Yang Ju-dong (; 24 June 1903 – 4 February 1977) was a South Korean poet, professor, literary scholar, and academic. He published on both English and Korean literature. He is also known by his art name Mu-ae ().
Life Personal life Yang was born on June 24, 1903, in Gaeseong, Gyeonggi-do as the only son in the family. They moved to Jangyeon, Hwanghae-do a year after his birth. However, Yang's father died soon when Yang was only six, and he also lost his mother when he was twelve. "Mother's Love [어머니 마음]," a song of national fame in Korea, is a poem written by Yang in 1939 to commemorate the early death of his mother.Jae-myung Lee, "When Leaves Fall from the Tree [낙엽이 우수수 떨어질 때…]," Kyungsang Ilbo [경상일보], November 9, 2020, http://www.ksilbo.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=778275. In 1920, he went to Seoul to receive advanced education at Joongdong School, and in 1921, he enrolled in Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan, where he received a BA in English literature. Upon graduating, Yang was hired as a professor at Pyongyang Soongsil School () but had to leave when it closed during the Japanese colonial period. He worked as a teacher at Kyungsin School () from 1940 until 1945. After Korea's emancipation in 1945, Yang became a professor at Dongguk University in 1947.Wan-jin Kim, "Yang Ju-dong [양주동]," Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, 1995, encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0035758. In 1958, he went to Yonsei University and taught there for three years. He returned to teach at Dongguk University in 1962 until he left education in 1973. He was awarded an honorary doctorate of literature by Yonsei University in 1957.Donggil Kim, I speak with two mouths - A Man of Self-Compliment [내 주둥이가 둘이니 말 잘하는 게 당연… 자칭 國寶라 칭했던 기인] https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2017/12/15/2017121501523.html
Career In his early days, Yang focused on delivering the Western literature to Korea. In 1923, he issued the journal Geum-Seong () with Yoo Yeop (), Baek Giman (), and Lee Janghui() and introduced the literary movements from other countries. Some exemplary poets presented in Geum-Seong include French Symbolists Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, and Arthur Rimbaud.Hanmo Jeong, "Geum-Seong [금성]," Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, 1996, encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0007846. Geumseong also published a number of original poems by Korean poets, which aided in the development of modern poetry in 1920s' Korea.Hyungjeong Nam, "[Reviewing the Poetic World of Baek Kiman ['향토문학계 거목' 백기만 시인 창작세계 재조명]" Kyongbok Ilbo [경북일보], July 13, 2015, https://www.kyongbuk.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=929969. Yang's research interest during this period was on forming the theoretical basis for national literature. In the turbulence of dispute between nationalism and proletarianism, Yang asserted for moving beyond the dichotomy of the two prevalent literary perspectives.Yang Yoon-mo, "A study of Yang, Ju-dong's Eclectic Literature Theory," Korean Education, no.68 (2004). This eclectic perspective first emerges in his article "The Attitude of a Literary Critic " (), and evolves into a structural perspective in "Regarding the Attitude of Literary Critics Once More ()."Hong-ro Yoon, "Ecleticism [절충주의]," Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, 1997, http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0049824 Yang's turned his eyes to traditional Korean literature in the 1930s. In 1932, Yang published a collection of his poems called Joseon's Pulse (). This collection contains 53 poems divided into three sections, including the titular work, "Joseon's Pulse".Seyoung Oh, "Joseun's Pulse [조선의 맥박]," Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, 1995, encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0052173. He published interpretations of Hyangga (향가; a genre of old Korean folk songs) and Korean classical poetry.Chang Young Woo, "A Study on Mu-ae Yang Ju-dong's Literary Perspective [무애(无涯) 양주동(梁柱東)의 문학론(文學論) 연구(硏究)]," The Studies in Korean Literature 11 (1988): 285. His most noted work is his publication of "Interpretation of Hyanggas: On 'Wonwangsaengga' (향가의 해독, 특히 '원왕생가'에 취하여)," which was the first translation and analysis of all 25 Hyanggas conducted by a Korean scholar. This interpretation is the archetype of later research works on Hyanggas.Jee-hoo Shin, "'Read Hyanggas through meanings, not sounds' says Kim Young-hoe Hyanggga Researcher[김영회 향가연구소장"향가는 소리가 아닌 뜻으로 읽어야"]" Hankook Ilbo, December 14, 2019, https://m.hankookilbo.com/News/Read/201912131579048807.
