42 Chapter 3
reminded me of... I managed to find several gambling dens, one of which
was discovered in the very best Chinese bath house [with further] gambling
dens and secret brothels, where the majority of Chinese women could be
found.... their courtyards had been transformed into Chinese markets
with small stalls cobbled together out of boards, barber shops, street
traders and vendors of vari ous small wares, foodstuffs and antiques,
portable kitchens which spread the horrible smell of bean oil and so forth.
Masses of Chinese are constantly teeming through the corridors and along
the stairways of these houses, shouting, trading, eating and even relieving
themselves right there on the spot.^50The above is V. V. Grave’s portrayal of Chinese and Korean urban life. Al-
though the Chinatown and the Koreatown areas may have seemed seedy to
some, the Asian laborer found in these streets and crowded cafes a pot-
pourri of food, vice, and entertainment, all at an affordable price. Rus sians
and o thers began to frequent these dens as well.^51 This synthesis of Chinese-
Korean- Russian life (byt) was found in urban areas throughout the RFE.
The Korean community also produced songs that celebrated its life in
the RFE. Several of these were recorded and translated from Korean. The
first song below is one of the most famous. Originally it had somewhere
between thirty- three and forty- five couplets. For example, the Koreans of
Nikolsk- U ssuriisk would have developed a diff er ent version of the “The
Poset Love Song” than those of Vladivostok. Some of these songs were
popu l ar during the 1920s–1930s, when most of my older in for mants/
interviewees were young children. Some knew about the songs but could
not repeat more than a few words of them. But Lev Chugai of Tashkent,
Uzbekistan, who was born in 1931, knew most of the songs. He was a kolk-
hoz chairman’s assistant during the 1950s and 1960s who helped or ga nize
the jubilees and anniversary cele brations of an older generation of Koreans.
It was he who provided the following lyr ics.
The first is called “The Poset Love Song,” developed sometime after
the First World War (around 1920). It tells about a young Korean who is
serving in the Red Army. Lev Chugai said, “To serve in the Rus sian army
was high status for Koreans.” They wanted to serve their homeland (the
RFE) and at the same time to be accepted and show the Rus sians their worth.
The “Maria” in the song represents the Russified Korean everywoman.
A Soviet Korean soldier is at the train station with his parents and wife.[The soldier]— Take care, my love, in my hometown in Poset raion. I’m
leaving for Vladivostok (HaeSun) to serve in the army. My mother holds
my hand and she wishes me luck.