Actor

1995-10-17 · Male

4 series in the catalog

Kim Haegyŏng (Korean: 김해경; Hanja: 金海卿; September 23, 1910 – April 17, 1937), also known by his art name Yi Sang (이상; 李箱), was a writer and poet who lived in Korea under Japanese rule. Although he was a poet, he did not receive specialized education in Korean language or creative writing, and instead majored in architecture at Gyeongseong Industrial High School (경성고등공업학교; 京城高等工業專門學校), now known as Seoul National University of Science and Technology. After contracting tuberculosis in 1933, Yi Sang quit his job as a public official and ran a café, continuing his literary exchanges with the Guinhoe group (구인회; 九人會; lit. 'League of Nine'). He died in Japan in April 1937.

He is well known for his poems and novels, such as Crow's Eye View and The Wings. Among them, Crow's Eye View received strong protests from the people at the time as not being a proper poem. Fellow poet Park Tae-won wrote in his memorial essay that people called Crow's Eye View "the sleep talk of a lunatic." Yi Sang's work contains various scientific symbols and terms, and is structurally very difficult to understand as it contains many experimental attempts. He uses wordplay through homonyms and also uses pictures in his works. He is considered as a pivotal and revolutionary figure of modern Korean literature.

Early life

Kim Haegyŏng was born in Seoul, Korea (address: 4-6, Banjeong-dong, North District, Gyeongsŏng, Korea), on September 23, 1910, as the eldest of two sons and one daughter of Kim Yeun-chang and Park Se-chang.

Yi's great-grandfather, Kim Hak-jun, held the rank of 'Jeong 3 Pum Dangsangwan' (정3품 당상관 관직: 도정; 都正) in the Joseon Dynasty. He lived in a very affluent household, but the annexation of Korea by Japan led to a decline in the family's fortunes. His father worked in letterpress printing for a palace before his birth, but after an accident that cut off his finger, he became a barber instead. Yi Sang was raised by his uncle Kim Yeon-Pil (김연필; 金演弼) as an adoptive son since 1913, as Yeon-Pil and his wife had no children at the time of his birth. Later, however, Yeon-Pil took Kim Young-Sook (김영숙; 金英淑) as his concubine and the son she already had, Kim Moon-Kyung (김문경; 金汶卿), became a legal son of Yeon-Pil. Yi spent time at his uncle's house even during his tenure as an official in the Government-General of Korea.

Yi Sang's had his primary and secondary education at Sinmyeong School (신명학교; 新明學校. 1917–1921), Donggwang School (동광학교; 東光學校. 1921–1922) and Posung High School (보성고등보통학교; 普成高等普通學校; 1922–1926. Donggwang School was merged into Posung High School in 1922.). He graduated from Poseong High School as a 4th graduate. He met his friend Koo Bon-Woong (구본웅; 具本雄) at Sinmyeong School. While attending Boseong High School, he became an aspiring artist with interest in art, and his academic performance reached a higher level. However, because his uncle insisted, Yi chose to enter Gyeongseong Technical College (경성고등공업학교; 京城高等工業專門學校. 1926–1929) in 1926. Yi majored in architecture and graduated from the college with 1st place honors in 1928. His first known use of his art name Yi Sang (이상; 李箱) was in the graduation photobook. There is testimony that Yi's art name originated from the art box he received as a gift from Koo Bon-woong. Since the art box he received was made of plum wood, Yi Sang (李箱) is interpreted to mean 'plum wood box'. Additionally, in his work 'Wings', he expressed his art name as 'Ri Sang' rather than 'Yi Sang'.

In April 1929, with a recommendation from the college, he got a job as a public official (기수; 技手) in the architecture team of the Department of Domestic affairs (내무국 건축과; 內務局 建築課) of the Government-General of Korea. In November, he changed positions in the government to work as part of the building maintenance team of the Department of Secretariat and Accounting (관방회계과 영선계; 官房會計課 營繕係).

In December 1929, he became a member of the Joseon Architecture Society (조선건축회; 朝鮮建築會; Joseon Geonchukhoe), which mainly comprised Japanese architects in Korea. Yi won first and third prizes in a design contest for the cover of Joseon and Architecture (朝鮮と建築; 조선과건축; Joseongwa Geonchuk), a journal issued by the Joseon Architecture Society.

Kim Yeon-pil, a father's elder brother who took care of the above growth process, died of cerebral hemorrhage on May 7, 1932.

Career

Most of Yi's works were produced during the 1930s.

In 1930, he serialized his first literature work (a medium-length novel) December 12th (십이월십이일; 十二月 十二日) on the Korean version of the magazine Joseon (조선; 朝鮮), which was a magazine issued by the Government-General of Korea to promote their colony policies.

