Literary geek at odds with conservative locals in rustic county Hwacheon

Novelist and artist Lee Oi-soo smiles at a facility in Gamseong Village in the county of Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, in this June 6, 2017, file photo. Lee has lived in housing in the park for a decade and is under pressure to leave the facility. / Korea Times

Lee Oi-soo resists calls to leave, vows to fight to the end

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Writers in self-imposed exile rarely interact with the public because they chose to distance themselves from hectic urban life to fully focus on their literary projects.

Lee Oi-soo, the author of 70 fictional works and poems and a fearless liberal who has actively engaged in controversial political debates in cyberspace, is an exception. In 2006, the novelist and artist relocated to the untouched, pristine county of Hwacheon in the northwestern part of Gangwon Province, and has lived there since.

The savvy social media user, who has 2.5 million Twitter followers, has attacked conservative politicians with his unrefined, sometimes radical views, which frequently pit him against right-wing internet users.

He once bragged of his influence in a social media post in response to conservatives who criticized him for his siding with liberal politicians. “I’m fine with your criticism. I don’t care no matter how you describe me. But you will never want to forget this ? the presidential candidates you are supporting could lose millions of votes if I say something bad about them,” he wrote.

From conservative people’s point of view, Lee’s a bully who is impatient with views different from his.

The outspoken writer’s online feud with conservatives has extended to his real life ? he is at odds with conservative locals. His life in the rustic county has not been peaceful as he has from time to time clashed with conservative locals.

Their dispute reached a climax on Thursday, weeks after the literary geek’s use of swear words toward County Mayor Choi Moon-sun was made public by local conservative politician Lee Heung-il in October.

Lee is under pressure to vacate housing which he has occupied for free over the past decade and pay five years of overdue rent. Otherwise, in the worst-case scenario, he could be evicted.

Hwacheon County Council said his home is a public asset and the author has illegally occupied it without paying. So, it said, he should vacate it right away, remove all his belongings and pay overdue rent ? in this case rent for five years according to the law dealing with illegal occupation of public assets.

Lee resisted and said he won’t leave and would fight to the end for his residence. He alleged the investigation result was “a right-wing conspiracy” intended to oust him from the place he is so attached to.

The housing is part of a theme park, titled Gamseong Village, a site stretched over 15,000 square meters in the mountainous northwestern part of Gangwon Province.

The literary park was created in 2004 by then-Mayor Chung Gap-cheol, who intended to establish the park to attract tourists. He proposed Lee relocate there and play a goodwill ambassador-like role to promote the rustic county, an offer the writer accepted. The theme park consists of a residence, a lecture hall titled Mowoldang and an exhibition center showcasing Lee’s literary works and paintings.

Lee’s alleged violation of the law was found recently when the local government’s special committee investigated the cultural site in response to mounting calls from local residents to see whether the county government had used taxpayers’ money properly when it created the park.

Since its creation, Hwacheon County has poured 13 billion won into the park and it also set aside an annual budget of 200 million won for the operation of those facilities there.

County council member Lee Heung-il initiated the investigation. He said there was “a procedural flaw” in the selection of the resident of the cultural site. “Our probe found there was no contract signed between the county and the resident ? Lee in this case? and thus this is an obvious violation of law,” he told The Korea Times.

“According to the law, residents of public facilities must be selected in an open and transparent competition but there was no such process taken when Lee was chosen as the resident of the facility. Allowing him to live there for free is also a violation of the law.”

The bipartisan committee submitted their investigation results to the plenary session and it is expected to be approved there on Thursday. Then the council will notify the county of their findings and request it to take necessary measures.

In the worst-case scenario, Lee could face an order to leave the housing and pay back five years of rent. If the two sides agree on certain conditions, the writer may stay there.

Writer Lee alleged Hawcheon County took advantage of him and tried to dump him after using him for many years.

He accused council member Lee of plotting to get him in trouble. “He was the person who criticized me harshly when I decorated this village with yellow ribbons to pay tribute to the victims of the passenger ferry Sewol,” he said. “He was a person like that and he is attacking me again. I will fight to the end and never give up.”

Council member Lee claimed the investigation is not politically motivated.

He said the locals were sick and tired of the “selfish” writer who never cared about his neighbors, and so their anger exploded after they found out the writer insulted Mayor Choi.

In a meeting with several local leaders, including County Mayor Choi and parliamentary leader Choi Jin-kyu in August, Lee, who was then under the influence of alcohol, threatened to “blow up Gamseong Village” and leave. Lee even spat out swear words toward the mayor. It is not known under what circumstances the writer showed this demeanor.

Council member Lee overheard the celebrity writer’s inappropriate behavior later from the politician.

“I checked with the mayor’s office almost every week to see whether the writer apologized to the mayor or not because as a council member, I was upset, too. The mayor represents the county and he was elected by the residents. So insulting the mayor is not something he did to an individual. He insulted everyone living in the county. I thought the writer should have made a public apology to the mayor,” he said.

Writer Lee didn’t heed the mayor’s office’s repeated requests for a public apology.

Council member Lee disclosed the writer’s language during an open speech at the parliament in October, in front of journalists from local media outlets and civic group leaders. Word about how Lee insulted the mayor spread fast in the small county.

Writer Lee was pressured to make a public apology to the mayor. But he didn’t. The local government body exercised its right to investigate the case to correct wrongs.

Writer Lee’s ties with his neighbors were known to have turned sour even before the incident. Those who are familiar with Lee’s life in the county said years ago his neighbors attempted to kick him out of the village. “His neighbors collected signatures from the county residents to put pressure on the writer to leave the county, council member Lee said.

“Many people here know there was such a collective action.”

However, their collective action didn’t bear fruit.

County officials also harbored discontent over the renowned writer. Some call Lee a “bully.” He would call senior-level county officials and sometimes the mayor anytime to protest if he had any inconveniences.

County officials were known to have felt insulted.