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EBS History of Culture Series - Part 1 THE COUNT OF MYEONGDONG
Episode 12
Unlike Kim Su Young, Kim Gwan Shik was the kind of poet...
who would happily air his dirty laundry in the open.
Kim Su Young's penchant for keeping everything inside worsened his loneliness,
but Kim Gwan Shik's tendency to puke out all the sadness and despair...
down to the very last fragment made him just as lonely.
It would be hard to say whose loneliness beat the other's.
We will take another trip inside Kim Gwan Shik's eccentric world.
Principal's Office
Eundan (a sort of breath refresher)
Kim Seonsaeng!
What are you doing there?
Ahh... nothing! Mr. Principal.
When I got to work this morning,
I saw someone hosed down the outer walls for free?!
I thank you for the effort, Kim Seonsaeng.
Ahh... Save that for your boys, why trouble yourself?
My apologies, Mr. Principal.
Those poor flowers withered down so bad,
I thought I'd at least pour some fertilizer...
I enjoy the bottle myself.
Not to mention those eundan.
But mixed with all that smell of liquor, it makes quite the peculiar scent!
Save the bottle for after work, and make sure you sober up by morning.
Is that clear, Kim Seonsaeng?
Yes... I will do my best.
No particularly difficult terms or characters, right?!
Here... Shall we give it a read, then?
From the "Analects of Confucius" Chapter 18
Jawal Jijija.
Bulyeohojija...
Hojija...
Bulyeonakjija.
So, what does it mean?
"So said the Master..."
And what comes next?
Jawal. "So said the Master."
Jijija Bulyeohojija.
"They who know the truth are not equal to those who love it."
Hojija, Bulyeonakjija.
"And they who love it are not equal to those who bask in it."
Knowing the truth is not the same as loving it,
and loving it is by no means equal to basking and delighting in it.
What could all this mean?
It means exactly what it says.
So, what exactly does it say?
Ehhh... so, it means exactly what you just said.
Ohh Ohh... So the last few months of lessons with me...
only taught you how to jest around with words!
For instance.
The studying you do here in school is to amass knowledge you need.
Among such studies, you'll find subjects you hate like Math or English,
and those you love!
That is, your Kim Gwan Shik Seonsaeng's classes!
It might be the same classes,
but studying what you love carves a little place in your mind...
and remains there for a long time.
Isn't that right?
You're right!
But even those Kim Gwan Shik classes you love so much...
will never compare to the real lessons you'll learn yourselves out there.
That is the gist.
All the lessons you learn inside this rabbit den they call classroom...
will never compare with what you can experience out there by yourselves,
that's what I'm saying.
Seems like you're not getting the point.
So let's explain it via your favorite subject, women.
Aigoo... you little pests.
The mere mention of that word makes your eyes pop out, doesn't it?
Jawal!
"Master Kim Gwan Shik cutting to the chase."
Jijija Bulyeohojija!
"The woman seducing your mind can't compare with one capturing your heart."
Hojija Bulyeonakjija!
"And more than a woman moving my heart,
one sending my body into a frenzy is a lot better!"
Do you finally get it now?
Seonsaengnim.
Isn't that boshintang (dog meat soup)?!
It is. Have some.
I mean... You said you'd treat us to tasty food and make us witness culture.
You even gave us a name, the Wangwang Club.
But...
We came here to eat this, so it's Wangwang Club.
What do dogs sound like when they bark?
Isn't it?
So, at first, I called it "Walwal Club,"
but then I was afraid people would mistake us for some club for mutts,
so I changed it to Wangwang Club.
- Wangwang Club?! - What?!
There's no tonic better than this during the summer. Eat!
Ahhh... that's nice.
Here... Must have a little drink as well.
Uh? Take it.
Are you scared? That they'd kick you out of school?
We're just... worried about you, Seonsaengnim.
Why is that?
Everyone was talking about you getting drunk in Myeongdong.
Right... Some parents even came to school for that.
That's nothing you should worry about.
Take it.
