river flowing to the ocean in order to instill hope
in Koreans by asking them to remember their
ideals that were as high as the stars in the sky.
In the introduction to another book,Mod-
ern Korean Literature, Peter Lee states: ‘‘Pak
Tujin is capable of a wide range of moods, and
his language and style impart a distinctive tone
to his Christian and nationalistic sentiments....
Pak’s poems are imbued with the strong histor-
ical and cultural awareness of one who has hon-
estly confronted the contradictions of his time.’’
This observation certainly applies to ‘‘River of
August’’ since one theme of the poem is histor-
ical and cultural awareness. Pak felt Koreans
needed this awareness in the difficult times they
were experiencing when he wrote the poem.
InKorean Literature Today, in an unsigned
1996 article, Pak is called ‘‘one of the best known
contemporary Korean poets, widely appreciated
by both the reading public and the critics.’’ This
popularity is attributed to the fact that ‘‘His
work reflects both a fertile imagination and
much of the history and aspirations of the people
of Korea during his lifetime.’’ ‘‘River of August’’
is a prime example of the application of Pak’s
imagination to history and aspirations.
Criticism.
Lois Kerschen
Kerschen is an educator and freelance writer. In
this essay, she explains the historical context
behind ‘‘River of August.’’
As a peninsula attached to the mainland of
China, Korea has, of course, been influenced by
its massive neighbor for centuries. Koreans used
the Chinese alphabet until a Korean one was
invented in the fifteenth century, but even after
that, official documents continued to be written
in Chinese for a long time. Nonetheless, with the
figment of isolation that a peninsula provides,
Korea was able to develop its own language and
culture. Korean people have clung fiercely to
traditions and customs that developed over cen-
turies and produced a unique identity among the
Korean people.
Generally speaking, Asian countries mostly
maintained an isolationist attitude toward the
West until the nineteenth century. Then, new inno-
vations in transportation and communication
forced Asia to open more to trade and international
relations. Meantime, China and Japan had a long
history of wars. Famously, the empire established
by Genghis Khan (1162–1227) began to crumble
after his grandson Kublai Khan (1215–1294) suf-
fered a terrible defeat byJapan. There was another
war that China lost in 1894 and 1895, which
resulted in decreased Chinese influence in Korea
and increased interest by Japan in controlling
Korea. Then Japan defeated Russia in a war
(1904–1905). U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt
won the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the
peace treaty that ended this war. Unfortunately,
in the process, Japan convinced the United States
and the very powerful British Empire that it had
legitimate interests in Korea and got those powers
to agree to the Protectorate Treaty of 1905 that
allowed Japan to penetrate the Korean govern-
ment. In 1907, Japan forced Korea’s king to abdi-
cate in favor of his son. Protests against this action
were suppressed violently. The Korean army was
reduced to token size, but when even that small
group fought back, they were disbanded entirely.
From this point until liberation in 1945, the
‘‘sighs, tears, blood and death’’ that Pak wrote
about in ‘‘River of August’’ became a way of life
for the Korean people. The Sino-Japanese War
(1984–1995) had caused Koreans to worry about
their status as an independent country. With
the political atmosphere so unstable, independ-
ence organizations were established to promote
the preservation of Korea. As the worst fears
of Koreans became reality, a guerilla movement
developed, too. These so-called Righteous Armies
were joined by military men after the army was
disbanded and with this added expertise were, for
a time, a serious threat. After heightened rebellion
in 1908, though, the vastly outnumbered Koreans
were crushed by the Japanese army, and thou-
sands died. In 1910, Japan forced out the new
king, closed newspapers and the independenceKOREAN POETRY IN PAK’S HOME MAY
HAVE BEEN HIS SALVATION BECAUSE IT TOLD
HIM OF A BETTER WORLD IN NATURE, WHICH HE
SOUGHT IN FREQUENT TREKS TO THE MOUNTAINS
AND RIVERS.’’River of August