Ma Kwang-soo: literary martyr or social outcast?

Banned book ‘Happy Sara' back in spotlight after author's death

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Professor and author Ma Kwang-soo, who was found dead on Sept. 5, is still at the center of controversy for his watershed fictional work "Happy Sara." The book was banned in 1992 for "depraving and corrupting" the younger generation.

Tied up with rope, Ma Kwang-soo (1951-2017), the former professor of literature at Yonsei University and the author of the banned fictional work "Happy Sara," appears at the Seoul Central District Court on Dec. 2, 1992. He was arrested earlier that year while teaching a class at the university for "creating and disseminating obscene materials" through his book. / Korea Times file photo

A posthumous debate about the author goes on whether he was an intellectual who had lived way ahead of his time and consequently was persecuted, or an unrepentant social outcast. In 1992, the court sentenced Ma to an eight-month jail term with two years suspended for "creating and disseminating obscene materials" in the guise of a literary work.

"Happy Sara," published in 1991, described in great detail about the college student Sara who follows her sexual desires and explores various unconventional sexual relationships. Her affair with a married professor, sex with her girlfriend and frequent one-night stands were explicitly described in the fiction with the frequent use of words deemed by media as unfit for publishing.

Ma, a former professor of literature at Yonsei University, was found dead in an apparent suicide at his home in Seoul. Those who are familiar with him said he suffered depression and had difficulty making ends meet after retirement because he spent all his fortune on his legal fights.

The author of 60 books, including essays, poetry collections and fiction, has since sparked a heated debate about the banned book among readers.

According to the nation's largest offline and online bookstores Kyobo and Aladin, respectively, 1,500 copies of his books have been sold during the past week, a figure somewhat remarkable considering his books' monthly sales record was merely one or two copies before his death.

On Naver, the nation's largest Internet portal, social media postings of the most searched topics showed that Ma's death rekindled a debate about "Happy Sara," 25 years after it was banned.

"Ma's arrest and ensuing conviction because of ‘Happy Sara' shows how excessive and barbarian the law enforcement officials were when they executed the law," literary critic Hwang Hyun-san lamented on Twitter to commemorate Ma's death. "The law is there to protect freedom of expression, not erode it."

Han Seung-heon, a lawyer who defended Ma during the 1992 trial, said things might turn out differently if the case were taken to court now.

Depending on the judges, he said Ma could have avoided a conviction if a judge had been convinced that "Happy Sara," despite its explicit descriptions of sexual relationships, has some literary value.

His remarks indicate Korean society today has become more tolerant than 25 years ago of different views and perspectives about various topics, including sexuality, while experiencing a surge of publications and materials dealing with such topics.

"The controversy over the 1992 ruling about ‘Happy Sara' has persisted over the past 25 years, because the initial ruling has left room for debate," Han said.

Han said he was convinced Ma was not guilty after conducting a thorough textual analysis of "Happy Sara" when he defended Ma in the courtroom.

"Its content as a whole was not something punishable under the Anti-Obscenity Law. So I pleaded not guilty for him," he said. "There has been no change in my opinion since 1992."

As Ma said in his speech for his retirement ceremony at Yonsei University in 2016, "Happy Sara" took a heavy toll on his life. He was arrested on violations of the Anti-Obscenity Law while teaching his students in class in 1992, and was convicted later. He appealed, but in 1995 the Supreme Court upheld the Seoul Central District Court's initial ruling.

In the courtroom, his book became an object of ridicule. It was described by legal and literary experts, who were called there as witnesses, as "toxic waste," or "a junk product" that has no literary value.

Ahn Kyung-whan, then a law professor of Seoul National University, said "Happy Sara" had no literary, artistic, political or social merit whatsoever and thus was not in the interest of the public good, which paved the way for the court's decision that the story was just obscene material.

The ruling drew the ire of literary people, as well as liberal activists. They criticized the law enforcement authorities for their "abusive" use of the Anti-Obscenity Law and violations of freedom of expression. They alleged those who were involved in the ruling were out of touch with the changing social norms.

Some media outlets raised a right-wing conspiracy theory and reported Ma became a target of a premeditated witch hunt driven by a handful of ultra-right figures, including then Prime Minister Hyun Soong-jong, who were discontent about the fiction for causing an unnecessary social problem.

According to them, Hyun directed the prosecution to arrest and persecute Ma for a series of his works that caused a stir about existing moral values and social norms.

The ruling about "Happy Sara" wreaked havoc on Ma's life. He was fired from the university in 1995 after the highest court confirmed his crime. He managed to return to his teaching job in 1998 after he was granted a special pardon following the years-long advocacy activities carried out by some liberal activists and by his students.

His on-campus struggles, however, continued. In the early 2000s, he failed to pass his university's re-evaluation of faculty members for "underperformance" in research and academic activities. He was reinstated after his years of legal battles against the decision by the university authorities.

While going through such eventful experiences, Ma said he was traumatized and suffered lingering depression as he felt a sense of betrayal from his fellow faculty members. Ma said he was a loner at the university.

Conservative journalist Cho Kab-je shed light on a lesser-known aspect of Ma. In his website posting, titled "Commenting Ma Kwang-soo," Cho challenged the 1992 ruling and described Ma as a normal professor who liked teaching and reading, not much different from other academics, and apparently had no intention to agitate society.

"Living in a society flooded with various obscene materials, I wonder why people felt so offended particularly by his book," he wrote.

"Was this because he was a professor at a prestigious university? I believe the public appeared to have been confused between the character he created in his fiction and the real Ma and he was painted as an obscene writer. Society punished him in the name of justice. I don't know whether it was appropriate or not."

In his latest poem, titled "Sara's Courtroom" describing the silly atmosphere of his trial, Ma ridiculed the hypocrisy of society.

"The head judge tried hard to manage his facial expressions so he would look serious. He asks me if I would recommend ‘Happy Sara' to my daughter, if I had one.

"He made me wonder why he's worried so much about daughters, not sons... Another judge to his left was yawning, while the third one on the right had a sadistic smile on his face.

"The way I look makes me sad. My hands are tied with rope because I wrote a novel. I go through this ridiculous suffering just because I was born in this hopeless country."