Here... here.
Back in the days, people your age would already have a few kids.
They certainly would have tasted some flesh by then,
so would they ever avoid the bottle?!
And, what did I tell you earlier in class?
Read Li Bai's poems all you want, but they will be of no use anyway.
Coming here and listening to the current, the breeze, the birds...
is much more educational, that's the point!
Let's drink!
Nam In Soo's "Farewell at Busan Station"
"It's that unforgettable shack down the street!"
"Speaking Gyeongsang Province dialect..."
How can you sing so loudly at this hour?!
Don't worry, my dear.
Of all the people living here in Jahamun,
how many do you think will not know it's Kim Gwan Shik...
making a mess at this hour of the night?
That's the reason you should keep quiet!
That's the reason I must sing louder!
"Kim Gwan Shik returned home safely again tonight!"
Shouldn't I let them know before going to sleep?!
"Speaking Gyeongsang Province dialect..."
"It's that unforgettable shack down the street..."
"Speaking Gyeongsang Province dialect..."
"That lady cries in sorrow..."
Where did you spend all your salary this time?
Uh?!
Wake up!
Do you know for how long we haven't paid the rent?
If this keeps up, we'll find ourselves on the street!
Ehhh... really!
Why do you keep bothering me?
Why did you bring back an empty envelope?
That's obviously because I paid my tab.
Are you done now?
And the rest?
This month you even had a bonus!
What did you do with all the rest?
Ahhh... really!
There's a boy in my class who couldn't pay the tuition fee...
and wouldn't have been able to graduate.
So I paid his fee instead. Is it enough, now?
Does that make any sense?
Some people don't have money for side dishes...
and have to go up the mountains picking beansprouts,
but you pay for other people's tuition?!
We're completely broke!
I said get up!
Get up and let's talk!
Where did Kim Gwan Shik's common sense-defying eccentricity and...
animated spirit come from?
We will now introduce one of his poems.
"O piteous children of mine."
"Never shall you let poverty hamper your path."
"For misfortune kindles our life, and at the end of darkness is light."
"For awash in white gold, and tempered with patient resolve is the most shining blade."
"Ah ha! Dawning shall not yet befall us."
Kim Gwan Shik feared a life of adversity more than anything.
He was engulfed by despair,
because of the poverty his children were subjected to.
It was the anguish of witnessing his once beautiful wife,
slowly aging of anxiety before his very eyes.
And, surely, Kim Gwan Shik wanted to jump over all those hurdles.
"Cooking dinner till dark as it heralds the owllight,"
"O my dear, kindle the path with your lantern."
"From that small room in the outskirts of Seoul,"
"A smile raining down your daily chores."
"Pushing aside that old bookshelf of mine,"
"Philtres of our youth abound in the air."
"Like a vulture's wings those gales sweltered us,"
"Moving that lantern up and down."
"But never shall its light vanish forevermore,"
"For even if only in the netherworld it might be,"
"I shall kindle your final moments with a quiet light."
"O dear, basking in poverty and looking for the light we are,"
"So just like the joyous rays ever so briefly kindling the darkness,"
"Be that shining lantern leading us in the shadows."
"Prayers of the Bridal Night"?!
Is the title too blunt?
It's not bad.
And the prose?
First, it carries rhythm and panache so it's nice,
and it's also generally devoid of all the pedantry you're famous for,
so that's even better.
Then, are you telling me it feels like lyrics of a song?
I said it's nice.
I can see all my advices were well taken.
Yet...
Imagine someone pushing from behind,
and one pulling the front, while you take your cart up the hill.
Should any of the two lose vigor because of fatigue,
or even completely let it go,
the other person would need to carry the entire load alone, right?
Of course, if both let go,
the cart will roll down the hill and it'll be all over.
Why are you suddenly...
A family is exactly like that cart!
If the husband lets go of all his duties,
then the wife has to carry that heavy burden all by herself.
- The reason I'm telling you this... - I know.
That I've been an irresponsible head of the family.