In July 1931, Yi released the following six Japanese poems on Joseon and Architecture:

A Strange Reversible Reaction (異常ナ可逆反應; 이상한가역반응)

The Scenery of Broken Parts (破片ノ景色; 파편의경치)

The Amusement of ▽ (▽ノ遊戯; ▽의 유희)

The Beard (ひげ'; 수염)

BOITEUX · BOITEUSE

The Empty Stomach (空腹; 공복).

Eight Japanese poems under the name "Bird's-Eye View" (鳥瞰圖; 조감도) on Joseon and Architecture (August 1931):

Two People ····1···· (二人····1····; 이인····1····)

Two People ····2···· (二人····2····; 이인····2····)

A Nervously Obese Triangle (神経質に肥満した三角形; 신경질적으로비만한삼각형)

LE URINE

Face (顔; 안 or 얼굴)

Movement (運動; 운동)

Confession of A Crazy Woman (狂女の告白; 광녀의고백)

Entertainment Angel (興行物天使; 흥행물천사)

In October 1931, he released a set of seven Japanese poems under the name "Three-Dimensional Angle Blueprint" (三次角設計圖; 삼차각설계도). The title of each poem is Memorandum on the Line 1 (線に関する覚書1; 선에관한각서1), ···, and Memorandum on the Line 7.

In March and April 1932, Yi released two Korean novels: Darkroom of a Map (지도의암실; 地圖의暗室) and Suspension of Business and Circumstances (휴업과사정; 休業과事情) on the magazine Joseon. He used different pen names on these two pieces: "Bigu" (비구; 比久) for the former and "Bosan" (보산; 甫山) for the latter.

A series of seven Japanese poems under the name Building Infinite Hexahedral Bodies (July 1932) (建築無限六面角體; 건축무한육면각체):

AU MAGASIN DE NOUVEAUTES,

Rough Map Under Heat No. 2 (Unfinalized draft) (熱下略圖 No. 2 (未定稿); 열하약도 No. 2 (미정고))

Diagnosis 0:1 (診断 0:1; 진단 0:1)

Twenty-two years (二十二年; 이십이년)

The Publication Law (出版法; 출판법)

Departure of Mr. Cha 8 (且8氏の出発; 차8씨의출발)

Midday—Some ESQUISSE— (真昼—或るESQUISSE—; 대낮—어떤ESQUISSE—).

In 1933, he released the following Korean poems:

A Flower Tree (꽃나무)

This Kind of Poem (이런시)

1933, 6, 1 (一九三三, 六, 一)

Mirror (거울).

In 1934, Yi released the following Korean poems and essays:

보통기념

Three States of Blood Calligraphy (혈서삼태; 血書三態)

Crow's-Eye View (오감도; 烏瞰圖)

History of the Cane (지팡이 역사)

Soyeong Wije (소영위제; 素英爲題)

A Fall of Walks (산책의 가을).

Three States of Blood Calligraphy was a set of five essays:

Oscar Wilde (오스카 와일드)

Sensual Forgery (관능 위조; 官能僞造)

Mr. Hyde (하이드 씨)

An Evil Spirit's Appreciation (악령의 감상)

The Third Blood Calligraphy (혈서기삼; 血書其三)

Crow's Eye View was a set of 15 poems, each titled from Poem No. 1 (시제일호; 詩第一號) to Poem No. 15 (시제십오호; 詩第十五號). Three poems from the series had an additional title: Poem No. 8 Dissection (시제팔호 해부; 詩第八號 解剖), Poem No. 9 Muzzle (시제팔호 총구; 詩第八號 銃口), Poem No. 10 Butterfly (시제십호 나비; 詩第十號 나비). Some of the poems from Crow's-Eye View were parodies of his early Japanese work, Building Infinite Hexahedral Bodies.

Jebi and Guinhoe

In 1933, Yi began coughing up blood due to tuberculosis, which forced him to quit his work as a public official. He opened a coffee house, Jebi, where he interacted with other writers and artists.

In 1934, Yi joined the Guinhoe (구인회; 九人會; lit. 'League of Nine'), a literary organization formed on August 26, 1933, to pursue pure literature, as opposed to the Korean Artists’ Proletarian Federation (Korea Artista Proleta Federacio; KAPF), an organization that pursued proletarian literature. The group recruited individuals associated with the cultural departments of daily newspapers, aiming for members who could withstand criticism from the KAPF. Mentioned individuals included Lee Tae-jun, Lee Moo-young, and Kim Ki-rim. To…