Writing at the Ideological Frontline of the Cold War：The Individual and the Divided Nation in Choi In-Hoon’s The Square and Uwe Johnson’s Speculations about Jakob
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Writing literary works in a divided nation such as Korea and Germany during the Cold War era implied writing in a time and place where opposing ideologies clash. There are only few writers to venture an objective approach and even less to actively discuss the problems of the individual living in a society that is formed by a state ideology. Uwe Johnson’s Speculations about Jakob (1959, Mutmassungen über Jakob) and Choi In-Hoon’s The Square (1960, Kwangjang) are two of them. Both novels were written in the early phase of division and present the quest of the individual for a place to live in harmony with its society. By crossing the borders of the divided nation their protagonists experience the situation in both of the ideologically opposed states. In Choi’s novel, the ideological opposition of North and South, Communism and Capitalism is depicted with the metaphors of ‘square and room’ which constitutes a leitmotif and also clearly articulates the inner turmoil of the individual. The closed room and the open square as a dichotomy signify the tension between individual and society. In the same way, Johnson’s novel approaches the issues of the relativity of freedom and the conflicting priorities of individual and society. Neither of the protagonists is successful, the place for the individual is not to be found and any idealistic belief in ideology turns out be void. Both them die in the end. Choi In-hoon’s and Uwe Johnson’s novels are connected by their common theme and their approach to deal with the situation of the individual in a divided nation but they differ in their focus. While for Johnson the confrontation of the Western and Eastern block is the background to question ideology and objective truth in general, Choi In-hoon’s work is strongly engaged with the Korean case, defining the division of the nation as the core problem to the dilemma of the individual. Thus, although both novels seem equally tragic in outcome, there is a sense of hope in Choi In-hoon’s The Square.
Abstract
Writing literary works in a divided nation such as Korea and Germany during the Cold War era implied writing in a time and place where opposing ideologies clash. There are only few writers to venture an objective approach and even less to actively discuss the problems of the individual living in a society that is formed by a state ideology. Uwe Johnson’s Speculations about Jakob (1959, Mutmassungen über Jakob) and Choi In-Hoon’s The Square (1960, Kwangjang) are two of them. Both novels were written in the early phase of division and present the quest of the individual for a place to live in harmony with its society. By crossing the borders of the divided nation their protagonists experience the situation in both of the ideologically opposed states. In Choi’s novel, the ideological opposition of North and South, Communism and Capitalism is depicted with the metaphors of ‘square and room’ which constitutes a leitmotif and also clearly articulates the inner turmoil of the individual. The closed room and the open square as a dichotomy signify the tension between individual and society. In the same way, Johnson’s novel approaches the issues of the relativity of freedom and the conflicting priorities of individual and society. Neither of the protagonists is successful, the place for the individual is not to be found and any idealistic belief in ideology turns out be void. Both them die in the end. Choi In-hoon’s and Uwe Johnson’s novels are connected by their common theme and their approach to deal with the situation of the individual in a divided nation but they differ in their focus. While for Johnson the confrontation of the Western and Eastern block is the background to question ideology and objective truth in general, Choi In-hoon’s work is strongly engaged with the Korean case, defining the division of the nation as the core problem to the dilemma of the individual. Thus, although both novels seem equally tragic in outcome, there is a sense of hope in Choi In-hoon’s The Square.
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