Shedding Fresh Light on Forgotten Writer

No female writers appear on the first page in the history of modern Korean literature.

Kim Myeong-sun published her short story, “Suspicious Girl,” in 1917 and Na Hye-seok(나혜석), Korea’s first female professional painter, published her novella, “Kyonghui”(경희), in 1918. Also, female writer and Buddhist nun Kim Il-yeop(김일엽) published her written work, “Revelation,” in 1920. Nevertheless, Yi Gwang-su(이광수)’s 1917 novel, “The Heartless,” is recognized as the first modern Korean novel. Female writers have been excluded and forgotten in the history of Korean literature, as it was recorded by men.

Today, we’ll shed light on the life of Kim Myeong-sun, who contributed to laying the foundation for women in modern literature, along with the above-mentioned two other female figures.


Smart Girl

Kim Myeong-sun was born in Pyongyang in 1896, the same year Na Hye-seok and Kim Il-yeop were born. The trio of women is considered the first generation of modern Korean women. Kim Myeong-sun, in particular, led an enthusiastic and turbulent life as a writer.

Her father was Kim Hee-gyeong(김희경), a famous wealthy man in Pyongyang, while her mother was an entertainer-turned-concubine. Kim was an intelligent girl gifted with literary ability, but the fact that she was ‘an illegitimate daughter’ left a scar on the young girl.

Kim entered Namsanhyeon(남산현) School in Pyongyang in 1903 and also attended a Christian school in 1905 before advancing to Jinmyeong(진명) Girls’ School in Seoul.

While in school, Kim showcased her versatile talents. For instance, she wrote a poem to lament over the sad reality of her country when Japan annexed Korea in 1910. She graduated from Jinmyeong Girls’ School in 1912, standing second in her class. She then went to Japan for modern studies, including literature. She returned home in 1915 and continued her studies at Sookmyung Girls’ High School. After graduating from the school in March 1917, she began to walk the path of a writer.


Modern Woman Writer

As a rare female student who studied overseas at the time, Kim had a negative perception of traditional marriage and was keenly aware of women’s liberation. In 1917, she entered a literary contest offered by a magazine called [Youth] published by Choe Nam-seon(최남선) with her short story “Suspicious Girl.” That is how she made her literary debut.

Renowned writers Yi Gwang-su and Cho Nam-seon, who judged the contest, highly praised Kim’s work that describes the tragic life of a woman troubled by conventional relationships between men and women and unhappy marriage. Her short story came in second in the contest.

Kim went to Japan again and entered Tokyo Women’s College in 1919 to expand her knowledge and experience. She also participated in a meeting of Korean students studying in Japan. There, she encountered writer Jeon Young-taek(전영택).

Through Jeon’s introduction, she joined the influential literary magazine named [Creation] and started writing in earnest. She published various genres of literary pieces, such as poems, short stories, essays, literary criticism and plays. She used several pennames, including Mangyangcho(망양초) and Tansil(탄실).

Kim also worked as a reporter at the Maeil Shinbo(매일신보) newspaper and took the lead role in a movie titled “The Florist.” The brisk activities in various areas helped her shape her own distinctive literature.


Lonely Writer

In February 1920, Kim joined literary magazine [New Women], founded by Kim Il-yeop, as the writing staff. She was also a member of another coterie magazine, [Ruin]. She translated works of famed American writer Edgar Allan Poe for the first time in Korean literature, and became the first Korean female writer to publish a story collection. Kim was a prolific writer, with her 170 literary pieces signaling the start of modern literature of Korean women. The intelligent woman with an image of purity and innocence dated many Korean students while she was studying in Japan. Unfortunately, her literature was not evaluated properly due to her advocacy of free love and her humble status as an illegitimate child.

As though feeling dispirited by this, Kim lost interest in literature. She went to Japan again and published her poem “The Last Night of the Month” on the January edition of [Samcheolli](삼천리), which means “thousand miles,” in 1939. After that, she disappeared from the literary world.

She died of a disease in Japan in 1951 after suffering from poverty and mental illness. Her death wasn’t known to Korea until the 1980s when the local literary community began to shed new light on this female writer. In her poems, Kim sang about herself, love and her country. Her short stories describe the pain and agony of women, while she directly tackles her life in her essays. It is the responsibility of the future generations to approach this prominent woman writer through her various, brilliant works.