I often feel too embarrassed to look at my wife in the eyes.
Don't misunderstand.
She never even mentioned that to me.
Yes, I know that.
That she's not the type to go around talking of such things.
And there is not a single person in Seoul...
who is not aware of what you do when you get drunk,
but stirring your students to do the exact same thing,
that is no pretty sight.
Yes.
This "Prayers" of yours.
They really feel like promises you made to your wife on your first night,
so let's keep them until the end.
Yes.
I certainly should.
I'm Daehanminguk Kim Gwan Shik!
Looks like you don't know whom you're dealing with,
but I know really well who you are!
While you sit on your behind after a hefty meal...
and touch your wife's buttocks, this Kim Gwan Shik wails alone in the dark!
I wail in despair because of your miserable lives!
Not knowing how miserable you are, and only worrying about your bellies,
makes you so piteous I wail for you instead!
You!
Stop there, I need to tell you something...
I said stop there!
Hey.
Come have a drink with me.
You pay,
while I'll take the burden of prattling all day long instead.
Ohhh... you dare run away?!
Stop there... there!
Hey, you fool.
Did you see manure stamped on my face?!
I said stop, you fool!
Stop!
In many ways, artists of the 50s were a privileged class.
They would get drunk in the middle of the day.
They took a leak anywhere they saw fit.
And no matter how they acted, people would just say,
"Ah! He must be an artist."
And just quietly avoided them, or just laughed passing by.
Those artists were well educated, and much different than the masses,
but their laziness, poverty and eccentricity moved them to act that way,
or at least that was how people accepted their behavior.
It was the same when they drank all night long,
and were caught outside past the curfew.
The policeman would approach them with a "Who are you?"
And "I'm an artist" would be the answer.
Anyone else acting like that would have meant a trip straight down the station,
but they always let artists go.
Bringing them in would only cause them more headaches.
Those penniless wanderers of the night sky,
looking like innocent lambs once they started sobering up in the morning.
Those were what we call artists.
That is also the reason why it was hard for so-called artists...
to convince parents to give them their daughters in marriage.
How could they give their daughters to people so removed from daily life?!
Those exceptional people you always respected,
but never enough to become in-laws with them.
That is what we called artists.
Those having no ties with money whatsoever.
Those were artists.
And painters were on the same boat.
These days, works from the most acclaimed painters...
may be even more expensive than an apartment,
but back then, paintings weren't something you'd buy with money.
They would be passed on amongst friends,
or even taken from the atelier they were confined to,
without asking the painter's consent.
It was exactly then that Lee Jung Seop's exhibition...
opened at the Midopa Gallery.
And here were his works.
The "First Snow with the Family" he painted on Jeju Island.
And also two of his representative works,
"Departing Family" and "Cow and the Child,"
for a total of forty-one oil paintings and one pencil drawing,
and another dozen small paintings including one on cigarette foil.
This Lee Jung Seop exhibition, which ran from January 18 to 27, 1955,
was brimming with people, and almost all of his paintings were sold.
But it was exactly this exhibition...
which opened the gates of Lee's darkest, most irreversible chapter.
Lee Hyung!
What are you doing here?
Let's go in.
People are looking for you.
They hate me.
What?!
They all hate me!
What is that supposed to mean?
The exhibition hall is brimming with people.
Here... don't do this, and let's just go in.
- Lee Hyung... - I'm just a dauber!
I'm no painter, I'm just a miserable dauber!
What is that supposed to mean?
What's wrong with Lee Jung Seop's paintings?
They might praise him to his face,
but the moment he turns his back, those candies turn all sour.
That's the reason Lee Jung Seop is so hurt by all this.
Take a look here.
"Lee Jung Seop's works can't help but shock you with the level...
of artistic grace they display by pushing the envelope so daringly."
"It is truly hard to find such painters, who can understand this art's true flavor."
Raining him with praise.
But then, it continues.
"Lee Jung Seop displayed the kind of sentiments...
we lost after our liberation."
