Lee Mu-young’s “Act I, Scene I” tells the story of Sutaek, a writer who leaves his city life behind to create a new life for himself as a farmer in the countryside. Through this transformation, he comes to reconcile with his father, a man of the soil who rails against the “city folk” for placing their self-interests and material comforts over the ethics of neighborly love and hard work. Sutaek also finds new inspiration for writing in the process of becoming a proper farmer. A work within the subgenre of agrarian literature, “Act I, Scene I” can also be read within the context of the Asia-Pacific War. The war and the total mobilization of society under the Japanese empire at this time, can be read in both the various details and the overall messages embodied in the text.
Lee Mu-young’s “Act I, Scene I” tells the story of Sutaek, a writer who leaves his city life behind to create a new life for himself as a farmer in the countryside. Through this transformation, he comes to reconcile with his father, a man of the soil who rails against the “city folk” for placing their self-interests and material comforts over the ethics of neighborly love and hard work. Sutaek also finds new inspiration for writing in the process of becoming a proper farmer. A work within the subgenre of agrarian literature, “Act I, Scene I” can also be read within the context of the Asia-Pacific War. The war and the total mobilization of society under the Japanese empire at this time, can be read in both the various details and the overall messages embodied in the text.
“The Sick Rose,” published in Samcheonli munhak (Three Thousand Li of Literature) in 1938, is the first of two short stories that Lee Hyoseok names using the title of a poem in English. This one, of course, is named after a poem by William Blake. The other is “Leaves of Grass” titled after Walt Whitman’s seminal collection. Both short stories borrow themes from the poems they are named after. In the case of “The Sick Rose” the theme is prostitution and the venereal disease that can accompany the practice. Typical of Lee’s later literature, this story uses the theme of sex as a means to critique what he saw as a hypocritical sense of morality in Korean society.
In East and West: Fusion of Horizons, Kwang-Sae Lee seeks to find and develop themes of mutual resonance in Eastern and Western thoughts, trying to interpret across boundaries of culture and age. The book discusses some general "methodological problems" pertaining to the "Meeting of East and West," Confucianism and Kantian moral philosophy, Heidegger, Wittgenstein and Eastern thought, and outstanding themes such as social practice theory, holistic individualism and pluralism. It also examines Eastern thought (Confucianism and Taoism in particular) and pragmatism (Rorty in particular). The last part introduces Korean philosophy and some important Korean philosophers. Lee believes that there is vital need for reassessing the eminent relevance of revitalized East Asian culture(s) to the contemporary world. It is with this conviction that he has written this important and timely book. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kwang-Sae Lee is Professor of Philosophy at Kent State University. He holds a PhD from Yale University. Lee was interested mainly in analytic philosophy, philosophy of science, Kant, and the history of Western philosophy. His focus has gradually but ineluctably shifted to world philosophy. He has co-authored Cultures of East and West and penned many papers mainly on Kant and world philosophy. Lee lives in Kent, Ohio, with his wife.
“Pomegranate” is one of Lee Hyoseok’s shorter pieces of fiction. It follows a plot pattern that became more evident in his later fiction (that written after 1935 or so) in that the protagonist is a woman who suffers from the patriarchal strictures of the Confucian culture of the times. It is implied that the protagonist Jaehee becomes pregnant at the hands of one of her schoolmates and later is pushed into marrying a man she doesn’t love because the union might help her father’s failing business. The man she marries turns out to be a swindler, and her father’s business fails even sooner as the result of his malfeasance. The plot also contains another of Lee’s consistent themes: an unrequited love.
“The Sick Rose,” published in Samcheonli munhak (Three Thousand Li of Literature) in 1938, is the first of two short stories that Lee Hyoseok names using the title of a poem in English. This one, of course, is named after a poem by William Blake. The other is “Leaves of Grass” titled after Walt Whitman’s seminal collection. Both short stories borrow themes from the poems they are named after. In the case of “The Sick Rose” the theme is prostitution and the venereal disease that can accompany the practice. Typical of Lee’s later literature, this story uses the theme of sex as a means to critique what he saw as a hypocritical sense of morality in Korean society.
Lee Hyoseok’s story “Wild Apricots” was published in the literary journal Jogwang in 1937. The work is noteworthy for its use of themes that pushed the limits of the social conventions of the times. The story involves infidelity, betrayal, female homoeroticism, and superstitious folk beliefs. In addition, Lee clearly mounts a critique of vested male privilege that he would develop more fully in later works. Interestingly, together with his critique of the backwardness of rural society, Lee also weaves a subtle critique of the increasingly oppressive nature of Japanese rule as the dark clouds of militarism and fascism spread across the horizon.
Lee provides a comprehensive insight into important topics within modern Korean theatre and conducts an in-depth evaluation of the major discourses that shaped Korean theatre during the 20th century. The book adopts a topical approach to explore modern Korean theatre through a more focused lens. Examining key subjects such as Korean Playwrights. Korean adaptations of Shakespeare, the National Theatre, feminist theatre, and the intercultural potential of a Far Eastern theatrical bloc, it provides a rigorous understanding of the evolution of Korean theatre during the 20th century and explores the moments of rupture and innovation within the chronological history of theatre. The book is a vital resource of interest to scholars and students interested in East Asian culture and theatre, specifically Korean culture.
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