War & Exile : Early Fiction Part II (Korean Classic Stories Vol.3)

KOREAN CLASSIC STORIES Vol. 3 Early Fiction Part II

War & Exile Compiled by

Kim Hunggyu Translated by Ally Hwang

KOREAN CLASSIC STORIES Vol. 3

War & Exile Copyright Š 2013 by Seoul Selection All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher.

Published by Seoul Selection 4199 Campus Dr., Suite 550 Irvine, CA 92612, USA Tel: 949-509-6584 Fax: 949-509-6599 E-mail: publisher@seoulselection.com Website: www.seoulselection.com ISBN: 978-1-62412-016-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2013952726 Printed in the Republic of Korea

Contents

Foreword 07 The Tale of Choe Cheok

17

Foreword

by Kim Hunggyu

The Tale of Choe Cheok (Choe Cheok Jeon) is a work of narrative prose written in 1621 by litterateur Jo Wi-han (1567–1649).

According to the account included at the end of the work, Choe Cheok, a historical figure of the period, came to the author, shared his experiences, and asked that the story be put in writing so that it would not be lost.

Indeed, some facts, including that Choe was a real person living in Namwon, North Jeolla Province, and that he served in the military during the Japanese invasion of 1592–1598, are verified by several written sources. Therefore, it seems unnecessary to doubt that certain parts of the story are based on the real events experienced by Choe.

However, it is also difficult to assert that the whole

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of the vicissitudinous series of events in The Tale of Choe Cheok only consists of a faithful recording of the characters’ experiences. The method of construction and the detailed representation of the events of encounter, separation, wandering, and reunion in a vast geographical space convincingly demonstrate the lyrical skills of a seasoned writer.

In light of these facts, many researchers consider this work historical fiction: a work written using Choe’s real experiences and supplemented with Jo’s fictional imagination and literary rhetoric.

The spatial setting of The Tale of Choe Cheok is vast, spanning the Korean Peninsula, Japan, Vietnam, China, and Manchuria. The historical factors that required the story’s inclusion of such a wide area were the wars brought on by the Japanese invasion in the Imjin year (1592) and the Ming–Qing transition. The invasion, which began when Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded the Korean Peninsula in 1592, brought a great number of casualties and wartime difficulties to the people of Joseon. The invasion also caused the Ming Dynasty to lose a significant amount of resources when it decided to

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take part.

In the following years, Nurhachi, a Jurchen chieftain, unified Manchuria by acquiring both power and inf luence. Finally, in 1616, he founded the Later Jin Dynasty, which would later become the Qing Dynasty.

This became a threat to the Ming Dynasty.

Consequently, Joseon faced a difficult strategic decision: an amicable relationship with Ming or the military threat of the Manchus. In these ways, the setting of The Tale of Choe Cheok was more than a time of violent political turbulence in which the political fates of many East Asian states and nations were uncertain. This period between the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th was also marked by tremendous impact on the individual, for destruction and displacement were forced on the lives of countless people.

While its story is set in a time of tremendous historical and political change, The Tale of Choe Cheok is not a story that concerns itself with the rise and fall of states or the challenges facing societies. Instead, it focuses on individual experiences. In short, the ultimate human values that motivate these characters to survive are love

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between the male and female protagonists and family bonds in happiness. The first half of this work is a story of romance, in which Choe Cheok and Ok-yeong overcome various difficulties to be united in marriage.

In the latter half, families scattered by two wars are reunited. The reunion occurs because of the characters’ full-hearted effort, for they do not even know if their loved ones are alive, and with the help of the uncanniest of fate.

In the midst of this complex story, the character most deserving of our attention is the female protagonist, Okyeong.

She is, by no means, an acquiescent female who accepts the hand that fate deals her. Her autonomous character can be seen most clearly in the first part of the story leading up to her marriage to Choe Cheok.