"It took a long time for this profound reflection of our national psyche...
to surface inside his works, imbued with all the pain of that era."
"Because of the effect our recent painful history had on his work,
Lee Jung Seop could never truly develop a significantly unique voice as a painter."
"Drenched with sorrow, every single painting of his...
feels like a recollection of demons past,
draining all smiles from our faces with reckless abandon."
Nothing but jabberwocky.
So are those compliments or just snide criticism?
And how about this?
"Lee Jung Seop has long been recognized as a prodigy in our circles."
That's how they start with compliments, then...
"In that sense, all the cruelty and paradoxical images his works contain...
do not necessarily point the finger at any of Lee's shortcomings as an artist,
but more at the intrinsic flaws of our modern society and how it shaped the arts."
"It is then natural that this modern hollowness could be the perfect canvas...
for such lowbrow art, exemplifying our generation's insecurities."
Aren't critiques always like that?
A motley array of strangely arranged sentences, neither praise nor vitriol.
I mean... how can people fail to understand Lee Jung Seop this much?
Vilifying Lee Jung Seop with such airy scribble,
I can't bear to see it any longer!
So is this the reason why Lee Jung Seop keeps hiding?
Ahh... You didn't know that?
Know what?
One of his paintings was withdrawn because of "obscenity," as they called it.
Obscenity?!
Yes.
Obscenity like that "porno" or something?!
You know that cigarette foil drawing?
They called that obscene.
Aigoo... I really...
Obscene it sure is.
Wasn't that depicting men and women decadently entangled?!
Careful what you say, Madam.
What the hell do you know?
I had no malicious intents.
They're just interesting, his paintings.
Interesting?!
Was it "White Cow"?
The pale white bones of that cow skeleton, bellowing out of the picture.
How interesting is that?!
Isn't that a hundred times better than merely painting a cow?
It's just like all his other works, anyway.
That's right.
Our Madam Mona Lisa understands his style quite well.
1955 Daegu
Isn't this Jung Seop Hyung?!
I hear your exhibition was a huge success,
Gu Sang (poet)
so what brings you here in Daegu?
Back then editor-in-chief of Daegu's Yeongnam Ilbo,
poet Gu Sang was the last "stronghold" Lee Jung Seop could lean onto.
What's with all the sweating?
Wipe it.
It feels refreshing.
Why? Eat some more. Looked like you were hungry.
I starved for a couple of days, so I can't handle more than this.
You were starving?!
- Yeah... - Why?
I had no money.
You said all your paintings were sold!
We did sell them all,
but they're not paying me.
A few people did pay, but after all the expenses,
it still left me penniless.
I couldn't pay for the frames, so I had to make up for that with paintings.
What can I do now?
I must go to Japan.
I told my wife I'd come to Japan once my paintings were sold.
I'm glad you came.
We can open another exhibition here in Daegu, I guess.
This time, I'll make sure all your paintings will be sold.
Why?
I can't paint anymore.
You must, if you want to go to Japan and meet Lee Nam Deok.
You said you miss your kids.
Isn't that right, Jung Seop Hyung?
You don't miss them? Your wife and kids.
My Balgarak*-gun. (*toes)
Tae Hyeon... Tae Seong.
I'll find you a room at an inn.
Or if you don't like that,
you can always come to my house at the waegwan*.
*Places used by Japanese during colonial period to do business, mostly located SE
Have a fresh start, Jung Seop Hyung.
I...
I boiled some potatoes.
Have some.
You haven't painted a thing, I see.
You used to paint so much in Wonsan*.
*Current southeast North Korea
You don't remember me, do you?
When you were in Wonsan, I lived nearby.
I used to look at you paint, back in the days.
You don't remember?
The Americans were bombarding us, but you peacefully kept painting.
I respected that so much.
So that's why I volunteered with Gu Sang Seonsaengnim to help you out.
If you can't get any inspiration, have some potatoes first.
They say potatoes have lots of nutritive qualities.
During the war, people would live off one potato a day.
If you have a hard time eating it, I'll mash them with some salt.