Works Debate on Translation Methods Yang was in the center of critical discourse about translation in the 1920s. In the journal Geumseong, he debated Kim Uk () about effective translation methods for foreign literature. Several years later, he debated about similar issues with the Society for Research in Foreign Literature. These debates influenced the development of translations off foreign texts by academic scholars and writers.
The debate with Kim Uk began when Kim criticized Yang's literal translations in Geumseoung. Kim claimed that they were mere transference of words. Yang, in response to this, argued that the idea of creative liberty in translations evoked the danger of distorting the original meaning of the text. Yang's criticisms display that he regarded the major function of translation to be an accurate mediator between the author and the readers. Although exact deliverance of the original text into another language was an impracticable feat, he believed that the role of a translator was to work toward such goal in pursuit of introducing foreign texts to the new audience. Kim interpreted translation from a different approach. Kim believed in reaching the ideal state of translation by regarding the translated work as another independent text. To Kim, the crux of translators work lay in achieving the state of art more than the deliverance of the text.Jae-youn Ha, "The Meaning of Perspective of Functionalism and Perception about Korean Language Presented in Yang, Ju-dong's Translation Theory of Poetry [ 시 번역론에 나타난 양주동의 조선어 인식과 기능주의적 관점의 의미]," Sanghur Hakbo vol. 41, 2014: pp.127-158.
Another critical debate that influenced Korean academic discourse was Yang's criticism of the journal Foreign Literature () that was published in 1927 by members of the Society for Research in Foreign Literature (). Foreign Literature'''s creators aimed to procure foreign texts and thereby expand Korea's literary landscape. Yang agreed with the journal's purpose, but he heavily criticized the journal's method of translation. Yang listed three requirements for translations in this criticism. The first was that the translated language must be domesticated in the target language. The second was that the translations should eschew the use of Hanja. The last was to refrain from the hasty import of foreign lexicons. In contrast to Yang, Lee Hayun () and Kim Jinseop (), the representative members of the Society for Research in Foreign Literature, claimed that the use of foreign words was inevitable in perspicuous deliverance of the text. Yang's adherence to his position is interpreted as a desire to preserve the Korean language despite the influences of Japanese, Chinese, and European languages.Jae-bong Choi, "Yang Ju-dong's Debate on Translation [양주동의 번역 논쟁]" Hankyoreh [한겨레], April 20, 2014, https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/opinion/column/633652.html. These debates over translations are historically significant in two main ways: first, they marked progress toward setting the independent agenda for translations, and second, they cautioned against the dangers of arbitrary modifications on foreign works. Yang's critical debates reveal Korea's early interest in translations and are considered an epoch of the period that set the agenda for translations of equivocal texts.Si-tae Kim, "Yang Ju-dong and his Criticisms [양주동의 비평활동]," Study on Yang Ju-dong [양주동 연구] (Seoul:Minumsa,1991)
Research on Hyanggas Yang focused on the study of Korean classical poetry () and Hyangga in his 30s and 40s. When the Japanese linguist Shinpei Ogura published A Study of Hyangga and Idu in 1929, Yang felt the need for a Korean to research this canonical text. In 1937, he published "Interpretation of Hyanggas: On 'Wonwangsaengga'" with criticisms towards Ogura's interpretations.Kyoung-hwa Lim, "The Modern Formation of Hyangga: The Rediscovery of Hyangga as Vernacular Text," The Studies in Korean Literature 32 (2007): 448. Yang's main point in his criticisms was that Ogura dismissed the importance of meter and rhythm when interpreting Hyanggas.Yang believed that preserving the rhythmic element of the verses was crucial to delivering the poetic form of the original works.Cheol-won Seo, "Translation of Literature and Yang Joo-dong's View of Hyangga," Korean Classical Poetry Studies 45 (2018): 211. While "Interpretation" was highly regarded by the academic community as the first attempt by a Korean to analyze Korean heritage, it also received criticisms that Yang's research did not provide sufficient linguistic evidence in several parts. Nevertheless, his work was a dominant achievement in Korea's initial study on Hyanggas, and his exceptional use of poetic forms was seldom challenged by those in the field. His continued interest in Hyanggas resulted in the publication of Study on Joseon Classical Poetry () (1942). After Korea's emancipation, Yang wrote Yeoyojeonju () (1947), which was a fully annotated work on Goryeogayo (고려가요; old songs during the Goryeo period), and Study on Classical Poetry () (1954), a revised version of Study on Joseon Classical Poetry.
Criticism A Representative of Eclecticism