[AK View] Unwavering Dedication Toward Liberation: Park Kyung-ni's "Toji"

The beginning and end of "Toji" (Land), the epic novel by Park Kyung-ni (1926?2008), a towering figure in modern Korean literature, are both connected by "8·15." Opening with "Chuseok in 1897 (lunar August 15)," "Toji" concludes its grand journey by depicting the profound emotions of Korea’s liberation on August 15, 1945. The novel, which the author devoted 25 years of her life to writing, was also completed at 2 a.m. on August 15, 1994. In honor of this, the Park Kyung-ni Literary Park?established at the writer’s former home in Dangu-dong, Wonju, where she finished "Toji"?and the city of Wonju have designated August 15 as "Toji Day," commemorating the novel.

"8·15" in 1897, at the end of the Joseon Dynasty. Park Kyung-ni empathized deeply with the lives of ordinary people who starved to death in the most bountiful season due to foreign invasions and exploitation by rulers. "Perhaps the Chuseok of August is not so much a transparent, bittersweet sorrow like Hansan ramie, but rather a festival rooted in the moon that has, since ancient times, been a shadow of death and a river of darkness?can it truly symbolize abundance?" (Part 1, Chapter 1, Footsteps in the Darkness)

"Toji" begins in Pyeongsari, Agyang-myeon, Hadong County, South Gyeongsang Province, and spans vast settings across the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria, portraying the suffering and resilience of ordinary people as they endured a turbulent history up to the "8·15 Liberation." The novel comprises five parts in 20 volumes, filling over 40,000 manuscript pages (using the standard 200-character Korean manuscript paper), and features more than 600 characters. It is regarded as a grand epic of modern Korean history told through fiction. Park Kyung-ni began writing it in 1969 at the age of 44 and completed it 25 years later in 1994 at the age of 69. She isolated herself from her hometown, relationships, and all worldly matters, devoting herself to her craft with painstaking dedication. Her relentless literary spirit is unparalleled, even on the world stage. Why was Park Kyung-ni so devoted to "Toji"?

Park Kyung-ni spoke of this in her posthumous poem "The Old House of the Past," written without ever putting down her pen, even in her final moments. "A single desk, a stack of manuscript paper, and a pen sustained me, and I lived thinking of Sima Qian." Who was Sima Qian? A historian of China’s Han Dynasty, he chose the humiliating punishment of castration?worse than death?after being branded a traitor, in order to leave behind the monumental historical text "Records of the Grand Historian." Park Kyung-ni wrote with empathy for Sima Qian’s life. She resolved that she must live, and that she must overcome by writing. Even after undergoing cancer surgery, she continued writing immediately upon discharge, with bandages still wrapped around her chest. As she wrote in her statement commemorating the completion of "Toji," "If my life had been smooth, I would not have written." She endured even the pain of her family’s tragic history.

"Toji" is woven not with ideology or knowledge, but with the everyday lives of ordinary people. Amid the turmoil of modern Korean history?such as the Donghak Peasant Revolution, the Gabo Reform, and the Eulmi Righteous Army?it serves as a reminder not to forget the sorrow and suffering of those who lost their country. Park Kyung-ni regarded land as a document. Land is the source of all life. It is closer to "earth" than just "land." When people draw lines on the earth and claim ownership, the earth becomes "land." Thus, "Toji" is a story of the sorrow (Han) and hopes of ordinary people who sustain life amid possession and desire.

Jo Sehee, author of "A Dwarf Launches a Little Ball" (Nanssogong), once said during his lifetime, "I place greater value on Park Kyung-ni’s 'Toji' than on hundreds of massive heavy chemical factories," and "Artworks like 'Toji' cannot be produced with taxes. What 'Toji' has given us is the GNP of our spirit."

"Toji" is the spiritual legacy Park Kyung-ni has left for us as we mark the 80th anniversary of liberation. For a quarter of a century, she distanced herself from the world, enduring profound solitude to pursue a single work and a single theme with unyielding dedication?something rarely seen even in world literature. Park Kyung-ni’s unwavering commitment to the "light of liberation" and the harsh lives of the common people in "Toji" continue to guide us today on the path of endurance through darkness.