I'll feed you.
You need to eat something if you want to paint.
Seonsaengnim. Say "Ahh..."
- Ahhh... - Ahhh... really!
Why did you do that?
She might have a talent for prattling,
but she really respects you, Hyung.
She was acting as if she was my wife!
She told you I was crazy, isn't it?
What do you think?
And you?
You think the same, don't you?
I'm not crazy at all.
Take a look. Uh?
I drew a lot.
Know what this is?
These are all people reading the papers.
People read the papers, don't they? So both this one and this one are reading it.
Because this article was criticizing Lee Seung Man,
people are paying attention to it.
And can you get what this is?
This is a goat.
But it could easily be something else.
These four-legged beasts entangle their tails,
and while holding iron hammers and knives, they snarl loudly at each other.
This is 6.25*!
*Day the Korean War started
Coming down south must have been a waste.
I should have just remained in Wonsan.
But I didn't cross the border because I was against the communist party.
Of course, I don't like it either.
But I was so scared of the atomic bomb I came down south.
During the January 4 retreat, people said the Americans would use...
atomic bombs on Wonsan as they withdrew.
So that's why I crossed the border.
If they had dropped that bomb, I would have died there!
It would be fine with me if I was the only one to die,
but I would have never been able to see my wife and kids again.
So I left my mother in Wonsan,
and I headed south alone.
So... It is only natural Lee Seung Man...
would suspect me ideologically.
Jung Seop Hyung.
You know? I'm neither on this nor that side!
I'm just Lee Jung Seop!
Ideology means nothing to me! I'm just Lee Jung Seop...
That's enough, Jung Seop Hyung!
Worry about your paintings, Hyung.
That's your lifeline.
- Lifeline?! - That's right.
If it's not painting, what else can you do?
Paint, Jung Seop Hyung.
Paint, and paint again.
Only that will grant you survival.
All those people neither on this nor that side.
Because it was an era that couldn't tolerate...
anyone refusing to take sides,
it might be exactly that which started driving Lee Jung Seop crazy.
Painted when he stayed in Daegu, Lee Jung Seop's "Near the Church."
What is truly interesting is that this was Lee's one and only...
representational painting.
Staying at poet Gu Sang's house,
Lee Jung Seop tried to represent the church over the hill realistically.
But with his hardened hands and enfeebled eyesight,
he was openly confessing that it wasn't possible for him.
A painter and his hands, hardened by time.
A telling episode from the twilight of Lee Jung Seop's life.
Drawn over paper with pencils and oil, "Gu Sang's Family."
Featuring Gu Sang's son happily playing with his new bicycle,
and Lee Jung Seop strangely glancing from the right, almost in envy of this all,
this was quite a peculiar self-portrait.
For a Lee Jung Seop painting, the two works...
painted an uncharacteristically "concrete" portrayal of what surrounded him.
This must have been the very first time in Lee's life...
that the world looked so concrete and peaceful to his eyes.
Couldn't it be because his death was approaching?
In Daegu, rumors surrounded Lee Jung Seop, painting him as this deranged...
Choi Seok Tae
and infamous "commie," at least to the local authorities*.
*The southeast of Korea, particularly Daegu, was and still is famously conservative
So, it was natural that the reaction towards his works...
was always derisive or at least prudent, because of his alleged ideology.
And that is why the intrinsic merit of those works of art was largely ignored,
and because of these alleged political ties, he was never given a fair chance.
When my uncle was in Daegu, he got the chance to have an exhibition...
Lee Young Jin
at the American Culture Center, back then led by a certain McTaggart.
And it was this McTaggart who thought of bringing his cigarette foil...
painting to the MoMa in New York, so he got a chance to exhibit his work there.
This wasn't merely an honor for him alone, but an honor for our entire country,
as the Donga Ilbo wrote back then.
Up until recent years, at the MoMa, Museum of Modern Arts,
not a single work from a Korean was exhibited.
