A coming-of-age novel set during the Korean War, by Pak Wan-Suh, one of Korea's leading contemporary writers. The award-winning author of more than twenty novels, and numerous short stories and essays, Park often deals with the themes of Korean War tragedies, middle-class values, and women's issues. The novel is rich with scenes of cultural clashes, racial prejudice, and the kinds of misunderstandings that many American soldiers and Koreans experienced during the war years.
Park Wan Suh (also Park Wan-seo, Park Wan-so, Park Wansuh, Park Kee-pah and Pak Wan-so, Pak Wanso) was born in 1931 in Gaepung-gun in what is now Hwanghaebuk-do in North Korea.Park entered Seoul National University, the most prestigious in Korea, but dropped out almost immediately after attending classes due to the outbreak of the Korean War and the death of her brother. During the war, Park was separated from her mother and elder brother by the North Korea army, which moved them to North Korea. She lived in the village of Achui, in Guri, outside Seoul until her death. Park died on the morning of January 22, 2011, suffering from cancer.
I found out about this book while visiting the exhibition dedicated to Park Soo Keun in the MMCA of Deoksugung palace, and since then I could not stop thinking about reading it. I was expecting a biography on the painter Park Soo Keun through the lenses of Park Wan Suh as they met each other in the US army PX in Myeongdong, but far from that it is a novel about a young woman in the midths of the Korean War, finding her way through it with all the contradictions and weariness of such a foggy existence. I have found Park's writing close to Ernaux's in its raw honesty and costumbrism, without disregarding the plot and flow of the events.
Escrito por la autora coreana Park Wan-Suh y publicado en 1970, El árbol desnudo narra la historia de Kyungah, mujer trabajadora que reside junto a su madre en la ciudad de Seúl en plena guerra de Corea (1950-1953), protagonista que se encuentra determinada tanto por las tensiones propias del conflicto bélico de su país como así también por el lugar que ocupa como mujer soltera dentro de una sociedad profundamente tradicional y patriarcal.
Narrada en primera persona, la novela retrata las condiciones de la vida de los ciudadanos de Seúl durante la guerra de Corea. La incertidumbre ante el conflicto, la injerencia extranjera de EEUU en la cultura coreana que supone un choque de culturas que propicia sentimientos paradójicos que van desde el odio hasta la atracción afectiva, la disolución de estructuras tradicionales y las tensiones entre lo colectivo y lo individual son parte de los temas que emergen en El árbol desnudo, los que se expresan con fuerza en la propia historia de la narradora, quién funciona como espejo del contexto histórico que atravesó Corea a la mitad del siglo XX.
Una novela histórica que no obstante al tratamiento literario que realiza de la guerra y sus efectos, de igual forma se preocupa de temas tan variados como el arte, el amor, el duelo y las relaciones materno filiales, asuntos que se entrelazan en la cotidianidad de Kyungah y que incluso, alguno de estos, permiten obtener una lectura mucho más profunda que otorga mayor alcance a El árbol desnudo.
Originally published in 1970, the author, then about 40, wrote about life in late 1951 to 1952, living in Seoul. At that point, Seoul had changed hands four times, first by the North Koreans in June 1950, liberated in September; then by the Chinese in January 1951, liberated in March by the UN forces. As the book opens, the Korean war was still raging, though the front lines seemed locked in place and armistice talks had started. Artillery fire rumbled in the distance; streets were dark at night, but people went about their attempts to live in the aftermath of horrific personal tragedies.
The protagonist, LEE Kyong, is a 20-year-old female, working at the Army PX in Seoul. She works in a small studio of painters, who make a living painting images of people on scarves, often for the US military men of girlfriends or wives. Most of the painters had previously created the advertising posters for movies. One, Oak Hui-do, however, differed from the others, quieter, often lost in thought. While interacting with other Korean men and a US soldier, Lee fantasizes about Oak, who is old enough to be her father, is married with five children and with an endearing wife.
As the story unfolds, we learn about life in Seoul, the childishness and erratic behavior of the protagonist, and only slowly the trauma she and her mother endured during the war, losing both her father and her two brothers. The revelation comes late in the book and helps (partially) explain Lee’s behavior.
The book’s strengths are its depiction of life in Seoul during the period, the constant hunger of people, just trying to live and care for their family. It also casts a light on the trauma of war, the rigid beliefs of the Korean Confucian society, valuing men far above women. One biting line of text (p 148) sums this up, uttered by Lee’s mother. “The gods are so cruel. Why did they take all my sons, leaving on the girl behind?”
