Incheon was the gateway to the kingdom of Joseon in the late nineteenth century. Western cultures flooded in through Incheon’s Jemulpo Port in 1883 and Kang Kyung-ae’s 1934 fiction “Human Problem” portrayed Incheon as a big cauldron of activities never seen before in all of Joseon, with a fleet of giant steam ships moored at the dock.

In the wake of the influx of western goods, a number of distribution warehouses sprouted up near Incheon Port to store all the imports. Among them, four warehouses built in red brick in Haean-dong해안동 retain to this day all the traces of the time when the city first opened its doors to the western powers.

One of the old warehouses was remodeled to house the Museum of Korean Modern Literature, which opened on September 27.



Most of literature museums in Korea are devoted to individual writers. For instance, there are Lee Hyo-seok Memorial Hall and Kim You-jeong Literature Museum. But what sets the Museum of Korean Modern Literature apart from other literature museums is that it’s a place where people can get a comprehensive view of Korean literature, from the 1890s when modern literature began, to the country’s division in the mid-twentieth century. Visitors can see the original manuscripts of the stories they read in school. Thinking back to their school days, many people tend to think that literature is boring and hard to understand, but if they put those literary works in a historical context, they will get a better understanding. Although literature is based on written words, we use various cultural and sensory experiences to etch those works in the minds of the museum visitors.

That was the museum’s director Lee Hyun-shik talking about what differentiates the Museum of Korean Modern Literature. As of September, 61 literature museums are registered with the Korean Literature House Association, but most of them are devoted to individual writers or works. On the other hand, the Museum of Korean Modern Literature is the nation’s first comprehensive literature house, covering literature from 1894, when the ill-fated Gabo Reform took place, to the foundation of the Republic of Korea government in 1948. Since the museum is housed in a historical building, the renovation attempted to preserve the old parts as much as possible. The wooden pillars, red brick walls, rafters, and the ceiling were all kept as they were 120 years ago. Here’s the director of the Museum of Korean Modern Literature, Mr. Lee Hyun-shik again.

A hundred years ago the building’s framework was made of wood, instead of steel. We tried to leave the wooden parts in their original state. They were very well preserved to start with, so when you visit the museum you can see that the ceiling is exactly like it was 120 years ago. The walls in the exhibition halls are also from the original building.

The museum features some 29 thousand original manuscripts and rare publications, the largest collection among all literature museums in Korea. There is one of the reasons why the museum opened near Incheon Port.

The location of the museum is Jemulpo Port, the first port in Incheon to accept foreign ships in 1833. It was also the background for Lee In-jik’s novel “Tears of Blood” and Kang Kyeong-ae’s “Human Problem.” Western culture entered through Jemulpo Port to exert influence on Korean literature of the time.

Korea’s modern literature occupies an important place in Korean literary history. Literary developments in the modern era reflect the changes in Korea’s collective sentiment through such trials and tribulations as the fall of the Joseon dynasty, Japan’s occupation, and ideological strife. Here’s the museum’s director Lee Hyun-shik.

We speak highly of hallyu, the sweeping wave of Korean pop culture comprised mainly of TV shows and films. But these cultural contents are based on literature. We must know how Korean modern literature was born and developed. Modern literature is the foundation upon which today’s literature is built. Hallyu wasn’t created overnight, but shaped by time and literary achievements of talented writers. Koreans went through many difficulties during the first half of the twentieth century. Being subjected to Japan’s colonial rule and divided into South and North Korea spurred writers to vent their frustrations and anger through their stories. I believe that such literary releases became the foundation for today’s hallyu.



The Museum of Korean Modern Literature has two floors. The first floor houses permanent exhibits of poems and novels of notable writers and a separate section devoted to rare manuscripts and publications, and the second floor displays show modern literature in the Incheon region. Here is the museum’s curator, Hahm Tae-young함태영 to tell us more.

We plan to hold four exhibitions a year, each one comprising of special works with important historical significance. The first exhibition featured our museum’s rarest material, poet Kim Eok’s김억 collection of translated poems called “Mangwucho망우초” or “Day Lily.” Only 25 volumes were published and we have the only surviving volume. This priceless book contains the poems and sketches of famed writers, painters, and artists of the time, all handwritten by the poet Kim Eok.

Kim Eok’s collection of poems translated from Chinese was published in 1943, but it was a limited edition of only 25 volumes. The book is beyond valuable not only because there were so few, but also because it contained handwritings and sketches of writers and artists. The cover is tattered and pages are yellowed, but it is a precious material that offers a glimpse into the literary and artistic scenes of the 1930s.

The first permanent exhibit deals with the period of enlightenment, from 1894 to 1910.

