[Seoul's Future] "Charming City Seoul, Must Preserve Layers of Its Past"

Author Bang Minho, Professor at Seoul National University, of 'Seoul Literary Journey'
Buried in the Apartment Forest of Literary Spaces of Hyeon Jin-geon, Na Dohyang, and Park Wan-seo
There Must Be Spaces to Remember Writers and Artists of the Japanese Colonial Period

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] "The charm of the city Seoul depends on how deeply it can layer its past."

Professor Bang Min-ho of the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Seoul National University said, "The future of Seoul will change depending on how delicately the coexistence of past, present, and future is planned." He emphasized, "The past memories must be reconstructed, restored, and preserved so that the space becomes a montage of past, present, and future," adding, "The future of Seoul will clearly differ depending on how juxtaposition (竝置) is handled."

In film, montage is a technique of cutting and pasting separately filmed scenes to create a new scene, and in criminal investigations, combining different parts of a person's face to form an image of someone. Juxtaposition and montage, meaning placing two or more things side by side or installing them together, can be used to redraw the future of Seoul.

He also mentioned the need to reevaluate literature from the Japanese colonial period and ensure that descendants can remember the activities of writers and artists from that time. Although Koreans were politically, economically, and militarily dominated during the Japanese colonial period, creativity and agency?the sources of human life?were more richly expressed, especially in literature and the arts. Professor Bang said, "The way we remember writers and artists who dominated an era, such as Lee Sang, Hyun Jin-geon, and Park Wan-seo, is careless and lacks sincerity," and insisted, "It is necessary not only to discover historical and cultural spaces and designate them as cultural assets or historic sites but also to create spaces that remember and commemorate the efforts of many writers and artists who struggled during the Japanese colonial period."

Professor Bang visited Asia Economy on the 7th, curious about the current state of the Asia Media Tower, the successor to the 'Sudo Theater' where Lee Kyung, the protagonist of Park Wan-seo's 'Namok,' longed for love. The following is a Q&A with Professor Bang.

- What spatial significance does Seoul have historically and culturally?

▲ Seoul is a space that accumulates the most important historical experiences in Korea. It can also be said to encapsulate Korea's historical and cultural traditions and cycles. In modern times, after the Korean War, Seoul became a gathering place for people with different characteristics: refugees from the south, migrants to the city, and native Seoulites. Since all political, economic, and social sectors have been concentrated in Seoul, it has been a vortex where all aspects of Korean life swirl together. It seems there has never been a peaceful day in Seoul's history from beginning to end.

- Which space in Seoul left the strongest impression on you?

▲ I really like the area from Seochon through Jahamun Tunnel to Segumjeong. In Tongin-dong, there is the place where poet Lee Sang grew up as a child, and passing through Jahamun Tunnel, there is Lee Kwang-su's mountain villa in Hongji-dong where he lived from 1935 to 1939. After leaving that villa, Lee Kwang-su took a path of overt collaboration with Japan. In Buam-dong, there is a commemorative plaque for Hyun Jin-geon's old house, and nearby is the site of Mugyejeongsa, related to Prince Anpyeong, a place where one can feel the breath of history well.

Hongjidong Lee Kwang-su Mountain Lodge.
Photo by Minho Bang, Professor of Korean Language and Literature, Seoul National University

- Which space in Seoul do you find most regrettable and pitiful?

▲ After Hyun Jin-geon was imprisoned due to the Son Ki-jung Rising Sun flag erasure incident while working at the Dong-A Ilbo, he lived in his old house and raised chickens. It was there that he wrote stories like 'Muyeongtap' and 'Heukchi Sangji' after returning to Dong-A Ilbo. It is somewhat sad that only a plaque remains at the old house of Hyun Jin-geon, a pioneer of Korean short stories. The traces of 'Tangchundae' nearby have also disappeared. It was built in the last year of King Yeonsangun's reign, and he said he would come every year to waste spring there, but the first visit after construction was the last. It is a very good space to feel life and history, but it is regrettable. The house in Hyeonjeo-dong near Independence Gate, which could be called Park Wan-seo's literary space, has turned into an apartment complex, and Yeonhwabong (the setting in a novel), the hometown of Na Do-hyang who wrote 'Mute Samryongi,' in Cheongpa-dong, Yongsan-gu, is also buried under apartment forests. Rapid urbanization has caused the loss of such historical cultural spaces. There are many regrets in that historical memories have not been sufficiently recorded or preserved.

- Who are the writers that viewed Seoul most coldly and, conversely, most warmly?

▲ Park Wan-seo, whose hometown is near Kaesong, settled with her mother and brother in the mountain village of Hyeonjeo-dong under Inwangsan in Seoul during her childhood. However, Seoul was a space of wounds for Park Wan-seo. Her brother, a teacher, was taken by the volunteer army and died from an accidental shooting by the national army. The war broke out just as she entered Seoul National University's Korean Literature Department in 1950, and the time of desperate survival followed. For Park Wan-seo, Seoul could only be a space of wounds and ambivalence. Therefore, her view of Seoul may feel somewhat cold. On the other hand, Park In-hwan, the author of 'The Wooden Horse and the Lady,' loved Myeong-dong very much. Even in the ruins of Myeong-dong, he always drank, discussed poetry, and recited poems?a poet who truly loved Seoul. Myeong-dong in Park Wan-seo's 'Namok' is depicted as a destroyed place that continues to survive and longs for love. This contrasts with Park In-hwan's view of Myeong-dong as a space where life could be enjoyed despite being in ruins.

