Ku Jung-seo (Korean: 구중서; born 1936) is a South Korean literary critic. Regarding literature as an art form reflective of reality, he has maintained his position on the historical responsibility of literature and social participation of people in literature. His critical work began in 1963 with a focus on the theories of realism, continuance of literary history, and Third World literature.
Life
Early life and literary debut
Ku was born in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, in 1936. In elementary school, he enjoyed reading children’s literary magazines Eorini (어린이) and Sohaksaeng (소학생) and grew up into a boy who loved literature. As an adult, he gained interest in history as well and devoured books on Korean literature and history. He was also interested in the ideas of silhak scholars Hong Dae-yong and Bak Jiwon from the Joseon dynasty, and modern philosophers Kim Jun-seop and Ham Seok-heon. During the April 19 Revolution and the May 16 military coup, he began to share his resistance against social injustice through his work and contemplated the social responsibility of writers. In 1962, he began to work in the editing department of a publisher and actively interacted with contemporary writers. In 1963, he made his literary debut as a critic when his literary criticism titled “Yeoksareul saneun jakgaeui chaegim (역사를 사는 작가의 책임 The Responsibility of Writers Living in History)” was published in Sinsajo (신사조).
Writing career
In 1969, Ku founded the magazine Sanghwang (상황) with other writers, such as Lim Heon-yong, Shin Sang-woong, and Kim Pyong-gol. A magazine that aimed to promote realistically participatory literary realism pieces with an active interest in the issue of minjok, or the Korean race, Sanghwang was one of the major literary magazines that showed the direction of Korean literature in the 1970s, alongside The Quarterly Changbi and Literature and Intelligence.
In 1980, he led the "declaration of intellectuals" along with Shin Kyeong-nim, Yun Heunggil, Park Taesun, and Cho T’ae-il, and suffered hardships for violating martial law. Ku also played an influential role in progressive culture and arts organizations, such as the Korean People’s Artists Federation and the Writers Association of Korea. In 1996, he served as a board member of the Korea People’s Artists Federation, and he has been serving as a board member for the Writers Association of Korea since 2010. He is a recipient of the Yosan Literary Award (1988) and the Palbong Award for Literary Criticism (1997).
Sijo composition
Ku has been active not only as a literary critic but as a sijo poet, calligrapher, and painter. He has published three sijo anthologies and even created a painting with his poem. In 2015, he held an exhibition of his poems, calligraphy, and paintings.
Writing
Literary realism
The issue of methodologies of looking at the reality and literature of South Korea began to be boiled down to the theme of "realism" in 1970, starting with a discussion titled "April 19 Revolution and Korean Literature," hosted by Sasanggye (사상계 World of Thought). Ku Jung-seo and Kim Hyeon had an intense discussion on realism, joined by Yeom Mu-woong, Kim Ch’i-su, and Kim Byeong-ik. According to Ku, the role of a writer begins from a meticulous observation of reality. However, if a work of literature simply stops at objectively describing the reality, it is nothing more than naturalist literature that lacks historical awareness. A writer must capture the social contradictions that create problems and find an opportunity to overcome the contradictions. Only then can his writing be realist literature. Ku systematically organized his arguments from the discussion and published the “Hanguk rieoliseum munhagui hyeongseong (한국 리얼리즘 문학의 형성 The Formation of Korean Realist Literature) in 1970. In it, he explained realism as a literary method and defined the significance of Korean literature as an agent of realism. This was the first piece of writing on realism that began after Korea’s liberation from the Japanese rule.