Walt Whitman Quarterly Review

Walt Whitman: A Current Bibliography, Winter 2013

Folsom, Ed

Back Matter, Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, vol. 31, no. 1

Walt Whitman: A Current Bibliography, Spring 2013

Harris, Kirsten

English

The "Labour Prophet"?: Representations of Walt Whitman in the British Nineteenth-Century Socialist Press

Loving, Jerome

With Walt Whitman in Camden, Durham, Leningrad, and Elsewhere

Front Matter, Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, vol. 29, no. 2/3

Bohan, Ruth L.

Robert Henri, Walt Whitman, and the American Artist

Henry, Barbara. Walt Whitman's Faces: A Typographic Reading [review]

Bronson-Bartlett, Blake

Walt Whitman: A Current Bibliography, Summer 2012

Capener, Steven D.

152
The Korean adam: Yi hYoseoK 
and WalT WhiTman
Steven D. Capener
Yi HYoSeok (1907-1942) was one of the major Korean writers of his 
time, producing over two hundred works of poetry and prose. his 
popularity continues to this day: his works, which are included in al-
most every Korean best-twenty list of the last fifty years, are present in 
all authoritative anthologies and are taught as part of the government-
designed high school curriculum.1 Yi took his literary cues from the 
West more proactively than many of his contemporaries. he was es-
pecially influenced by the miltonian trope of the loss of paradise and 
the Whitmanian version of redemption. it is in this context that i want 
to examine how these influences manifest themselves in Yi hyoseok’s 
literary consciousness, focusing in particular on how Walt Whitman’s 
literary persona in Leaves of Grass appears in and shapes one of Yi’s 
major pieces of short fiction. 
in 1910, Korea became a colony of the Japanese empire, thereby 
losing its independence. however, at the same time, Korea, as a co-
lonial subject, began to be flooded by the same forces of modernity 
that had been rapidly transforming Japan since the beginning of the 
meiji restoration (1868). one of these imports was the formation of a 
“modern” Korean literature following on the heels of similar develop-
ments in Japan. By the mid-to-late 1930s, when Yi hyoseok was at his 
most prolific, Korean literature written according to Western literary 
conventions was only in its third decade.
Yi’s brand of literary modernism took on an eclectic flair that even 
to this day is difficult for critics to pin down. his use of a variety of 
themes, including a pronounced lyricism, a powerful—even graphic—
sexuality, an urbane cosmopolitanism, and a unique, verse-like prose 
style seemed to baffle later critics in their attempts to categorize him as 
both a writer and a person. in an 1937 essay titled “my school days” 
published in Yosung [Women] magazine, Yi talks about some of his lit-
erary influences. in addition to mentioning specific writers (including 
shelly, Yeats, and Whitman), he gives two other pieces of information 
that provide insight into his literary world. First, Yi describes himself as 
being initially attracted to poetry, a strong influence on his burgeoning 
literary self-awareness. second, Yi describes absorbing both romantic 
153
and realistic literature, going even further to suggest that these two 
things can and, in fact, must co-exist in art. For Yi:
literature grew out of a dialectic process between poetry and prose, and art was 
founded in the nexus where reality and dreams meet. even when the apex of realism 
is reached, perhaps unknowingly the dream world is therein incorporated and this is 
not only essential to humanity but also may be the essence of art.2
it is clear, then, that Yi took inspiration for some of his prose from po-
etry. The most obvious examples of such poetic influence are the many 
references one can find in his work to milton’s Paradise Lost. Yi had 
written his graduation thesis on John milton and subsequently made 
extensive use of the miltonic archetype of the loss of paradise and the 
quest for redemption in his two completed full-length novels, Hwabun 
[Pollen, 1938] and Byeokgong Muhan [Endless Blue Sky, 1940]. his 
use of the loss (and recovery) of paradise motif is subversive of milton 
in both the Blakean sense (the earth—and not heaven—is figured as 
paradise) and the Whitmanian sense—the adamic protagonist seeks to 
recover/create a new paradise he has never known, having committed 
no original sin and suffered no loss.3
according to one source, Yi first came into contact with Whitman 
while in high school. Yi attended the best high school in seoul, one 
that prepared students for entrance to the imperial University. here he 