Professor Bang Min-ho of the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Seoul National University is being interviewed on the 7th at Asia Media Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

- Is there a lack of interest among Seoul citizens in the spaces appearing in literary works?

▲ I have always regretted not covering Buam-dong, where Hyun Jin-geon's old house is, and Cheongpa-dong, Na Do-hyang's hometown, in the 'Seoul Literary Tour.' Passing through Jahamun Tunnel, there is Lee Kwang-su's villa in Hongji-dong, Yun Dong-ju's boarding house at 9 Nupsang-dong, Jongno, Lee Sang at the Mitsukoshi Department Store (now Shinsegae Department Store) in Sogong-dong, Park Tae-won's 'The One Day of Novelist Kubo' describing Gyeongseong Station (Seoul Station) as the city's harbor at the Jongno intersection, Kim Soo-young's house site, Son Chang-seop's hill in Heukseok-dong, Lee Kyung's house in Gye-dong (from Park Wan-seo's 'Namok'), Jongno 3-ga, a problematic street in Lee Ho-cheol's 'Seoul is Crowded,' the Jongno intersection in Im Hwa's works, Park In-hwan's Myeong-dong Dongbang Salon (now Hadongkwan), Dongdaemun from 'A Lucky Day,' and Park Mok-wol's Wonhyo-ro 'Simsang'?there are many regrets about the remaining memories of Seoul's spaces. Especially in the case of Hyun Jin-geon's old house, considering his literary and national contributions, I think the care and attention are too lacking and negligent.

- The site where the 'Asia Media Tower' stands also appears in works, right?

▲ Lee Kyung, the protagonist of Park Wan-seo's 'Namok,' commutes daily from the US military PX at Mitsukoshi Department Store (now Shinsegae Department Store) through Myeong-dong and Euljiro to her home in Gye-dong. The place where Lee Kyung longed for love while watching movies was the 'Sudo Theater.' The Sudo Theater opened in 1935 as Yakcho Cinema, was renamed Sudo Theater after liberation, and in 1962 changed its signboard to Scala Theater. It was demolished in December 2002, and the Asia Media Tower now stands there. Curious about how the place changed after the Sudo Theater, I accepted the interview request and visited Asia Economy, where the Asia Media Tower is located. The area near Myeong-dong and Euljiro was Namchon during the Joseon Dynasty and the city center during the Japanese colonial period. It is a space that must not be forgotten, especially in relation to film. It holds great historical significance.

- Are there any measures to cherish and protect meaningful spaces in Seoul?

▲ Koreans were politically, economically, and militarily dominated during the Japanese colonial period, but creativity and agency, the sources of human life, were more richly expressed. This was manifested as 'Gyeongseong Modernism' in literature and the arts. From this perspective, there is a severe shortage of reevaluation of literature from the Japanese colonial period and spaces to remember the activities of writers from that time. Considering the status of Lee Sang and Hyun Jin-geon in modern Korean literature, there should be well-established 'Lee Sang Literature Museum' and 'Hyun Jin-geon Literature Museum,' but only traces are barely preserved. It is necessary not only to discover and designate unrecognized historical and cultural spaces as cultural assets or historic sites but also to create spaces that can remember the efforts of many cultural artists who struggled during the Japanese colonial period. After visiting the United States, Choi In-hoon wrote that 'a country independent for only 200 years seemed older than Korea, which has a 5,000-year history.' The US accumulates all historical memories and spaces. The past must exist as it is while new things continue to be layered on it. Seoul must transform into such a city.

- How should Seoul's future be envisioned?

▲ Park Tae-won's 'The One Day of Novelist Kubo' tells the story of wandering around the Bukchon area of Seoul. From Daokjeong by Cheonggyecheon Stream toward Gwanggyo, from Bosingak to the Jongno intersection with Hwaseon Department Store, taking a tram to Dongdaemun Training Center, then getting off at Joseon Bank and walking to Gyeongseong Station, which he described as the city's harbor. It consciously highlights the existence of historical spaces. This novel should be referenced. It contains reflection on the historical process of the Japanese colonial period and sharp criticism of colonial modernity. The future of Seoul can change depending on how delicately the coexistence of past, present, and future is planned. Writings by Choi In-hoon and Park Tae-won's novel can be referenced. Whether Seoul remains an attractive city depends on how deeply the past is layered. Past memories must be reconstructed, restored, and preserved to create a city where the principle of montage breathes. Seoul must become a space where past, present, and future are montaged. The future of Seoul will clearly differ depending on how juxtaposition (竝置) is handled.

◆Who is Professor Bang Min-ho?

Born in 1965 in Yesan, Chungnam, he earned his Ph.D. from the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Seoul National University and its graduate school. He is currently a professor in the Korean Literature Department at Seoul National University and a literary critic, also serving as the chief author of high school Korean literature textbooks. He began his criticism career by winning the first New Critic Award from in 1994. His critical collections include 'Critical Inquiry into Literary History' (2018) and 'Crevasse of Sensation and Language' (2007), and his Korean literature books include 'Methodological Reading of Lee Sang's Literature' (2015) and 'Discourse and Text of Korean Literature in the Late Japanese Colonial Period' (2011). He debuted as a poet through in 2001 and has published several poetry collections such as 'Hidden Wall' (2018), novels including 'Reply to Haruki Murakami' (2015), and essay collections like 'Seoul Literary Tour' (2017). 'Seoul Literary Tour' is regarded as the essence of research on Gyeongseong Modernism and post-liberation literary history. He is the editor-in-chief of the literary magazine and pursues civilizational criticism broadly diagnosing Korean society, history, and culture from the perspective of modern Korean literary history.