The Real Modern: Literary Modernism and the Crisis of Representation in Colonial Korea

263 Pages·2013·3.695 MB·English

by  Christopher P. Hanscom

The Real Modern
Harvard East Asian Monographs 357

The Real Modern
Literary Modernism
and the Crisis of Repre sen ta tion
in Colonial Korea
Christopher P. Hanscom
Published by the Harvard University Asia Center
Distributed by Harvard University Press
Cambridge (Massachusetts) and London 2013
© 2013 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
Printed in the United States of America
Th e Harvard University Asia Center publishes a monograph series and, in
coordination with the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, the Korea Institute,
the Reischauer Institute of Japa nese Studies, and other faculties and institutes,
administers research projects designed to further scholarly understanding of
China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, and other Asian countries. Th e Center also
sponsors projects addressing multidisciplinary and regional issues in Asia.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Hanscom, Christopher P., 1972–
Th e real modern : literary modernism and the crisis of repre sen ta tion in colonial
Korea / Christopher P. Hanscom.
pages cm. — (Harvard East Asian Monographs ; 357)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary: “Examines the critical and literary production of Pak T’aewon, Kim
Yujong, and Yi T’aejun, whose works confront the ‘crisis of repre sen ta tion’ from
loss of faith in language as a vehicle of meaningful reference to the world. Bridging
literary and colonial studies, this re- reading of modernist fi ction within the
imperial context illuminates links between literary practice and colonial
discourse”— Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978- 0- 674- 07326- 5 (hardcover : acid- free paper) 1. Korean literature—
20th century— History and criticism. 2. Modernism (Literature)— Korea.
3. Nationalism and literature— Korea. 4. Postcolonialism in literature. I. Title.
PL957.5.M63H36 2013
895.7'09112—dc23
2012050266
Index by the author and Hannah Lim
Printed on acid- free paper
Last fi gure below indicates year of this printing
19 18 17 16 15 14 13
Contents
Ac know ledg ments vii
Introduction 1
1 Paradox of Empire: Th e Crisis of Repre sen ta tion
in 1930s Seoul Literary Circles 24
2 Pak T’aewŏn’s “Repre sen ta tion, Depiction,
Technique” and the Colonial Double Bind 38
3 Modernism and Hysteria in One Day in the Life
of the Author, Mr. Kubo 59
4 “Th oughts from a Sickbed” and the Critique
of Empiricist Discourse 78
5 Th e Irony of Language in Kim Yujŏng’s
Short Fiction 95
6 Embodiments of Speech: Yi T’aejun’s Lectures
on Composition 121
7 Lyrical Narrative and the Uncohering of Modernity 138
vi Contents
Conclusion: Colonial Modernism and Comparative
Literary Studies 166
Notes 177
Bibliography 213
Index 229
Ac know ledg ments
Th is book would not have been possible without the constant encourage-
ment and support I received from teachers, colleagues, mentors, friends,
and family. I am fi rst of all grateful to my teachers, mentors, and colleagues
at UCLA, particularly Robert Buswell, Jack Chen, John Duncan, Torquil
Duthie, George Dutton, Namhee Lee, Peter H. Lee, Seiji Lippit, Aamir
Muft i, David Schaberg, Shu- mei Shih, and Tim Tangherlini, for their un-
qualifi ed support and guidance at every stage. Colleagues at Dartmouth
College provided a welcoming and intellectually stimulating environment
during a crucial stage in the writing, and my thanks go to Diana Abouali,
Aimee Bahng, Rebecca Biron, Jim Dorsey, Steve Ericson, Gerd Gemünden,
Allen Hockley, Ed Miller, Reiko Ohnuma, Jonathan Smolin, Michelle
Warren, Dennis Washburn, and Lindsay Whaley for their warmth and
generosity. My time as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University’s Korea
Institute was greatly enriched through conversation and collaborative
work with Christopher Bondy, Ed Drott, Carter Eckert, Seth Jacobowitz,
Sun Joo Kim, David McCann, Aaron Moore, and Rebecca Suter.
Many others have provided support and encouragement along the
way. Nancy Abelmann carefully read portions of the manuscript and sug-
gested the title for the book. David Kang encouraged and mentored me at