immersed himself in a comprehensive poetry reader published in Japan, 
which included, in addition to Whitman, heine and Goethe.4 later, as a 
student of the english literature department of Gyeongseong imperial 
University, he no doubt came into further contact with Whitman’s work 
in the course of his studies. Whitman was being translated piecemeal 
into Korean beginning around 1920.5 in addition, there were occasional 
pieces on Whitman published in seoul literary journals in the 1920s.6 
in 1928, Leaves of Grass was published in Japan in the original english 
but with an extremely detailed Japanese language page-by-page expli-
cation of each poem (including bibliographic cross references to works 
of criticism in english, French, and German) by Takeshi Funahashi, a 
professor of english literature at doshinsha University in Tokyo. This 
speaks to the level of interest in, and the sophistication of, Whitman-
related studies in Japanese universities, which included Gyeongseong 
imperial in seoul.7 it is highly likely that Yi came into contact with Fu-
nahashi’s publication of Leaves of Grass and its attendant interpretations. 
Whitman’s influence on Yi’s literature is most pronounced in one 
of Yi’s short stories written later in his career. The work provides a 
fascinating insight into how Yi read Whitman and subsequently appro-
priated aspects of both Whitman’s literary idiom as well as his literary 
persona, that of the adamic/Christ-like dispenser of redemption and 
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democratic egalitarianism. The story is titled “leaves of Grass” and 
subtitled “To have the poet Walt Whitman is to have happiness for 
mankind.” The appropriation of Whitman’s title is interesting in and 
of itself; however, the subtitle is even more intriguing. The story is a 
thinly-disguised autobiographical account of a love affair that Yi himself 
was engaged in after the death of his wife, and the protagonist is an 
undisguised manifestation of the author. The structure and plot of the 
story, the use of the title of Whitman’s poem (literally translated into 
Korean: Pulib), and the editorializing subtitle all serve to strengthen 
the sense of association between the autobiographical protagonist of 
the story and Whitman. 
“leaves of Grass” was one of Yi’s last works of fiction, published 
in 1942 shortly before the author’s untimely death at the age of thirty-
five. at the time, Yi was a professor of english at soongshil Technical 
College in Pyongyang, what is now Kim il sung University. he had 
lost his wife to disease several years before and his health had started 
to falter the previous year. he was, at the time, romantically involved 
with a well-known singer named Wang subok, who had studied music 
in Japan. Their relationship was the source of much gossip, as Wang 
was rumored to have had an active love life even before meeting Yi.
in Yi’s short story, Junbo, the protagonist, is in love with a woman 
named shil. The plot, such as it is, is basically a discussion of the dif-
ficulties the two are facing in overcoming the personal and societal 
obstacles to their love. What makes this story unique, though, is Yi’s 
high level of identification with, and indeed appropriation of, Whit-
man’s poetic persona. in the story, Junbo not only reads large sections 
of Whitman’s poetry to shil, he in fact appropriates some of Whitman’s 
literary projects, including his democratic leveling of the sexes, while 
becoming a Christ-like vessel of redemption.  The first two-thirds of 
the thirty-three page story, one of Yi’s longest, deals mostly with the 
challenges the two face as a result of shil’s past and the rampant ru-
mors that circulate about her. Junbo is not immune to doubt and, after 
shil’s “confession” of her past dalliances, he admits, through the voice 
of the third-person narrator, that he will need passion and courage to 
deal with the situation.
enter Whitman. in Yi’s story, Whitman serves as the “old courage-
teacher,” as allen Ginsberg would later describe the poet in “a super-
market in California.” on the simplest level, Whitman’s poetry provides 
Junbo the courage to accept shil despite her past. But this is neither 
the only nor even the most remarkable aspect of Yi’s use of Whitman. 
Yi actually channels Whitman through Junbo’s appropriation of the 
poet’s persona at its most Christ-like to absolve shil and promise her 
redemption. 
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in the course of discussing their troubles, Junbo proposes that 
they read some poetry for its soothing effects. While perusing his col-