When she finds Choe fit to be her husband, she attracts his attention by sending a poem. When her mother is unsure about the marriage between him and Okyeong because of the contrast in their classes, Ok-yeong strongly advocates her wish, firmly insisting on her idea that honorable life of a scholar, albeit poor, is more

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valuable than being affluent yet lacking righteousness. It is her will that makes the marriage possible.

A new crisis awaits her when Choe has to leave for war.

She does not know when, or if, he will return for her, and her own relatives attempt to set up another marriage for Ok-yeong. In response, she defies the wishes of her mother and her relatives with a strong protest and even attempts suicide. Then, at last, Choe and Ok-yeong are joined in matrimony. The hero of this romance is Okyeong. It is she who makes this triumph possible.

In Joseon society, a monarchy with a strict Confucian code of ethics, it was unrealistic that a romantic encounter and courting, such as that of Choe and Okyeong, would lead to a happy marriage. Moreover, it was extremely improbable that an unmarried woman, as Ok-yeong was, would play a central role in deciding her groom. In spite of these realities, this work stimulates both suspicion and imagination in readers by presenting such story under the premises of being “based on a true story.�

The wars, which have already presented an obstacle before the marriage between the two lovers, come to

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cause even more calamities for this family. The wars destroy the couple’s happily married life with their son.

Ok-yeong becomes a captive of the Japanese army and is taken to Japan. Mong-seok, the son, barely survives to be reunited with his grandfather and other family.

Choe, driven to desperation out of worry for his family, ends up in China, following a Ming general. In light of Korean culture, which is very family-centered, one can readily imagine how agonizing it must have been to have no promise of returning home and to be separated from one’s spouse, parents, and children, without knowing where they were—or if they were even still alive.

The latter half of The Tale of Choe Cheok is composed of the hope and despair of these characters in the face of incredible agony and cheerful reunions, both achieved through strange turns of fate. Perhaps the author found it monotonous to use only one family when weaving the story of separation and reunion. In addition to Choe and Ok-yeong, the author also used a second family: Chen Weiqing, a soldier of the Ming Dynasty, and his daughter Hongtao. Hongtao becomes the wife of Mong-seon, the second son of Choe and Ok-yeong. Hongtao was born in

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China, and one of the reasons she marries Mong-seon is to get one step closer to visiting Joseon, where her father may be—or his vestige if he has passed away—and where the Choe family is from. Her greatest desire in life is to be able to retrace her father’s footsteps.

The cruelty of fate is again emphasized as Choe is drawn into the war between the Later Jin Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty; he and Ok-yeong are separated again.

The subsequent story of separation, wandering, and reunion unfolds in a grand scale over twenty years and spans the Korean Peninsula, China, Japan, Vietnam, and Manchuria. The tangled stories of ill-fated separations of families conclude with the happy reunions of them all in the last scene. Not only is Chen Weiqing, the presumed deceased father of Hongtao, still alive in Joseon, but in a simple chance meeting, he cures Choe of a grave illness.

Moreover, their relationship grows after they discover each other’s identity and their relationship as in-laws.

With the inclusion of this ending, the author cannot escape the criticism that the story relies too heavily on coincidence. However, the author’s wish is projected onto the text of The Tale of Choe Cheok: to recreate the

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ordinary happiness of people whose lives are shattered by wars even if he has to resort to such measures.

Lastly, one necessary observation is that though this work is very critical of the violence of war, it holds no hostility against the individual foreigners that the protagonists encounter because of various situations caused by those conflicts. Rather, this work shows a deep trust in humane goodwill. This view can be especially observed in the description of Tonu, the old Japanese soldier who takes Ok-yeong captive. He is a Buddhist who refrains from taking lives. He treats Ok-yeong, whom he mistakes as a man, humanely instead of as his servant. When Ok-yeong and Choe reunite in Vietnam on their way to a trade, he refuses a ransom. Moreover, Tonu simply sets Ok-yeong free with a gift of 10 coins of silver.

