Heo Gyun’s Borderland Roads

By Choi Yearn-hong

I read Heo Gyun's ``Borderland Roads'' as my first book of the year for 2010. Heo is known to all Koreans as the author of ``Story of Hong Gil-dong.''

He wrote that novel of ``Korea's Robin Hood'' in 1612, and it was the first ever to be written using the Korean alphabet. The alphabet was invented by King Sejong of the Joseon Kingdom in 1444, but was not used by the aristocratic class for a long time as they preferred the existing Chinese characters. The ``Story of Hong Gil-dong'' overwhelms all Koreans from their elementary school days onward.

Before this famous novel, his life as a poet was relatively unknown. That is why "Borderland Roads" is important to understanding his life and thoughts in the early 17th century.

Heo was executed on false charges of treason as part of a political purge in 1618 at a young age. His death was a tragedy for the kingdom, because it killed off a great writer and poet who had the potential to produce many more great literary works as he matured.

He was more than a scholar, diplomat and bureaucrat in the royal court, which was then a court of conspiracy and dirty politics. Most probably, Heo's idealism and forthrightness created many political enemies at the time.

Many decent scholar-bureaucrats were the victims of dirty politics; however, the death of Heo was cause for the Korean people to mourn, because they could not read more from man behind ``Story of Hong Gil-dong.''

His crime must have been his sympathy and compassion for the common people, and his disdain for the dirty politicians surrounding King Seonjo.

I recently read and reviewed Heo Gyun's famous sister's book of poetry, ``Vision of Phoenix'' (Cornell University press, 2003), which he compiled after her untimely early death.

Heo was born to an aristocratic family. He passed the high-level government exam with distinction and became a dedicated servant to the kingdom during the Japanese invasion of Korea in the last part of the 16th century.

He was the diplomat sent to Ming (China) to get the necessary Chinese military support to repel the Japanese forces. He performed his diplomatic mission brilliantly.

The poems in this volume were written during and after the war, so they were all war-related. He thought of Tang poets often, particularly Du Fu, who expressed the tragedy and sadness of people experiencing war. Du Fu frequently appeared in his poems.

They were all longing for peace from the tragedy of war. The poets were humanitarians. Heo was familiar with the Chinese classics and quoted Chinese poets, their names, places and historical events in his poetry. I will quote one poem, ``Over-Nighting in a Country House,'' for readers.

Outside the castle, a somber flute
Sounds through the dead silence of night.
Upon a wall, the slanting moon
Spreads serious brows.
Far across the flowing river,
A distant enemy castle …
At a seaside village,
Our general's flags ripple brightly.

Wang Can slumped in his pavilion,
Wrote poems in vain.
Du fu had no posting,
So could only write poems.
People say the blood of war
Floods all rivers.
What person can devise a plan
To drive away the enemy?

Below the moon's radiance, a lingering fog clears,
Releasing a mountain …
Male servants converse
About tomorrow morning's travels.
I continue the dance of my escape, but you, my companion, stop.
You think my lack of rest strange.
Though absurd roosters may crow in daylight,
It doesn't mean they'll have bad luck.

His admiration of Du Fu was well expressed in his poem, after Du fu's ``Old Memories.'' I quote just part of it here.

Last night, Chinese soldiers
Crossed the wide Yalu River
Into Korea …
At dawn, bordered cavalry
Galloped with unfurled flags.
Strong bows, strung and tested,
Pulled to the shape of a moon …
Sparkling swords, ready to cut hairs
Placed on their edges.
The Chinese soldiers have built ramparts …
Their flutes and drums
Anticipate a general's jubilant victory.
All Koreans delight in the emperor's grace for our tears,
Though he wearies of our praises.

After the war, Heo saw deep and painful scars of the war in many places. His prose poem titled ``A Displaced Widow's Resentment'' made me cry. I imagined that Heo cried while writing his poem. He met a woman from Seoul in the west part of Cheorwon Castle one evening.

Two robbers killed her husband and mother-in-law. Her young child became a slave, and later a palace servant in Seoul. She might not recognize her son after years of separation.

This is a kind of narrative poem, ending with her remarks: ``I hear the sad calling of the crows. Resigned as I am, I wonder which generation will put an end to war. The bitterness of my life's journey has no match.''

I discovered one poem that could have been written by a contemporary poet _ ``Tosol Temple.''

Tosol is a renowned temple …
The Amitabha Buddha statue
Causes all devils to surrender.
At the temple, an old monk
Rests in comfort.
Worn out clothes hang on a mossy wall,
Cold well water fills a porcelain jar.
I come to ask about Buddhism …
The old monk simply bows to me
Littering no word
Hands clasped.

I can see the same scene at today's Tosol Temple.

All his poems are personal or so-called confessional poems. You will see Heo's thinking on his late father, his walking along a country road his father once walked, and his meeting and conversation with an old man who remembered his father. I quote his poem written at Samcheok County, Gangwon Province, which is next to his hometown, Gangneung.

``First Feelings on Arriving at Samcheok County"

My late father was appointed to this county …
Forty-five years have since passed.
I want to visit men who know my father's stories,
To walk where he once did,
But the traces have vanished.
What generations gave me, my inheritance,
I have shamefully made into failure.
A wall of ice
Will never melt
Into black scales.
Only by remembering family precepts
Will one not fall …
How dare I presume fame
As great as the virtuous of history?''

His poem, ``Upon Hearing of my Dismissal,'' touches my heart as well, because he revealed his view of life and the end of his life. He was executed five years after this poem was written.

Life follows the path of destiny …
In my dreams
I again long for the Buddha.

From this poetry book, I come to know more about Ho, a compassionate poet and writer, who could not provide a better life for the common people in the Kingdom. The ``Story of Hong Gil-dong'' is one of the great literary works from the Joseon Kingdom.

I'd like to praise the two translators, Ian Haight and Tae-young Ho, who did a good job together to help modern day readers understand and appreciate Heo's poems through their sincere introduction and endnotes to the book.

Many proper nouns in Ho's poems were well explained in a couple of appendices. They also placed excerpts from Ho's manuscripts discovered in 2006 at the end of the book, valuable additions to students of Heo.

I often visited his house rebuilt in its original place in Gangneung, near the East Sea, surrounded by pine trees. Whenever I visited his home, I could see his youthful days filled with dreams and hope.

In the wind coming from the sea and the pine trees, I could see his anger toward the old kingdom and revolutionary ideas for social change. Heo was one of great poets and writers of the Joseon Kingdom, if not the greatest. But he was killed by dirty politics inside the royal court. Regrettable, forever.

Dr. Choi is a poet and writer. His most recent book of poetry is ``Moon of New York" (2008). He can be reached at yearnhc@hanmail.net.