By Chin Yu-sun and Kweon Yea-won
Korea Times Interns
Renowned Korean novelist Yun Heung-gil discussed his love of writing at a meeting of the Seoul Literary Society last Tuesday, and answered the question, "Why write literature?"
The society, a group of ambassadors who appreciate and discuss various genres of Korean literature, met at the residence of Columbian ambassador Alejandro Borda.
Those who attended high school in Korea will most likely recognize the name Yun Heung-gil, who won the 1977 Korea Literature award. He is a staple author in Korean literature curriculum and his works, which include ``The Man Who Was Left as Nine Pairs of Shoes" and ``The Rainy Spell," are regularly analyzed by aspiring liberal arts students.
Yun admitted that the easy, pretentious answer to why he writes would be something along the lines of "to fill the empty glass of his soul." But his speech revealed an answer much less self-serving: to reveal his soul to the world.
Yun's works are mostly based on the Korean War, depicting ordinary people and families torn apart by the ideologies of the North and South. He spoke about the many challenges he suffered from the war, such as poverty, family loss and confusion.
Born into a country marred by foreign occupation in 1942, Yun faced a troubled life from the beginning. Discontented by mundane village life, he often ran away from home to escape the banalities of reality. The constancy of his home did not stand a chance against the chaos of the Korean War, however, as he saw the village torn apart and witnessed family deaths. Watching his childhood home come crashing down left the young man devastated.
"I lost my innocence then," Yun said. "I eventually came to reconcile with the world, but my desire to leave home remained."
These unresolved emotions plagued the man throughout his young adulthood. Yun fulfilled his urges to escape with spontaneous, unplanned trips, when he accidentally stumbled upon writing.
"Through my imagination I could exact my revenge, overcome my obstacles and live out my desires," he said. "Writing novels were the same as 'leaving home' to me."
From then on the long and complicated relationship between Yun and his literature began. His most famous novel, ``The Rainy Spell," tells the story of a family torn apart by ideological differences in the Korean War. The writer confessed it was based on his family and friend's personal experiences. Although it was not published until 1972, when military dictatorship eased censorship on political discussion, he felt a sense of redemption from its completion.
"Through my literature, I feel like I was able to bridge a gap between the two Koreas," Yun said.
Some might criticize the writer for avoiding reality through his deep, emotional plunge into literature. But the ambassadors in the meeting didn't seem to think so. They chuckled and nodded knowingly as he explained his journey to writing.
One woman seemed to grasp his plight exactly, offering a statement summarizing the writer's passion for written words. "It seems as if you are not only leaving home in your writing," she said, "but also coming home."
Tuesday's meeting was part of a series the Seoul Literary Society has been holding for more than a year. Members, including diplomats, invite prominent Korean writers to host open discussions.
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