- Bamboo Flower
- Published by: N/A
- Level: Intermediate
- First Published in: 1984
An anthology of prose and poetry by Doo-seok Choi, a modern poet and professor from Korea.
대꽃 (Bamboo Flower) is an anthology of prose and poetry by Doo-seok Choi, a modern poet and professor from Korea. It was published in 1984 and some of its most well-known pieces include: “노래와 이야기” (Songs and Stories), the title piece “대꽃” (Bamboo Flower), and “고재국” (Jae-kook Ko). Doo-seok Choi is known for his unique style of poetry, called “산문” (San-moon; Korean prose). In other languages, there may be a definite line between poetry and prose. Yet, Doo-seok Choi’s prose is very poetic without using any poetic devices. His prose is usually short and sweet, written in a simple voice, and Mr. Choi is closely related to the realist movement in Korean literature.
"Doo-seok Choi is known for his unique style of poetry, called '산문' (San-moon; Korean prose). Doo-seok Choi’s prose is very poetic without using any poetic devices."
Frequently mentioned to Korean students, during the early stages of their instruction in poetic and literary analysis, “노래와 이야기” works as an introduction to Mr. Choi’s philosophy. One sentence long, this piece is about the author’s wish to point the “심장과 뇌수” (heart and brain) in the same direction. He explains that songs appeal to the heart and stories to the brain. He then goes on to admit that he tries to write poetry through stories, in the hopes of appealing to both organs. The legend alluded to in this piece is about a man named “처용” (Chuh-yong), a character from ancient Korean history who could see spirits. By referring to a story from so long ago, the poet asserts that the power of words never changes across thousands of years. Another piece of imagery used by Mr. Choi is found in the following line: “정간보가 오선지로 바뀌고” (As the traditional Korean music paper changes to music paper with 5 lines). This is very clever, as Mr. Choi visualizes music, mentioning how the way it has been written has changed over time. Although it has a few references to Korean history, this text is a great way for beginners to Korean literature to see how Korean prose is supposed to look like.
“대꽃” and “고재국,” meanwhile, may use different subject matters to deliver their messages, but they are also very similar in genre and theme. “대꽃” is about a group of protesters in the famous April 19th revolution in Korea, in which students and citizens rebelled against the government, leading to an unintended and violent end. “피다” means “to bloom” in Korean, but “피” means “blood.” Mr. Choi uses wordplay, merging the imagery of bamboo flowers blooming and blood “blooming” from the protesters, as government forces retaliate. “고재국” is even blunter. There are no flowery images, just one of the poet’s cousins, who worked hard after quitting middle school to make money. This man, named 고재국, worked at a dye factory and eventually saved up enough to establish a factory of his own. But his venture failed when his business partner ran away with all their money. Incidentally, a controversial person with the same name, 재국, lived in the 80s, when this piece was published. 재국 was the son of 전두환, a former president who was in office during the April 19th revolution. 전두환 came under scrutiny for the violent retaliation he ordered, and the enraged public argued he had a huge debt to pay because of it. This “debt” was never repaid, and 전두환’s children went on to live comfortably and without any effort, contrary to the life of 재국 in Mr. Choi’s piece. The message posed by these two texts is that, sometimes, the truth is unbearably horrible, even though that’s just the way things are. With these pieces, Doo-seok Choi took another step forward in Korean realist literature.
"Mr. Choi’s philosophy: songs appeal to the heart and stories to the brain."
Mr. Choi’s prose is unembellished and blunt. It can be harsh at times, and hard to decipher for those with no knowledge of modern Korean history. But this anthology is definitely worth reading for those willing to invest some of their time and learn not only about Korean literature but also about the country’s past. Mr. Choi will reward those who do so, with his beautiful interpretation of Korean history’s darker parts.