This section features some of the noted works from the period of enlightenment, such as Choi Nam-seon’s “Gyeongbu-cheoldoga” or “The Song of Gyeongbu Railroad” and “From the Sun to a Boy” and Korea’s three oldest surviving song books. They are all original volumes. The period of enlightenment was defined by an emergence of new age fiction as well as a new literary trend of historical fiction. We have signature works from those literary genres as well, such as “Tears of Blood,” Korea’s first new age fiction, and the original edition of the allegorical novel “Proceedings of the Animal Meeting.”

“Gyeongbu-cheoldoga” has been recreated into a digital music version, which you can hear at the museum.

The atmosphere becomes gloomy as you enter the section about the 1910s literature, because that’s when Japan’s occupation of Korea began. While the country was undergoing the darkest time in its history, writers enjoyed thriving careers. Here’s the museum’s curator Hahm Tae-young again.

Ju Yo-han’s주요한 “Fire Play” written in the 1910s is considered the country’s first free-style poem. Our museum display shows how the poem came to be in graphs and charts and also features the original text of Ju Yo-han’s debut poem collection “Beautiful Dawn.” The most important item in this section is the literary magazine “Changjo창조” or “Creation” published by writer Kim Dong-in. The inaugural volume of “Creation” was copied to be shown to the public. Among the fictions from the 1910s, Yi Kwang-su이광수’s “Mujeong무정” was chosen as the most famed work and we set up a touch-screen monitor for visitors to find out more about this creative work.

The March 1st Movement against the Japanese rule in 1919 sparked a different kind of movement among writers. They started incorporating their outrage and sorrow stemming from the loss of national sovereignty into their works. The original copy of the literary magazine “Gaebyeok개벽” or “The Dawn,” which contains Lee Sang-hwa’s seminal poem “Does Spring Come to the Wrenched Field,” is also on display. As we read the poem on the yellowed pages, the profound grief of losing one’s nation stabs us in the heart.

A special section is devoted to the two most noted poets of the time, Kim So-wol김소월 and Han Yong-un한용운. Their original poem collections were copied for display, allowing visitors to touch and read them.

Listening to the music version of the modern Korean poems seems to bridge the past and present. It feels as if we are transported back to the early twentieth century to meet these poets and see them at work.

The period between 1925 and 1935 was marked by the establishment of Korea’s first writers’ group KAPF카프. The name is the acronym of “Korea Artista Proleta Federatio,” which means the federation of proletarian artists of Korea in the international auxiliary language of Esperanto. KAPF was formed in August of 1925 and the group played a crucial part in the flowering of modern Korean literature.

One of the most important events between 1925 and 1935 was the founding of KAPF. With the emergence of KAPF, Korean poems and fictions began to portray the gritty and unadorned aspects of real life. The museum has Choi Seo-hae’s최서해 “The Story of an Escape” and Han Seol-ya’s한설야 “Transition Period” on display, as well as the first edition of KAPF’s most noted member Lim Hwa’s임화 “Jongno Intersection.”

A mural depicting a coffee shop of the 1930s decorates one side of the exhibition area wall. Visitors can get an idea of what Korea’s literary scene looked like in the 1930s as they see refined girls serving coffee and tea to young bespectacled writers. They become a part of that scene when they sit down on the chairs provided in front of the mural.

The period between 1935 and 1945 was the most miserable time for Korean modern literature. Japan started war in Asia, driven by the maniacal ambition to conquer the world, and took its oppression of the Korean people to the extreme. Some poets found the inspiration to endure the dismal reality in the will to live and their peaceful rural hometowns. These faction of poets called themselves “saengmyeong생명” poets.



The museum has the works of three most eminent saengmyeong poets and those who originated from the northern region, such as Baek Seok백석 and Lee Yong-ak이용악. We also have two copies of the illustrious Seo Jeong-ju’s서정주 “Hwasajip화사집.” Only 100 copies of this collection of poems were published. The first 15 volumes were published in hard cover and autographed by the poet to be given to his friends. One of the two copies we have is the one signed for the poet and children’s book author Park Hwa-mok박화목 and the other was for general distribution.

The next time period covered by the museum is between the liberation in 1945 and the establishment of the Republic of Korea government in 1948. Rejoicing in the newly found freedom, nationalism rose among the literary circle as well. The esteemed Lee Yuk-sa’s “Yuksa’s Poem Collections” and Yun Dong-ju’s “Sky, Wind, Star and Poem” were published during this period.

The museum offers translation services in English, Chinese, and Japanese so foreign visitors can understand the historical and social contexts of Korea’s most beloved modern literary works and become interested in Korean poets and writers. The museum hopes to see many more foreign visitors and plans to hold events to attract more of them.

The opening of the Museum of Korean Modern Literature was long overdue, but now that it is here, we can enjoy all the literary treasures found inside.

That concludes today’s Trend Korea. This is Sean Lim signing off. Thank you and good bye.