Choe Nam-sun's life and his love of nation

Yuktang Choe Nam-son

Cover of "Yuktang Choe Nam-son and Korean Modernity" written by Choi Hak-joo

By Choi Yearn-hong

Dr. Choi Hak-joo wrote about his famous grandfather, Choe Nam-son, in the book "Yuktang Choe Nam-son and Korean Modernity." The book is one of a few Choe Nam-son biographies. His grandfather became the first Korean modern freestyle verse poet at the turn of the 20th century and also published magazines for young people to educate and enlighten his fellow people during the Japanese colonial rule. He wrote the Declaration of Independence on March 1, 1919, which had a typo, and typeset the Declaration in a great hurry all by himself.

I knew Choe Nam-son as the nation's first modern poet and thinker, a scholar who tried to create the Korean identity, for the sake of the nation's independence, dignity and sovereignty while under the colonial rule. His Declaration of Independence was comparable to that of Thomas Jefferson. This book offers much more information about Yuktang and his writings. In addition to writing the Declaration, he was one of the main architects of the March First Mansei Movement and a scholar of ancient Korean history from Tangun onward. He was disenchanted with the Korean factional politicking that was in front of the urgency of the nation-building and the fight for independence from the Japanese yoke. But more than anything, he wanted to be remembered as a historian who tried to establish the Tangun myth as the starting point of the Pulham civilization of the Northeast Asian nations.

This book has three parts. The first part reveals three generations of the Choe family. In the family history, I found out about the many famous Korean people whom Yuktang met and with whom he worked. I met some of them in my young life. I met Inchon Kim Song-su, who founded the Choong-ang Middle and High Schools, Korea University, Donga Ilbo and Kyungsung Textile Co. and served as a vice president. When I first visited Kim at his house when I first came to Seoul for middle school at Choong-ang, I bowed to him. I was introduced to him by my father, and that was the reason I came to Seoul and attended Choong-ang Middle School. After a year, he passed away, and at the national funeral ceremony, I was one of the people who carried the coffin to Korea University from Choong-ang on foot. As the high school newspaper editor, I met Choe Doo-son, Yuktang's younger brother and former Choong-ang School principal was and then the president of Donga Ilbo, in his office. Around that time, I also met famed painter and former Choong-ang School art teacher KoHui-dong . I visited his home and received an art work of his for free for my school literary magazine.

Remembering those famous people brought me back to my adolescent days. Although I have not yet met the author of this book, we share many precious memories with those people. We were born in the same year, 1941, which means that as ten-year-old boys, we witnessed the unspeakable tragedies of the Korean War. Yuktang lost one of his sons when he left for North Korea along with his priceless 170,000 books and papers, which were national treasures. Yuktang became bedridden after a stroke. He passed away in 1957.

The second part of the book discloses Yuktang's lifelong efforts to enlighten his fellow country men and women. He decided to publish a magazine for young people and created Sinmunkwan, New Culture Hall, and later Kwangmunhoe, Enlightening Culture Group. He also organized an elite intellectual group that could help promote Chonsun's dignity and sovereignty as a cultured nation. A patriot at heart, he launched the March First Mansei Movement in 1919 with his close friends, Song Jin-u, Hyun Sang-yun and Choe Rin, and with financing from Kim Song-su. They assembled 33 Chosun representatives from all regions and social and religious backgrounds. The young planners were all imprisoned for a lengthy period after the movement. Choe Nam-son served three years in prison.

Choe discovered and rediscovered the Chosun classic works in humanities and social sciences. His intellectual horizon was broader than anyone could imagine. He published 35 titles (59 volumes), 24 of which were ancient classics, such as "Tongkuk Byunggam," "Tongguksesiki," "Tongguk Tonggam," "YolhaIlgi," "Taekliji" and "Samguksagi," among others. He also published popular novels for all people's reading in a few dimes, such as "Chunhyang-jun," "Simchong-jun," "Hungbu-Nolbu-jun" and "Changwha-Hongryun-jun." His main concern was establishing the Korean identity from the Japanese colonial rule from language, history, and ultimately, starting the independence movement. I can clearly understand what went on in Yuktang's mind during that dark age. He was the pioneering scholar who established Korean studies with Tangun during the Japanese colonial rule. He coined the word "hangul" for the Korean alphabet and "Minjok" and "nationalism" for the independence movement. He was the first person who attempted to publish a Korean dictionary. The first Korean dictionary was published by Eulyu Publishing Co. much later, in the 1950s. We should be grateful to Yuktang for his works for his country and the generations to come.

After he was out of the publisher's role of the SidaeIlbo, he became a scholar and writer who devoted his life to exploring Chosun's own cultural history to establish the Chosun identity from the Japanese cultural annexation attempts. He was a special writer-at-large for Donga Ilbo, a major daily that was founded by his close friend Kim Song-su and published by another close friend, Song Chin-u. His scholarly articles aimed to cultivate the Chosun spirit for the cultural independence movement, if not necessarily the political movement. In the mid-1920s to mid-1930s, he traveled across the homeland from Mount Paekdu down to Mount Chiri and sailed to Cheju Island, expressing his love to all the mountains and rivers and composing Sijo poems for Donga Ilbo along with his travelogues. He also compiled all Hyangga, Gasa and Sijo poems from the Three Kingdoms to Koyro and down to the Chosun Dynasties. His patriotism motivated his literary adventure and voyage. He extended his travel to Manchuria in order to breathe in the Kogyryo and Palhae Kingdoms, and ultimately for his Korean studies. Of course, he was a gifted poet and writer all his life. His poem "From the Sea to the Boy," which appeared in his first children's magazine, opened modern Korean literature. He was just a teenage boy himself when he published the magazine.

However, Yuktang wants to be remembered as a historian who tried to unify the nation with one Minjok and truth. Truth was first advocated by DosanAn Chang-ho and Sonyun, the first magazine he published as a teenager. The concept of truth that they were referring to here is very close or identical to that in "the Truth sets you free" in the Scripture.

The third part is his grandson's vision of Yuktang studies, which will complete Yuktang's lifelong dream and passion for Minjok's unification. First of all, Yuktang should be free from the unfair criticism of being a "pro-Japan collaborator" and the restoration of the Kwangmunhoe Building for historical preservation at Chonggechon in Seoul. Compiling Yuktang's writings should be done by the present and future generations. It cannot be done by one individual or group. Yuktang wrote constantly for his fellow people to see Korean culture, that is, the origin of the Pulham Civilization.

I totally agree with his vision. Minjok is a word of forgiving and tolerating, embracing all, not of dividing people into black and white. Life under the long Japanese colonial rule was not as simple as black and white. It should be a force to move history together for the future. The Declaration of Independence should be preserved as the No. 1 treasure in the Korean Independence Hall. In the book's appendix, the Declaration was translated into English by the author's wife , who also translated her husband's memoir, "Yuktang."

Just one little anecdote at the end. When I worked for the Society of Ieodo Research, I discovered that President Syngman Rhee asked his ambassador to the United States on the occasion of the San Francisco Treaty between the United States and Japan to protect Dokdo in the East Sea and Ieodo in the South Sea in 1953. I was curious of Rhee's knowledge on Ieodo. Later, I came to know that Rhee consulted Choe Nam-son when he became the first president in 1948. Choe was the best known geographer on the Korean territory with its history.

Dr. Choi is a poet and writer based in the Washington D.C. area.