The Soil (Library of Korean Literature, 08)

Yi Kwang Su’s the Soil is a tragic story of lost love, corrupt wealth, and the failure of moral actions to bring about real benefits. Heo Sung, the novel’s protagonist, seems to have it all – money, a respected job, and a charming, beautiful wife. Eventually, his wife shows her true colors as a shallow, manipulative conception of Seoul, and Sung decides to go back to the countryside where he is originally from and tries to realize his original goals of raising the living standards of the poor locals. Unfortunately, the very people he is trying to help are suspicious of his actions, namely, why he would want to leave the city, and all the promises it represents, behind. These people represent the ignorance and outdated beliefs left behind by centuries of Confucianism in Korea, and reflect Yi’s view that Confucian ideals left Koreans largely unprepared for the modern world.The writing leaves something to be desired, as it can be overly didactic and plain at times. Characters are depicted as either horrendously bad or unfailingly good, and there is little in between. Nevertheless, the novel offers a glimpse into the type of conflicts that permeated Korea during its post-colonial era, between Korea and Japan, between capitalist and utopian ideals, and most importantly, between modernism and tradition.

The Soil follows the story of a man named Heo Sung. Sung is a man who was born in a village in the Korean countryside and then went on to become a lawyer in Seoul, Korea. The main theme of the book revolves around Sung's mission to 'rescue the villages' through his efforts of self-strengthening. The people from the country have fallen victim to the powerful elites in Korea and they have been taken advantage of and left destitute. Sung sets out on his mission to strengthen these villages by establishing cooperatives and schools in order to promote education and preserve the language and traditions of the Korean people. Kwang-Su does a nice job of introducing and developing characters throughout the novel, and his book offers a good symbolic representation of the struggle that the people of Korea faced in their journey through modernity.

Assigned reading in my History of Korea course this semester, The Soil is quite readable. Like Dickens, the author contrives a web of characters and relationships to hold our interest chapter to chapter.

Yi Kwang-su's novel illustrates the vast depths of Korean literature. His novel contains a plethora of dynamic female and male characters who represent the struggles and the enlightenment of Korean society in the early 1900s when Korea was a colony of Japan. Each of his characters develop on their own as well as in regards to their interpersonal relationships. While Yi Kwang-su repeats certain plot lines and even drags certain parts out, his detailed plot lines allows readers to fully grasp the personalities of his characters. Due to the depth of his characters, he formulates a realistic and interesting portrayal of early 20th century Korea especially in regards to the relationship and the dynamic between Seoul and the countryside (city elite and farmers). Ultimately, the novel's biggest strength was its characters and its plot came in second place.

The Soil is an interesting read in which Kwang-su has a great grasp of character development and interaction. His dialogue is impressive as the story revolves around the life of Heo Sung, introducing other characters thoughts as the plot develops. Only being translated in 2013 it provides a view of early nineteenth century Korea under Japanese influence in a way few writers could do nowadays. The Soil does start slow yet with the introduction of further characters the plot development quickens rapidly. Set mainly in the village of Salyeoul and the city of Seoul, Kwang-su presents a juxtaposition of two vastly different cultures in which Sung aims to address. The Soil is a great example of traditional Korean writing that has only recently been available to English readers.

I really enjoyed the interaction between the characters. The author is at his finest when there is two characters having a conversation. It starts to become confusing when there is more than two characters in a particular scene. If you enjoy dramas, I would recommend this one. It has a fine plot. The main issue I have with this novel is that I had a hard time keeping track of the numerous characters. Just keep a small sheet of paper nearby to write them down, and you can reference that later if you have problems. I had no problems regarding the translation. There was no awkward sentences or weird choice in words. So overall, a worthwhile read and worthy of being your shelf.

The Soil is one of the first modern Korean novels by Yi Kwang-Su. The Soil is an excellent story with lots to recommend it, but it is a product of a different time and place, so it is little difficult. The story follows Heo Sung, a student from the rural community, who is in Seoul hoping to become a lawyer. He makes plan to return to his village after graduating and hoping to make a difference to the poor farmers. Highly recommend this book if you want to learn about the social conditions in Korea during the Japanese colonial period.