Of course, depending on the situations in which they are encountered, the exact depictions of the characters differ. However, all of the foreigners from China, Japan, Vietnam, and Manchuria whom the protagonists encounter in critical moments of their wandering and crisis are human beings who are compassionate and

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empathize with the pain of others. They all understand and believe in the universal value of humanity in spite of the differences in their situations.

Perhaps the author may have wanted to say that for The Tale of Choe Cheok to reach a happy conclusion—be it as a true account or as fictional tale—it was necessary for these kinds of people to exist in the world.

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The Tale of Choe Cheok

Choe Cheok, who went by the name Baekseung in his youth, was born in Namwon. He lost his mother early in life and lived only with his father, Suk, outside of the West Gate on the east side of Manboksa Temple. Even from a young age, he was known for aiming high, being friendly, and taking promises seriously; he was also unconcerned with trifling manners.

One day, his father lectured him. “You don’t study at all, and you spend your time acting like a hooligan! What are you going to grow up and become? And now that our country is at war, every village is recruiting warriors, but all you do all day is hunt and

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worry your old father. This is pitiful!

“If you really put your mind to it and begin seriously reading and studying for the state examinations, you’d be able to avoid the battlefields, even if you didn’t pass the examinations. Here, I have an old friend from my youth, Saengwon Jeong.* He lives south of the castle, and I know he studies diligently and writes well. He is a suitable teacher for those who have just started their studies.; go to him and learn.”

From that day on, Choe Cheok lived beside his books and went to Saengwon Jeong and requested lessons. He studied hard, without pausing for breaks. After several months, his skills had improved dramatically. He wrote with the intensity of a burst riverbank, and soon, all of the villagers admired his intelligence.

When he would study at Saengwon Jeong’s house, there was a girl about 17 or 18 years old, with eyes as pretty as a painting’s and pitch-black hair. She would hide beside the * Saengwon is one of the lowest scholarly ranks given to those who pass the state examinations.

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window and listen quietly to Choe’s voice.

One day, when Saengwon Jeong was still in the middle of eating breakfast, Choe found himself alone, reading a book. Then suddenly, a note fell down through the crack in window, and he picked up the note. On it was a poem about a young, unmarried maiden searching for her other half. They were from the last chapter of “Biao You Mei” in the Book of Songs.* He felt as if his heart and soul were fluttering in the air. He couldn’t calm down. He drifted into a daydream, imagining himself sneaking into her room late at night and imitating the old Chinese love story “A Story of Bu Feiyan.” Almost instantly, however, he realized what he was thinking and repented, warning himself with the story of Kim Tae-hyeon** from the Goryeo Dynasty. And while Choe was quietly contemplating, morality and * The poem is found in the last chapter of “Biao You Mei” in the section “The Odes of Shao and the South” under “Lessons from the States” in the Book of Songs. ** Kim Tae-hyeon was a scholar in the Goryeo Dynasty. As the story goes, a widowed daughter of the house he was studying at slipped him a love poem through the window. He never returned to the house again.

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desire were quarreling in his heart.

Saengwon Jeong suddenly entered into the room, and Choe hid the poem in his sleeve.

After his lesson, he left the room. A female servant followed him out, stopping at the gate. She told him, “I have a message for you.”

His heart was already alert because of the lines of the poem, and the servant’s words only intrigued him more.

He told her he understood and asked her to follow him.

Choe brought her to his house and asked her to explain the entire situation.

The servant began, “I am Chun-saeng, a servant of Lady Yi’s. She asked me to bring her back a reply to her poem, sir.”

Choe was puzzled and asked, “Aren’t you a servant from Saengwon Jeong’s house? Why is she called Lady Yi, instead of Lady Jeong?”

Chun-saeng explained, “My master’s house was originally in Cheongpa-ri, outside Sungnye Gate in Seoul.