Not having experienced the traumas of a war, the deprivations of poverty, or the sudden loss of family members, it is difficult for me to understand the protagonist’s behavior, at times brazen, at times spiteful, and at times childish. Yet, that author’s revelation towards the end of the book helps frame the pressures on Lee Kyong, in part explaining the infatuation with the mature painter Oak, her spitefulness towards her mother, and her erratic behavior towards others.
Finally, the author’s writing is poetic. “The naked tree, standing bravely without a whimper, creating a perfect harmony with its numerous branches. The women passing by the tree in the chilly winter. The women saw only winter before their eyes, but the tree believed in spring, even if it was far away.”
This edition was translated by Yu Young-nan and published by Cornell University East Asia Program in 1995. The translation is very smooth.
I first learned of the book on a recent (November 2021) visit to Korea, where I visited an exhibition of artist Park Soo Keun in Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, within the grounds Deoksugung Palace. The exhibit titled “The Naked Tree Awakening Spring” was organized into four halls, one of which was seen through the eyes of the author, Park Wan-Suh. In real life, she had met and worked with Park Soo Keun for a few months.
In reading more about the author, who was born about the same year as the story’s protagonist, we learn her philosophy. “Things that have not been experienced cannot be written.” The author claims the relationship in the book between Lee and Oak is fictional. Her description of Oak and his desire to paint feels inspired by Park Soo Keun’s experiences.
FB. This book explores the effect of the Korean war and the Confucian society on the female protagonist, Lee Kyong. The story is firmly set in Seoul’s 1951 and 1952, giving the reader insight into the experiences. The book starts slowly, as if one is feeling one’s way in the dark, until a major revelation, with great understanding of the protagonist’s behavior. This first book of the influential author gives insight into different human behaviors of that time period.
“Things that have not been experienced cannot be written,” she often said. Along these lines, Park’s words were often characterized as a testament to the past - especially her horrendous memories of the Korean War and its legacy.
I asbolutely adored this book. I have read synopses of Park’s novels in passing before with the intention of reading them when I had the time, but never had the chance to actually read any of her works until I was assigned to read it for a class. It was such a pleasure to read a Korean novel with a female protagonist, who is both determined in her resolve but also realistic in the sense that she has very plausible flaws, that while may not seem understandable in fiction are issues that real people face with. Many of the modern Korean novels I have read thus far that feature female leads (which, to be fair have been very few) have all been idealistic, and used women more as caricatures to express a nationalist or ideological point, rather than to craft that actually has a narrative. This kind of storytelling is so important for a story like this, because it allows us a window into a fictional world that is meant to mirror real life events.
This novel offers a woman’s perspective on daily life during the Korean war (which is very different from how MASH likes to portray it, by the way) but Park has carefully constructed this piece with understated phrases that don’t use an excess of lofty language like many other modern Korean writers like to use. Instead, she reveals meaning in her carefully worded descriptions. Perhaps this is only my own projection, and onto the translation at that, but the way cultural themes are weaved into this work seemed effortless. To use one of my favorite passages as an example, “I scrambled to my feet. I managed to slide the door open and went out. My eyes grew fuzzy and dim. I blinked, trying to remove the hazy bliders in front of my eyes, and opened the window to the north. A chilly draft of wind swept my skirt. The wind rushed through the backyard. The tree moaned refreshingly and coldly. For the first time I saw the gingko trees, the dazzling yellow. They were splendid.” (148) At once incredibly poetic, and yet so simple, each description seems to build on top of the other and overall is what I loved the most about this work.
I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone and everyone seeking to begin reading Korean literature in translation, it's magnificent.
This book was recommended to me by the South Korean woman that I tutor in English conversation. She had read it as a college student and thought that I would enjoy it. It offers insights into the lives of everyday Korean women and provides a Korean perspective on the Korean War that isn't often considered in American literature.
Tankeväckande, poetiskt och osentimentalt om en kvinnas vardag och liv i skuggan av Koreakriget. Det är trauman, det är kulturkrockar och begränsningar i kvinnors handlingsutrymme. Fängslande språk, som ”The naked tree, standing bravely without a whimper, creating a perfect harmony with its numerous branches /…/ the women saw only winter before their eyes, but the tree believed in spring, even if it was still far away”.
Mlle Alice, pouvez-vous nous raconter votre rencontre avec l'Arbre Nu ? "J'avais repéré cette sortie, comme à peu près toutes les sorties coréennes, mais j'avais décidé d'être raisonnable pour une fois et de ne pas craquer tout de suite. J'ai finalement eu la bonne surprise de le recevoir de la part des éditions de l'Atelier des Cahiers."
