“It’s a graveyard! A graveyard swarming with maggots!” (Mansejeon [Eve of the Independence Movement], Moonji Publishing co., Ltd., 2010)
Yom Sang-seop is a writer known for his realistic prose and is a key figure in the history of modern and contemporary Korean literature.
1. Life
Yom Sang-seop was born in Hanseong-bu (now Seoul), Joseon Dynasty in 1897 and died on March 14, 1963. He attended the Affiliated Elementary School of Hangseong Normal School and Boseong Elementary and Middle School before going to Japan to study. He enrolled in the Preparatory Course at Keio University in 1918 but withdrew due to illness. In 1919, he proclaimed the Korean Declaration of Independence in Tennoji Park in Osaka and was subsequently imprisoned. After returning to Korea, he became a reporter for Dong-A Ilbo upon its founding in 1920 and later served as an editor for various newspapers after briefly teaching at Osan School. He made his literary debut with “Pyobonsirui Cheonggaeguri” (“A Tree Frog in the Specimen Room”), published in Gaebyeok. In 1923, he formed a literary coterie for the magazine Pyeheo, and in 1924, published Post Pyeheo. From 1936 until liberation, he worked as managing editor and editor-in-chief of Manseon Ilbo in Manchuria, during which he paused his literary career. After returning to Korea following liberation, he became managing editor at Kyunghyang Shinmun. During the Korean War, he served in the Navy, and after his discharge, he was elected as a lifetime member of the National Academy of Arts and served as the founding president of Seorabeol University of Arts.
2. Writing
As a key figure in the history of modern and contemporary Korean literature, Yom pursued realism. When the literary circles were divided between nationalism and socialism during the colonial period and into right and left after liberation, he maintained a centrist position. His political stance is often seen as closely linked to his realistic prose.
In 1920, he formed a literary coterie known as Pyeheo and began his career as a writer, publishing “Amya” (“The Dark Times”) and “Pyobonsirui Cheonggaeguri” (“A Tree Frog in the Specimen Room”) in Gaebyeok. “Pyobonsirui Cheonggaeguri” (“A Tree Frog in the Specimen Room”), one of his major works, is regarded as the first naturalist story in the Korean literary history, although its writing technique is considered somewhat unrefined. Subsequent short stories, such as “Jeya” (“New Year’s Eve”) and “Haebaragi” (“Sunflower”), explore the theme of the New Woman. He reflected the realities of colonialism in his works through realism, and a representative example is Mansejeon (On the Eve of the Uprising), which follows the journey of a Korean student studying in Japan who returns to his homeland, where he confronts the realities of colonial life, and the story depicts the inner thoughts of an intellectual responding to these experiences. “Yunjeongi” (“Rotary Press”) depicts the pressmen’s strikes from the perspective of a newspaper reporter. Samdae (Three Generations) is a key family saga novel of the colonial period that portrays the realities of colonialism across three generations: the older generation, still bound to traditional customs; a hypocritical intellectual middle generation; and a morally upright yet indecisive younger generation.
Yom stopped writing for ten years in the late colonial period and resumed after liberation. His post liberation works also offer a detailed portrayal of a cross section of Korean society through a realist approach and primarily focus on conventional themes, including romantic relationships. Du Pasan (Two Bankruptcies), a novel published between liberation and the Korean War, centers on its two protagonists and their family relationships to vividly depict the physical and emotional devastation Korean society experienced. Chwiu (A Sudden Downpour), which was published after the outbreak of the Korean War, explores everyday life and human desires during the North Korean occupation of Seoul.
Reference
Short Story Collections
Gyeonuhwa (Morning Glory), Bakmunseogwan, 1924
Haebaragi (Sunflower), Bakmunseongwan, 1924
Godok (Solitude), Geulbeotjip, 1926
Sampalseon (The 38th Parallel), Geumryong Doseo, 1948
Haebangui Adeul (Son of Liberation), Geumryong Doseo, 1949
Sinhongi (A Record of the Early Days of Marriage), Geumryong Doseo, 1954
Ildaeui Yueop (Legacy of a Lifetime), Eulyoo Publishing Co., Ltd., 1960
Eollukjin Sidae Punggyeong (Stained Landscape of the Era), Jeongeumsa, 1973
Yom Sang-seop, vols. 1–2, Munwongak, 1974
Novels
Nambangcheonyeo (A Maiden of the South), Goryeogongsa, 1924
Mansejeon (On the Eve of the Uprising), Goryeogongsa, 1924
Isim (Duplicity), Bakmunseogwan, 1939
Saranggwa Joe (Love and Crime), Bakmunseogwan, 1939
Samdae (Three Generations), Eulyoo Publishing Co., Ltd., 1947
Geuriun Sarang (Longing for Love), Munhakdang, 1954
Morankkot Pil Ttae (When the Tree Peony Blooms), Hanseongdoseo, 1954
Chwiu (A Sudden Downpour), Eulyoo Publishing Co., Ltd., 1954
Reference
Yom Sang-seop, Mansejeon (Eve of the Independence Movement), Moonji Publishing co., Ltd., 2010
LTI Korea 
DLKL 
SIWF 