Sadly, my master, Mr. Yi Gyeong-shin, passed away some

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years ago, and then it was just Madam Shim* and her daughter living together. Their daughter’s name is Okyeong, and it was she who threw that note earlier today.

Last year, Madam Shim and her daughter moved from Ganghwa Island to Hoejin, in Naju, in a boat to avoid the war, and this autumn, they moved again from Hoejin to here. Saengwon Jeong, the master of this house, is a relative of Madam Shim’s, and he has taken us in and treated us well. They are seeking a husband for Lady Yi, but it has been difficult to find her a suitable bridegroom.”

Choe said, “Your lady grew up with a widowed mother.

How is she literate? Has she simply known how to read since she was young?”

“My lady had a brother, Deuk-yeong, and he was intelligent. He passed away before he was to be married at age 19. She picked up a little writing from him, so she’s able to write her name and not much more.”

Choe offered Chun-saeng food and drink while taking * Madam Shim is the wife of Yi Gyeong-shin. In Korea, a woman keeps her maiden name after marriage.

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out a fresh sheet of paper and composing the following letter: The letter I received from you this morning truly captured my heart. I can hardly contain my happiness; it is as if I have met a bird delivering good news from a land of fairies. Just as a bird that lost its partner weeps over its own appearance in a mirror, or as a husband who dearly misses his widowed wife looks at her portrait painting, I, too, have been longing and desperate to meet my other half.

As Sima Xiangru did in the State of Han a long, long time ago, playing the zither to seduce Zhuo Wenjun, and as Jia Wu in the State of Qin did, secretly giving away her father’s precious incense, bestowed to him by the king, to her lover Han Shou, I understand that a man and woman may personally meet and connect. However, meeting you seems as difficult as going over the many peaks of Mt. Bongnaesan, which is home to the hermits, and crossing over their rough streams. But just now, as I was thinking of even the possibility that I may meet you, my face paled, and my neck grew thin in determination.

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And now, just as King Huai of Chu met a goddess in his daydream, a letter of yours was delivered to me by a fairy. If parties from both families are able to establish an agreeable relationship, the two of us could become intertwined by Wolha Noin’s thread,* fulfill our three wishes** and keep our wedding vows.

I cannot possibly express in words all that I feel about you, and even if I found every word, how could I use those to tell you how much I truly feel?

Respectfully, Choe Cheok

Ok-yeong was delighted to receive his letter. The very next day, she sent a reply through Chun-saeng: I was born and raised in Seoul. Before I could master the manners of a lady, my father unfortunately passed away.

Additionally, a war broke out, and my mother and I were * According to myth, Wolha Noin (“Old Man under the Moonlight”) carries red thread to connect a man and woman together for life. ** The wishes refer to the fulfillment of the three lives in Buddhism: past, present, and future.

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forced to wander the south in retreat; now, we have finally settled in the house of our relative, relying on his generosity to survive.

I am 15 years old and have yet to marry. Therefore, I am constantly worrying about assaults, either from the infestation of bandits in this time of war or from some vicious person intent on disgracing me. For these reasons, my mother is also always very concerned and distressed.

However, I am more concerned with finding a good husband. Since a hundred years of both happiness and hardship will depend on my husband, how can I begin to respect and rely on him if he is not a good man?

According to what I have seen of you recently, you seem gentle, with leisurely, graceful manners, and your face glows with sincerity and faithfulness. Therefore, if I am to find a good husband, where else could I look but to you?

In truth, I would rather be your mistress than become someone else’s wife. As the situation goes like that, I wonder if my ill-fated, unlucky destiny would let me fulfill my wish.

My poem to you yesterday was never intended to be lustful. I only wanted to find out for myself how you

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CREDITS Translator: Ally Hwang Publisher: Kim Hyung-geun Editors: Lee Jin-hyuk, Kim Hansol Copy Editors: D. Peter Kim, Daisy Larios Proofreader: Elaine Ramirez Designer: Jung Hyun-young