is a Korean religion founded in 1860 by Choe Je-u. Donghak venerated the god Haneullim and believed that man is not created by a supernatural god but man is instead caused by an innate god...

 believers. In 1904, around the time of the Donghak Peasant Revolution

Donghak Peasant Revolution

The Donghak Peasant Revolution, also known as the Donghak Peasant Movement, was an anti-government, anti-feudal and anti-foreign uprising in 1894 in the southern Korea which was the catalyst for the First Sino-Japanese War....

, he moved to Seoul in order to avoid the authorities. In 1905 he went to Japan for his education. Upon returning to Korea in 1913, he taught, in Jeongju, at Osan School. In 1915 he returned to Japan again to study Philosophy at Waseda University

Waseda University

, abbreviated as , is one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan and Asia. Its main campuses are located in the northern part of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as Tokyo Senmon Gakko, the institution was renamed "Waseda University" in 1902. It is known for its liberal climate...

. In 1919 he moved to Shanghai and served in the Korean Provisional Government and became president of The Independent, a newspaper in Shanghai. Yi returned to Korea in 1921 and founded the Alliance for Self-Improvement, established on principles of enlightenment and self-help. From 1923 to 1934, Yi pursued a career in journalism working for several newspapers, including two that survive today, the Dong-a Ilbo and the Chosun Ilbo.In 1937 he was jailed for cultural activities subversive to the colonial (Japanese) government, but by 1939 he reversed his nationalism, adopted the Japanese name of Kayama Misturo and enthusiastically assumed pro-Japanese stances and activities. After the war, the Special Committee for the Investigation of Anti-nationalist Activities found Yi guilty of collaboration. In 1950 Yi was captured by the North Korean army and died in Manpo on October 25, most likely of tuberculosis.

Work

Yi was a fiction writer and essayist. His essays originally focused on the need for national consciousness. His fiction was among the first modern fiction in Korea and he is most famous for his novel, The Heartless. The Heartless was a description of the crossroads at which Korea found itself, stranded between tradition and modernity and undergoing conflict between social realities and traditional ideals. His career can be split into thirds. The first period (That of The Heartless), from 1910-19 featured a strong attack on Korea's traditional society and the belief that Korea should adopt a more modern ("western") worldview. From the early 20s to the 30's Yi transformed into a dedicated nationalist and published a controversial essay, "On the Remaking of National Consciousness" which advocated a moral overhaul of Korea and blames Koreans for being defeatist. The third period, from the 30's on, coincides with Yi's conversion to Buddhism and his work consequently becomes quite Buddhist in tone. This was also the period in which, as noted above, Yi became a Japanese collaborator.

Yi's professional judgment could be as fickle as his politics. In one famous case he befriended then abandoned Korean "New Woman" writer Kim Myongsun, arguably because his own beliefs about modernism had shifted.

Works in Korean (Partial)

Mujong (The Heartless)

Dosan, An Chango

Stone Pillow (Essays)

External links