There have been many people clamoring for that honor over the years,
but they hadn't accepted a single one until then,
with the exception of Lee Jung Seop's foil painting.
We now return to Kim Su Young's story.
Seonsaengnim, how have you been?
Ohh... Su Young, it's you!
Have a seat.
But... where does this smell of chicken droppings come from?
From me...
You're a perfect farmer now, Su Young.
I'm raising chickens, some vegetables...
That's nice.
I'm especially happy to see you in such good health.
Come wait inside.
I better go.
He said he'd stop by downtown after buying chicken feed.
I guess I'll meet him in Myeongdong, then.
So you're just going?
Yes.
You're doing okay now, right?
Su Young has only eyes for you.
You know that, don't you?
Yes.
I don't know if I should even say this,
but two people like you getting back together in this society of ours,
that's not commonplace.
That's why I don't even have time to breathe.
I didn't mean it that way.
Just that...
Ahhh... Was that your fault anyway?!
Of course it was.
People are pointing fingers at him behind his back, right?
That he's still living with his wife despite the fact she cheated on him.
And who cares what other people say?
If you love each other, then that's enough.
You know? I have a lot of respect for Su Young.
I keep thinking of what I would have done in the same situation.
He wouldn't be able to handle it. This narrow-minded fool.
Live life to the fullest. That is what love is truly about.
Right...
I'll have to leave you this.
Did you publish an anthology?
Congratulations, Park Seonsaengnim!
I kept drinking and fooling around all that time,
so I thought I should at least publish one.
Collected Poems of Park In Hwan
For poultry, dysentery is the worst that can happen.
It blocks their anus after they defecate white diarrhea,
and it's a very contagious and chronic disease.
As many as ten chickens per night could die of that,
so it's suffocating me already.
But coccidium is no laughing matter, either.
This makes them discharge bloody stools, and they die.
Contagious diseases are not all you have to worry about.
If I so much as forget to light the coal briquet at night,
the cold makes them go at each other and they die suffocated.
Plants or animals, raising any living being is not so easy.
Yes, that's right.
But, you only raise chickens?
At first we also had pigs, but they wouldn't bring any money.
When did you raise pigs?!
Last winter we had three.
You need to raise them in spring and summer, and then sell them in autumn.
If you raise them during the winter, they burn a lot of calories because of the cold,
and they don't gain weight.
Ahhh... so that's why they wouldn't get fat, no matter how much we fed them.
You look happy.
What?
Yes.
For the first time in my life, I finally have a decent job.
And all my sweat paying off is a lot more satisfying than I thought.
Ehh... still!
You must continue writing.
I'm writing a diary about my raising chickens.
Really? That's got to be fun.
"And so birds fly in the pigsty,"
"Dewdrops drenching chrysanthemums in the nightly sky."
"Scruffy winter trees violated by those squirrelly scoundrels,"
"Their bare and dirty hands, leaving wax in lonesome shambles."
"But as if freeing a hen from its hencote exile,"
"All I asked from this life was a smile."
"A day and night's walk away, once darkened by the city lights,"
"That which once vanished, and now kindles me, blest and bright."
It was a poem Kim Su Young wrote around that time.
Ohh?! Oppa!
Ohhh... That's Su Myeong.
Is that how you greet people?
I'm just glad to see you.
Should we go have a cup of tea?
I need to go.
It's been so long since you've been here in Myeongdong, are you just going?
If you meet people, then what? You end up drinking. I'm going.
Ohh... wait a moment!
So... like, did you think about it?
About what?
I don't have time to waste myself, since they keep pressing me at home.
Im Geung Jae (cultural critic)
What is it you're trying to say?
About our promise to marry each other, Su Myeong!
I don't remember having ever promised you that.
But I think I do remember!
He's cultural critic Im Geung Jae.
Because of her beauty and intellectual image, Kim Su Young's sister Su Myeong...
was the "Holy Grail" of men hanging around the Hyeondae Munhak.
Married or not, she stole an amorous glance or two from most of them.
But Su Myeong never paid attention to any courting of that sort.