Dites-nous en un peu plus sur son histoire... "Lee Gyeong essaie de mener une vie normale, entre son travail de vendeuse et ses soirées mornes avec sa mère, alors que la guerre est aux portes de Séoul et que le drame les a déjà frappées durement..."
Mais que s'est-il exactement passé entre vous ? "Quand un livre est mauvais, mal écrit, mal traduit ou misogyne pour ne citer que les exemples les plus courants, je n'ai aucun mal à le dire franchement, à vous faire part de mes critiques. Mais ici, il ne s'agit pas de ça, et c'est bien plus difficile pour moi de vous dire que je n'ai pas aimé cette parution d'une petite maison d'édition dont j'apprécie le travail et d'une autrice, reconnue en Corée, dont la plume séduit de nombreux lecteurs. Mais pas moi. Je n'ai pas du tout accroché avec la narratrice et je n'ai ressenti aucune empathie pour elle, même si je suis très consciente qu'elle est dans un état proche de l'hébétude suite aux drames qu'elle a vécu et que son babillage futile relève de l'évitement. Je l'ai trouvé agaçante, égoïste et peu interessante. Les seuls aspects que j'ai apprécié, c'est d'en apprendre plus sur la présence des soldats américains à Séoul pendant la Guerre de Corée et comment cela était vécu des deux côtés, ainsi que le passage qui nous révèle enfin ce que l'héroïne, qui n'est autre que l'autrice elle-même, a enduré mais ça n'arrive que dans les dernières pages."
Et comment cela s'est-il fini ? "Le roman a été adapté en album par Keum-Suk Gentry-Kim, dont j'avais adoré Mauvaises Herbes, sur les femmes de réconfort, et j'avoue que je suis d'autant plus curieuse de découvrir ce qu'elle a pu retirer de ce récit et ce qu'elle a réussi à en faire."
I don't normally write out reviews but something about this book made me want to get my thoughts out.
Trigger warnings: racism, xenophobia, war, death, trauma, PTSD
The Naked Tree feels very honest in many ways. It feels like an honest depiction of life as a woman and as a Korean civilian in Seoul during the Korean war. The picture it paints is far from lovely, as is to be expected. Trauma and prejudices, even as far as blatant racism, are not shied away from. The main character is realistically inconsistent, hypocritical, selfish, and self-destructive. The book will make you feel uncomfortable. It's hard to tell what the author's actual beliefs were at the time of writing this, which is in my opinion a testament to good character writing. However, it is hard for me to believe that they didn't at least at some point hold some of the ideas and prejudices of the main character. Though, it is equally hard for me to say if they had already forgone the most egregious of them at the point of writing, whether they were included, in their honesty, as a past truth or current one. This is, of course, all conjecture either way.
All-in-all, I recommend this one to anyone looking to delve more deeply into Korean literature or Korean history. If nothing else, the book feels like an important look into life in Korea in 1952.
just finished. I had to read this for korean lit and it definitely is one of my more favorite ones that we have read. Cani just say the main character is so. fucking. horny. and lonely. acting like a girl the night before halloween (☺️). I say that she should have gone for that American guy. but I'm also projecting. very sorry. many boring parts but this was full of complex characters and I can't wait to talk about it tmr in discussion. I'm so glad that she chose tae-su and not the man WHO HAS A WIFE AND FIVE DUCKING KIDS. even though her and tae-su aren't happy, showing that they only wanted each other bc of the war. anyways, glad to be done and I'm so excited for halloween tmr 😋
Una novela íntima, que relata la cotidianidad de una joven mujer que vive con su madre en Seúl en plena guerra de Corea. Un relato cercano y profundamente emocional, que se cocina a fuego lento, pero que tras dejarte conocer a la protagonista y forma muy superficial sus anhelos te cautiva hasta la última página, tratando tópicos como la guerra, seguir con tu vida ante el duelo y dolor que esta conlleva, lazos familiares, afectivos y laborales. Las pasiones y anhelos.
“I was cautious enough not to squander happiness so recklessly.”
“More than the grief I felt at the funeral itself, it is the more subdued yet piercing sorrow of the forty-ninth-day ritual that still feels vivid to me.”
“Faith in spring. It is that very faith in spring that makes the bare trees stand so dignified.”
por fin lo terminé, me costó bastante leerlo, la historia me parecía interesante y no se me hacía aburrido, pero el no poder descifrar hacia dónde iba o el motivo del libro, hizo que me costara mucho agarrar un ritmo interesante lectura para entender el cotidiano de quienes vivieron la guerra de corea
This is one of those books that's very interesting to discuss thematically but is a horrible read otherwise. It was an absolute slog for me. I strongly disliked the main character, and cringed every time she interacted with someone else. The flashback scenes were the best part of the book. 1 star.