lection of poetry, Junbo gives us the following reasons for his selection 
of Whitman:
how about some Whitman? i like him for different reasons than those i like Yeats for. 
he is not only the poet of the people, but also the poet of all mankind. he will be re-
membered as second only to Jesus Christ. When i read him, my courage soars and my 
hope is restored.8
Junbo then goes on to read four pieces of Whitman’s poetry, all translated 
into Korean by (we can assume) Yi himself. one is a verse from deep 
within “song of myself”: “i am the poet of the woman the same as the 
man, / and i say it is as great to be a woman as to be a man, / and i say 
there is nothing greater than the mother of men.”9 
Junbo also reads “When i Peruse the Conquer’d Flame” to shil, but 
most important to our discussion is the first poem that he recites. after 
associating Whitman with Christ, Junbo sits in a chair and prepares 
to read; shil kneels at his feet as if in supplication, her hands on his 
knees and her head resting in his lap. Junbo then reads “To a Common 
Prostitute” without mentioning its title or quoting its first line: 
not till the sun excludes you do i exclude you,
not till the waters refuse to glisten for you and the leaves to rustle for you, do my 
words refuse to glisten and rustle for you.
my girl i appoint you with an appointment, and i charge you that you make 
preparation to be worthy to meet me,
and i charge you that you be patient and perfect till i come.
Till then i salute you with a significant look that you do not forget me. (LG, 387)
By giving us this image of Junbo reading Whitman’s poem of absolution 
and redemption to a “fallen” woman sitting at his feet in an attitude of 
reverence, Yi recreates the scene in the Book of luke in which Christ ab-
solves the prostitute (or sinful woman) who kneels in front of him to wash 
his feet.10 This association with the story in luke (and/or John) is further 
strengthened when, upon hearing this poem, shil sheds emotional tears 
of happiness. she remains with her head buried in Junbo’s lap, and, when 
Junbo finishes reading, he sees she is crying just as the sinful woman in the 
Gospel of luke is said to have cried at Christ’s feet. as he finishes reading 
“To a Common Prostitute,” shil exclaims: “marvelous! Wonderful! i feel 
as if he wrote those words for me.” Following this, Junbo places one hand 
on shil’s head and makes a pronouncement: “To have Whitman is to have 
happiness for all mankind. i wish i could read Whitman to all those gos-
siping about us in the streets” (217). shil, with tears in her eyes, replies:
156
is there anything in his [Whitman’s] eyes that is base, or ugly, or beneath him? all he 
beholds is beautiful, equal, and worthy of love. he is as benevolent as Christ and as 
all-embracing as the ocean. (217)
she then goes on to say that sitting at Junbo’s feet and hearing Whitman’s 
poetry will probably turn out to be the happiest moment of her life.
it is in this way that Junbo is able, through the agency of Whit-
man’s poetry and persona, to assume the role of a surrogate Christ and 
bring redemption to shil. What has occurred here is a manifold act of 
identification. Yi has created Junbo in his own image; Junbo then as-
sumes the voice of Whitman, who has taken on the mantle of Christ 
the redeemer, ultimately allowing Yi himself to personify the savior. 
But why? 
The only critical treatment of Whitman’s presence in this story 
(that i have been able to find) is by Yu Jongho, a prominent critic of 
Korean literature with a background in english literature. Yu addresses 
Yi’s use of Whitman in a very short piece on “leaves of Grass” which 
argues that Whitman is brought into the story as the “romantic poet 
who praises eternal, unchanging love.” Yu goes on to suggest that Yi 
utilizes Whitman’s poetry to “calm shil’s fears and, perhaps, help Junbo 
convince himself” (of what Yu doesn’t say).11 These assertions are not 
a bad start but they do not go far enough.
here we must again refer to the highly autobiographical nature of 
this story. Yi was, we can safely assume, experiencing the same events 
in real life as Junbo does in the story. This means he was wracked with 
similar doubts, misgivings, and apprehensions.12 it also follows that his 
love interest, Wang subok, was suffering from the various rumors and 
slander that were circulating. Yi’s biographer, Yi sangok, postulates 
that, “after clearly establishing that Junbo is, in fact, [Yi],” the author 
“uses Junbo to say some things he himself wants to say.” Using Junbo 
as his mouthpiece, Yi writes:
i will teach people, through my actions and not my words, the following lessons: how 