She was completely focused on looking after her brother, Kim Su Young.
It was enough that, years later, people half-jokingly spread around...
the idea that she was the one who truly made Kim Su Young.
It was to that Kim Su Myeong that critic Im Geung Jae openly proposed.
Im Geung Jae advocated neo-humanist and resistance literature,
opposing utilitarianism and literature for political means through his work,
and arguing for the need to promote humanism and the true essence of literature.
Also, after being part of the Pyeonghwa Shinmun's editorial committee,
he followed Jo Byeong Guk and joined the Democratic Party,
which began his second career in politics.
Looks like your wife went somewhere.
Aigoo... it's hot.
This summer is really killing us.
Here... let's have some.
What brings you here?
Su Young.
Your younger sister... Give her to me.
I read her fortune on her face,
and she's a first-lady type.
- Uh?! - What?
Know what my dream is?
To see Shin Ik Hee succeed President Lee at Gyeongmudae*,
*The Blue House's old name
and after two terms, I plan to go live there myself as the president.
Ahh... Don't laugh! I'm not joking.
So?
What "so"?!
I can't go there by myself.
I'll make Su Myeong into our first lady,
so stop prattling and just give her to me. Uh?
All right?
I said don't laugh.
I was born to be a president, I tell you!
Before she gave birth to me, my mother dreamed of the wind horse...
carrying the magical jewel to the sky*.
*Cintamani in Sanskrit; Buddhist mythology
If that's not a dream predicting my presidency, what is?!
Isn't that right, Su Young?
People would just prance around the Hyeondae Munhak because...
Kim Si Cheol
a pretty lady was its editor-in-chief.
I knew lots of people who fell for Kim Su Myeong myself.
I'm sure Lee Ho Cheol was one of them.
Not only Lee Ho Cheol, but also novelist Seo Gyeong...
He liked her a lot as well.
And aside from them, poet Song Chang Gyeong... They all fell for her.
At first all these people would go there for other reasons,
but then it became a silly excuse to see Kim Su Myeong.
So they would all go there and ask her out for a cup of tea or dinner,
despite being always broke. The moment they got paid,
they would be there asking her out.
Kim Su Myeong was that popular.
But, years later, I told her.
I confessed to her I'd always liked her, but there were always too many rivals,
too much competition to deal with, and so I asked where I'd end up on her ranking.
And she said, "Around 4th to 5th place, it wouldn't be a problem,
but don't even dream about the top places," or something to that extent.
Kim Su Young was always very dignified on the surface,
Jang Seok Ju
but once he'd get drunk, all the genius, the madness inside would emerge.
That was something even Kim Su Young's wife couldn't stop,
but Kim Su Myeong was the only person who could.
She was a younger sister to him,
but as someone who sacrificed her life for her family,
she had this maternal aura of sorts.
Why are you so late?
I bought some feed down in Jong-Ro, and after passing by Myeongdong,
I went to visit my mother.
Park In Hwan's anthology was published.
There are some older works,
but also plenty of new ones.
I'll take care of poultry-raising by myself.
You keep writing.
I haven't seen you sit at your desk for so long.
Do your best, and write an anthology, a novel, or whatever you feel like.
Publishing a book in itself is not what's important.
It's what is written inside that counts.
Still, writing something is better than not writing at all.
I have no time to write.
I saw my mother, and she said she wants to raise chickens as well.
Then, I'll have to work twice as hard.
You're a writer.
Writing is more important for you than raising chickens.
Will writing help us put food on the table?!
We're not that bad off, are we?
I can take care of that by myself.
I think one of the reasons you're afraid of meeting people...
is because you're not writing.
Sitting at that desk writing is what suits you best.
And I love seeing you do that.
Just sitting at that desk will not fill those empty pages.
Feeding the chicks, observing them as they become chickens,
and witnessing those chickens shelter their eggs...
That's like the process behind writing a poem.
I merely didn't pen them all down.
But I already wrote dozens of poems.
