Sangnoksu

Sangnoksu (Korean: 상록수, translated into English as Evergreen Tree[1] or An Evergreen[2]) is a 1936 novel by Korean writer Sim Hun on Korean rural education movement. It is considered his most famous work, and has also been described as "one of the most important Korean rural enlightenment novels.

Plot

This old photo from the Choi Yongshin Memorial Hall likely portays Choi Yongshin and her fellow activists, who served as inspiration for the novel's protagonists

It is a novel about a rural Korean village, and its main characters are two Korean university students who are promoting literacy and modern agriculture in Korean countryside.[3][4][1][5] Sangnosku's main female protagonist, Chae Yeongsin, was modeled after Choi Yongshin (1909~1935), Korean teacher and activist.[6] Another main character, Park Dong-hyeok, is based on Sim Hun's nephew Shim Jae-yeong, also an educator and activist.[3] The plot of the novel concerns their attempts to balance romance and love with dedication to their educational mission. They agree to spend three years in the countryside before getting married, but Yongsin dies from overwork; Dong-hyeok swears to continue his efforts to promote literacy on her grave.[1][7]

Development and significance

Sim Hun wrote Sangoksu in 1935 while staying in Philgyeongsa house, Dangjin, Chungcheongnam-do.[8] It” was originally serialized in 127 installments published from September 10, 1935 to February 15, 1936 in in the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper.[3]

Sim Hun wrote the novel as part of his efforts to promote education in Korean countryside, at that time that Korea was occupied by Japan.[3] The practice of helping out rural communities in Korea is known as nonghwal, and Sangoksus female protagonist has been called "a quintessential portrait of such colonial period enlightenment activity". [9]

The book was influenced by Yi Kwang-su, a Korean writer and independence and nationalist activist, who wrote an introduction for it.[1]

Sim Hun won the Dong-A Ilbo 15th Anniversary Full-Length Novel Contest, and used much of the prize money (100 won) to help establish the Sangnok Elementary School.[3]

Sim Hun had plans to make the novel into a movie, but he died shortly after completing the novel. His plans, however, were eventually realized by others, resulting in two movies based on the novel.[10][11] The novel has been made into a 1961 movie, The Evergreen Tree, by Shin Sang-ok.[12][13] Another version of The Evergreen Tree movie was made by Im Kwon-taek's in 1978.[14][15]

The novel is considered Sim Hun's most famous work.[4] It has also been described as "one of the most important Korean rural enlightenment novels.[10]

Sangnok-gu neighborhood in Ansan and its subway Sangnoksu Station are named after it.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Jörg Feuchter; Friedhelm Hoffmann; Bee Yun (8 August 2011). Cultural Transfers in Dispute: Representations in Asia, Europe and the Arab World since the Middle Ages. Campus Verlag. p. 309. ISBN 978-3-593-39404-6.
  2. ↑ Hung-Gyu Kim; Robert Fouser (16 September 2016). Understanding Korean Literature. Taylor & Francis. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-315-28531-3.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Backdrop of Shim Hun’s “Evergreen Tree” : The DONG-A ILBO". C1 control character in |title= at position 25 (help)
  4. 1 2 T'aejun Yi (5 March 2013). Eastern Sentiments. Columbia University Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-231-14945-7.
  5. ↑ Brian Yecies; Aegyung Shim (22 December 2015). The Changing Face of Korean Cinema: 1960 to 2015. Routledge. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-134-59957-8.
  6. ↑ "Choi Yong-sin - Trace - Tour Guide - Ansan".
  7. ↑ JaeYoon Park (2008). Seeing Stars: Female Film Stars and Female Audiences in Post-colonial Korea. ProQuest. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-549-68393-3.
  8. ↑ "Pilgyeongsa Confucian School".
  9. ↑ Nancy Abelmann (14 November 1996). Echoes of the Past, Epics of Dissent: A South Korean Social Movement. University of California Press. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-520-91748-4.
  10. 1 2 Jina E. Kim (December 2013). "Intermedial Aesthetics: Still Images, Moving Words, and Written Sounds in Early Twentieth-Century Korean Cinematic Novels (Yeonghwa Soseol)". The Review of Korean Studies. 16 (2): 45–79.
  11. ↑ http://andreasviklund.com, Ainslie Johnson / Original design by Andreas Viklund -. "Seen in Jeonju » Blog Archive » The Evergreen Tree (1961)".
  12. ↑ "Evergreen Tree". 20 June 1961 – via IMDb.
  13. ↑ "Evergreen Tree ( Sangnoksu ) (1961)". Korean Movie Database.
  14. ↑ "The Evergreen Tree". 4 May 1978 – via IMDb.
  15. ↑ "Evergreen (Sanglogsu) (1978)". Korean Movie Database.

Further reading

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