different the truth is from rumor, that love is a free choice, and that happiness depends 
on the will of those involved and not the recriminations of the people around them.13
Yi sangok cites the passage above as evidence “Yi is using Junbo” to 
declare “his intention to carry on his love affair with Wang subok in 
spite of the malicious talk surrounding them.”
having made that decision, Yi must now deal with both his mis-
givings (as seen in Junbo’s assertion that he will need courage) and 
Wang subok’s suffering. By adopting Whitman’s poetic metaphysics 
and becoming the messenger of ameliorating love and the vehicle of 
absolution, both of Yi’s problems are at least addressed if not solved. 
157
and so, in subtitling his story “To have the poet Walt Whitman is to 
have happiness for mankind,” Yi seems to be saying that “to have (and 
perhaps to become) the poet Walt Whitman is to have a way to happi-
ness for myself.” 
Yi’s “leaves of Grass,” then, is an illuminating example of how 
american literature was being grafted onto the still young Korean liter-
ary sapling. For scholars of Whitman, it is a fascinating instance of his 
poetics being appropriated by a non-Western writer, not only as a source 
of personal courage but also an antidote to problems encountered in a 
non-Western tradition: in this case the hyper status-conscious rigid-
ity and hereditary class structure of Korea’s Confucian tradition. in 
his repudiation of the class-conscious, nationalist (and anti-Western) 
rhetoric of the day, Yi echoes Whitman’s transcendental appeal to a 
common humanity.
Seoul Women’s University
noTes
1 Unfortunately, Yi’s works are under-translated into english considering his status 
as a writer. only one of his short stories, “When the Buckwheat Blooms,” is currently 
available in translation. see A Ready-Made Life: Early Masters of Modern Korean Fiction, 
selected and translated by Kim Chong-un and Bruce Fulton (honolulu: University 
of hawai‘i Press, 1998), 133-142.
2 Yi hyoseok, “naui suopshidae” [“my College days”], Yi Hyosoek Jeonjib [The 
Collected Works of Yi Hyoseok] (seoul: Changmi sa, 2003), 7:160.
3 For an in-depth discussion of this topic see steven d. Capener, “Paradise Found: 
recovery and redemption in Yi hyoseok’s later literature,” Seoul Journal of Korean 
Studies, 22 (June 2009), 87-90.
4 Gwon Jeongho, Yi Hyoseok munhak yeongu [A Study on the Literature of Yi Hyoseok] 
(seoul: Wolin, 2003), 35.
5 Kim Byeongcheol, Seoyang munhak beonyeoknonja yeonpyo [Record of the Translation 
of Western Literature by Year] (seoul: eulsa munwhasa, 1978).
6 Two such examples are as follows: Kim anseo, “shidan sanchaek” [“a Perusal 
of the Poetry scene”], Joseon Mundan [Joseon Literary Scene], (march, 1925). This 
is a very brief introduction to Whitman and several other Korean poets. Yi Unsang, 
“shiin hwitumaen lon” [“The Poet Whitman”], Joseon Mundan [Joseon Literary Scene], 
(may 1925). This is a more comprehensive treatment (twelve pages) of Whitman’s 
life, poetics, and poetry.
7 Funahashi Takeshi, Leaves of Grass (Tokyo: Kenkyusha, 1928).
8 Yi hyoseok, “Pulib” [“leaves of Grass”], The Collected Works of Yi Hyoseok (seoul: 
Changmisa, 2003), 3:216. all translations of Yi’s writings in this essay are my own.
158
9 all passages of Whitman’s poetry (that Yi translated into Korean) are reprinted 
here as they appear in Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass: Comprehensive Reader’s Edition, 
ed. sculley Bradley and harold W. Blodgett (new York: new York University Press, 
1965), 48. hereafter, LG.  
10 of course, both Whitman and Yi might have been thinking of the adulterous 
woman in the Book of John who is given absolution by Christ. in the edition of Leaves 
of Grass published in Japan in 1928 and edited by Funahashi Takeshi, the explica-
tion of “To a Common Prostitute” states that it is the story of forgiveness of a fallen 
woman, likely a prostitute, and that it is based on the “beautiful little idyll of the new 
Testament,” possibly the story in John, 8:1-2. Funahashi, Leaves of Grass, 312-313.    
11 Yu Jongho, Yi Hyoseok (seoul: Jihaksa, 1985), 223.
12 in fact, there are numerous references in essays written by Yi’s friends and col-
leagues that testify to the fact that Yi was experiencing the very events he described 
in “leaves of Grass”. see, for example, han sucheol, “hui! Yi hyoseok” [“oh! Yi 
hyoseok”], Jogwang (1942), 7.
13 Yi sangok, Yi Hyoseokui salmgwa munhak [Yi Hyoseok’s Life and Literature] (seoul: 
Jibmundang, 2004), 335-336.


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