Reminiscing Poland
By Choe Chong-dae
Ever since Korea opened its doors to the outside world in 1876, many foreigners have entered Korea through the port city of Jemulpo, or modern Incheon. One such foreigner was Polish merchant Friedrich A. Kalitzky (1872-1934), who landed and lived in Korea for decades until his death. Today, his tombstone depicting Konigsberg, his birthplace, stands at the graveyard of Chemulpo Foreigners' Cemetery in Incheon.
My interest in Polish culture stemmed from contact with Polish members of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC). In the early 1980s, I had the pleasure of meeting the Polish NNSC delegates during a reception held at the NNSC Swedish Camp in Panmunjeom. At that time, Poland had not yet established diplomatic ties with Korea as it was under a socialist regime. However, I could still establish common ground with them and learned about a distinguished Polish writer named Waclaw Sieroszewski (1858-1945).
As a well-known Polish writer and renowned ethnographer, Sieroszewski's interest in Korea led him to journey to this country in October 1903, which coincided with a turbulent period preceding the collapse of the Korean Empire. Throughout his travels over several months, Sieroszewski observed a wide range of Korean aspects such as culture, customs, education, politics and religion, to include shamanism. Based on diverse experiences and impressions of Korea, he published an account titled "Korea: Klucz Dalekiego Wschodu" (Key of the Far East) in 1905. It is an interesting impressionistic and eyewitness account of Korea which played an important role in introducing the country to an unfamiliar European audience. The book even portrayed Donghak (Eastern Learning, later known as Cheondo-gyo), an influential early modern native religion of Korea. In 1906 he also wrote the novel “Ol-soni, kisan” which is based on Korean life in the late 19th century.
The account was translated into Korean in 2006 under the title of "Korea in the Fall of 1903: Travels to the Korean Empire by Sieroszewski, Russian Scholar." He was called a Russian scholar because Poland was under the Russian regime until the Republic of Poland was established in 1918. Of note is that a recent book, titled "World Writers Who Loved Korea: Modern and Contemporary Korea Blossomed in the World" by professor Choi Chong-ko, mentioned Sieroszewski's account of Korea.
More recently, books published in Poland have focused on North Korean orphans and drew great attention from Polish readers. There is also a documentary film titled “Kim Ki-dok” (2006), which is produced by Jolanta Krysowata, a Polish journalist and filmmaker. It portrays the life of the North Korean orphan Kim Ki-dok, a 13-year-old girl who lived in Poland after the Korean War. Sadly, she passed away due to leukemia and is buried in Osobowicki Cemetery in Wroclaw. The film also depicts a North Korean supervisor falling in love with a beautiful Polish woman, who gives birth to a baby. However, when their affair is revealed to the public, he is forced to return to North Korea, leaving behind his lover and their newborn. In 2016, Krysowata went on to remake the documentary "Kim Ki-dok" with Patrick Yoka to shed light on the plight of thousands of North Korean orphans.
Starting during the 1950-53 Korean War, thousands of North Korean orphans were sent to live in Poland for care and education from 1951 to 1959. Despite the difficult circumstances, they lived under the humanitarian guardianship and nurturing eyes of hundreds of Polish teachers and doctors. They came to regard Poland as their second home and further familiarized themselves with Polish culture and customs. They developed a powerful connection and fascination with the country, so much that they would reminisce about this unique experience throughout their lifetimes after being returned to North Korea in 1959.
I wish that both Sieroszewski's account of modern Korea and the documentary film continue to strengthen cultural bridges between Korea and Poland.
Choe Chong-dae (choecd@naver.com) is a guest columnist of The Korea Times. He is president of Dae-kwang International Co., and director of the Korean-Swedish Association.