Comparative analysis of two narratives

¶ … Japanese militarism intensified in the decade of the 1930's a mood of deepening crisis swept over the Korean people."

Lee states here the dire sentiment that characterized Korea during Japanese imperialism from 1910 to 1945. Nahm says, "The Korean people, their land, and natural resources were ruthlessly exploited by the Japanese capitalists."

Much of this exploitation was in the countryside where the Japanese seized large amounts of Korean land. The farmers who worked the land fell to the level of tenant farmers and lost hope of owning the land they worked. High tenancy fees and tax burdens shifted to the peasants, driving them to debt and poverty. Disputes put them in losing conflict with landowners. "Moreover, the vast majority of those who managed to survive as independent farmers toiled at subsistence level."

Often these marginal people starved when food supplies ran out. Many were dispossessed.

The peasant movement rose out of this economic situation. Exploited farmers developed hatred for Japanese occupation. Japan was blamed for decline and exploitation. "Because nationalist sentiment lay just under the surface of their everyday lives, the peasants needed only some sort of stimulus to trigger the emergence of a peasant movement that would engage in national political struggle," writes Kim Yong-sop.

Given this context, we can examine how the agrarian life in colonial Korea is represented in Kim Yu-jong's "Wife" (1935) and Yi Hyo-sok's "When the Buckwheat Blooms" (1936). Focus will be put on an analysis of rural impoverishment, the notion of peasants, the role of material aspects in concepts of colonialism, and descriptions of gender relations in the two stories.

Yu-jong's "Wife" illustrates the intensification of rural poverty in several ways. The main character is worried about care in old age. He says, "I'll starve, for god's sake" (1). A farming income is worthless. "In farming you got nothing to show for your labor, you got a pile of debt, you get home and your little guy is whining, your woman is shivering 'cause she ain't got no clothes to wear-times like that you don't want to put up with no shit" (3). Children would help bring in money. For this reason, the main character wants many kids, but his wife knows they cannot afford it, saying, "What's the use of turning out babies when you can't even feed us" (5). Hunger is a deep concern. They have to "pinch in the gut waiting for the next meal, whenever that is" (5). The man is bitter that his wife eats much: "People who don't have nothing can't afford to eat like there's no tomorrow" (5). The story reflects how intense their poverty was.

In "When the Buckwheat Blooms," Yi Hyo-sok describes peddlers. The life of the peddler was just as tenuous as the farmer, probably because the farmer couldn't afford to buy his wares. Business at the market is bad in summer (1). Hyo-sok shows the intensification of poverty most strongly by comparing Ho's past with his present. In the past, it was possible for him to save money. Ho recklessly gambled it away. The narrator says, "He had gone into debt, and saving money was now out of the question" (5). In other words, currently he cannot save money as in the past he could. Times have changed for the worse. "And thus began a hand-to-mouth existence as he journeyed from one market to the next" (5). Another key illustration of poverty is the story of Song's family. "Old man Song was having a terrible time making ends meet, and the family was on the verge of selling out" (6). The desperate family disappears amid rumors that their daughter -- Ho's lover -- is sold as a prostitute. Such were the miserable conditions.

"Wife" conceptualizes peasantry in many ways. The couple is ugly, especially the woman. Her face looks like "a rice cake somebody stepped on" (2). This ugliness is an obsession. She looks in the mirror frequently, pulls on her nose to change it, and is constantly looking for affirmation from her husband. He blames her ugliness for limiting their potential to rise above poverty because she's bound not to be a good booze peddler. Yet her character shows determination. She practices singing and goes to classes. She uses her cleverness, worldly wisdom, and scheming to think about ways to make life better. He thinks she is sly enough to run off with another man if she were better looking. He is suspicious but aware. The survival instinct of the peasant comes through. Admirably, they try to find optimism. "Things could be worse," he says, and they are not so bad off that they have to eat gruel (5). At same time, the man is resistant to the "modern." He wants his wife to learn the old folksy songs like the "Miller's Tune" (9). The woman is seen as tending toward marital affairs and alcohol. She leaves her baby to go drinking. The peasant's character has both good and bad aspects.

"When the Buckwheat Blooms" gives an equally bleak picture. There are poorly behaved youths who torment Ho's donkey. In the tavern he hears quarrels and screeches. Both alcohol and ugliness are themes similar to "Wife." Ho is pockmarked and the narrator says that "he had led a forlorn, warped existence" (2). He is nervous around women and shows signs of insecurity. But Ho is proud of vendor's honor. He becomes angry at the young Tongi for drunkenness (though he himself gets drunk). Angry and impulsive, he strikes out violently, but later he apologizes from guilt and compassion. He seems disgusted by the youth. The whole scene of the rural village in Hyo-sok is sad and desperate. But Ho is determined, just like the wife in Yu-gong's story, and he perseveres. In spite of suffering, the peasant is an admirable figure.

In "Wife," the rural landscape, lack of resources, and absence of land ownership shows criticism of colonialism. The main character, a firewood cutter, works without owning land. To own land is just a dream for him. Yu-jong puts this on the mouth of his mother, who says, "Now that's the face of a fellow who's going to get hisself some land one day" (4). This is probably unrealistic and ironic. He digs dirt and collects from the forest. He complains about how little he gets paid for his struggle to cart all his wood into the village to sell. Most telling is the long distance of walking (seven to eight miles) he goes every day. He has no transportation but his feet. There is no sense that the man feels pleasure in nature. In the summers, he hires himself out as a day laborer, but in winter he's on his own in snowstorms working. From the outhouse, he looks through a straw mat. The lack of resources is represented in the narrator's description of the school: "They call it night school, but it's really a little hut at the foot of yonder mountain where they teach farm kids to read and write in winter" (8). This implies no school in summer. All these are conditions that critique colonialism, though the characters are never rebellious.

The landscape also plays a large role in "Buckwheat" because the characters are itinerant vendors. They walk all night to get to the next village 20 miles away. This recalls the woodcutter in "Wife." Donkeys and feet are their mode of transportation. This is why Ho has such affection for his donkey (3-4). He needs it for his job. The peddlers have no leisure time. "Being a vendor is a full-time job -- there's no time for women," says Ho (3). The nomadic life is so tough that Tongi wants to quit it (6). They are homeless. "To Ho, home sweet home was the beautiful landscape along the roads that led him from one market town to the next" (4). The narrative powerfully describes the physical challenges of travelling a mountain pass and through a stream since the bridge is washed out. As in "Wife," resources and land are limited.

How does each story place women or gender relations at the heart of their respective conceptualizations of colonialism? In Yu-gong's "Wife," the man's dominant view of woman is traditional. She should stay home, sew, take care of children, and cook. He seems threatened since she acts "high and mighty" and "puts on airs" (2-3). Her main value is economic: "Hell, I wouldn't bitch if the woman would just turn out a string of boys as strong as oxes" (1). Because of this potential for kids, she "deserves the right to act like she's something" (3).