every stage of the writing. Jin- kyung Lee generously read portions of the
manuscript and shared her extraordinarily helpful and constructive cri-
tique. Yu Chongho gave careful and frequent advice during my Fulbright
year in Seoul. Kwon Boduerae graciously helped to clarify my thinking
in the early stages, particularly on the Yi T’aejun chapters, and Michael
Bourdaghs gave invaluable feedback at the inception of the project.
viii Acknowledgments
A broader intellectual community has provided tremendous support,
inspiration, and guidance, and in many cases has helped me navigate
that terrain where friendship and profession overlap. It would be impos-
sible to name everyone who has contributed to this project over the years
in ways large and small, but special thanks to Ann Choi, Ellie Choi,
Kyeong- Hee Choi, Henry Em, Todd Henry, Ted Hughes, Kelly Jeong, Jen-
nifer Jung- Kim, Charles Kim, Chiyoung Kim, Hyung- Wook Kim, Jina
Kim, Kyung Hyun Kim, Sonja Kim, Susie Kim, Su Yun Kim, Kim Uchang,
Max Kuo, Aimee Kwon, Jeong- il Lee, Lee Kyung Hoon, Seung- Ah Lee,
Paul Nam, Oh Sunmin, Franz Prichard, Youngju Ryu, Jiwon Shin, Hijoo
Son, Minsuh Son, Yeunjee Song, Serk- bae Suh, and Yingzi Xu.
I have had the privilege of presenting material from several chapters
in various forums, and gained much from thoughtful questions and
comments from the discussants and other participants. My thanks to the
Korea and Reischauer Institutes at Harvard University; to the Center for
Korean Research at Columbia University; to the USC Korean Studies
Institute; to John Treat and the Korea Colloquium at Yale University;
and to the third North American Korean Literature Workshop, hosted at
the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Th e dissertation research and writing that led to this book were made
possible with the support of the UCLA Graduate Division, the depart-
ment of Asian Languages and Cultures, the Center for Korean Studies,
the Asia- Pacifi c Institute, the center for Comparative and Interdisciplin-
ary Research on Asia, the Korea Foundation, and the Fulbright Program.
Time and access to materials provided by a Korea Foundation postdoc-
toral fellowship were also instrumental in the reframing and completion
of this volume.
Portions of chapter 4 were previously published as “Kim Yujŏng’s
‘Th oughts from a Sickbed’ and the Critique of Empiricist Discourse” in
Th e Journal of Korean Studies 14.1 (Fall 2009): 35– 60. Excerpts from
chapter 3 will appear in my forthcoming article, “Modernism, Hysteria
and the Colonial Double Bind: Pak T’aewŏn’s One Day in the Life of the
Author, Mr. Kubo,” in positions: asia critique 21.3 (Summer 2013) and are
reprinted by permission of Duke University Press. Passages in chapter 1
and the conclusion were previously published in “Degrees of Diff erence:
Re- thinking the Transnational Turn in Korean Literary Studies,” in
PMLA 126.3 (May 2011): 651– 657, and are reprinted by permission of the
Modern Language Association. Grateful ac know ledg ment is made to
these journals for permission to reprint material from these publications.
I am very grateful to my editors, Will Hammell— for his willingness
to take on a project focused unreservedly on literature— and Deborah
Acknowledgments ix
Del Gais, for her patient guidance and care in seeing the project through
to publication. I would also like to thank the two anonymous readers of
the manuscript for their detailed, constructive, and extremely helpful
remarks.
Finally, I would like to thank my family for their unfailing encourage-
ment. My parents, Gary and Phyllis Hanscom, and my sister Kate have
been supportive beyond mea sure. My gratitude and love to the late
Charles Rim, my father- in- law and constant ally who shared his deep
knowledge and insight without reserve and who made great contribu-
tions to this book with his advice, his careful readings, and his tendency
to challenge my thinking at crucial moments, and to my mother- in- law
Esther Rim and sister- in- law Elisa Rim. Last but not least, this book is for
Alice, Stella, and Eugenie, who are the greatest part of the beauty and joy
in my life, and for my wife, Carol, the closest reader, who has been with
me from the very beginning of this journey.