Inside me lives an anthology full of my own poems.
I should write...
I will.
But, what?
My dear.
What I want to write is this.
A soldier who lost his leg in the war is limping back home.
His beloved wife and kids are waiting for him at home,
but once he arrives, they have all vanished.
No... no.
It's not even that.
What I really want to write about...
is what I went through at the Geoje Island POW camp.
There, there was no difference between man and beast.
It was about anger painted in the eyes of pro- and anti-communist POWs,
moving them to fight each other to their deaths.
Is this too dark?
If it's not that,
would I have anything else to write about?!
Dear...
What am I supposed to write about?
I don't even know myself...
I still can't understand why I survived and am still alive.
I glance at your sleeping face, every single night.
You look like an angel, sleeping next to me.
That innocent and pure look on your face as you sleep...
I hate you so much I could kill you.
Your scent is mixed with that of an unfamiliar man.
Like Othello...
So you must be Desdemona?!
Then, you must be ecstatic.
For you'd be so pure, and I'd be the pitiful Moor whose...
reason was torn apart by jealousy.
I'm sorry, my dear.
Every night I kill you and slay you,
opening doors that shed light on my own existence.
I will write.
But not of this distasteful despair.
I will sing with lively and energetic prose.
"Give me energy, give me energy."
"So beautiful is the river breeze."
"Give me energy, O give me energy."
"So that the dahlias will not abandon me."
"Give me energy, more energy is what I need."
"On the luxurious fields of greens."
"Give me energy, give me energy."
"Before the wind gorges you away from me..."
- Another round. - Go ahead... go...
Lee Seonbae.
I really envy Su Young.
You used to say otherwise?!
You told me earlier.
Only writers who experienced despair and sorrow...
can bless us with a masterpiece.
Poison can become your own cure, when it comes to artists like us.
Right as we speak, Su Young is embracing that poison,
and turning it into his own antidote.
There is none of that poison flowing inside me.
There's only a greasy and glitzy surface.
There's no need to blame yourself.
Because Kim Su Young has his own unique style,
and Park In Hwan writes poems only Park In Hwan can write.
I'm not like him, not at all!
What Park In Hwan has is just cheap sentimentalism.
I'm just...
a poor sentimentalist living in sadness, Lee Seonbae.
Ahhh... Park Hyung, what's wrong with you?
Collected Poems of Park In Hwan: Publication Party
Aigoo, thank you for coming.
Yes... thank you.
Aigoo... thank you for coming.
Kim-gun.
What are you doing there?
Come here and have a drink.
Kim Gwan Shik can't drink.
Ahh... so it's protectionism all over again up those hills?
Isn't it obvious what would happen?
That's what's fun about him.
Kim-gun.
Come over here. Come here and have a drink.
It really suits you.
It's time, why don't you go ahead?
I just...
It was thanks to you that he published that anthology, who else?
Go ahead.
Ahh... no, I feel better just staying here.
Congratulations, Park Seonsaengnim!
Aigoo...
Aigoo... you didn't need to... Thank you very much.
It's nothing.
Put the garland over there, and bring the liquor inside.
This is nothing much, but allow me to pay for the copy you sent me.
I just wanted to give you that.
It's just to thank you for all your efforts in securing peace for us all in Myeongdong.
Please accept it.
- Ahhh... this. - Accept it!
- So, shall we go? - Yes.
You're just leaving?
Doesn't look like the kind of event we would fit in.
Boys.
Park Seonsaengnim.
Ohhh... Kim Baek Bong!
- Congratulations. - Yes... Aigoo.
I'll supervise the dance party.
I was just waiting for you all this time.
Doesn't feel like you were?!
I really mean it. Look... jitterbug!
I'll have to master it tonight.
All right.
Let's go in.
Park In Hwan is waiting for Kim Su Young.
Brought to you by WITH S2 Written In The Heavens Subbing Squad
Main Translator and Timer: MisterX
Timing QC: Victory
Editor/QC: thunderbolt
Coordinators: mily2, ay_link
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