Kang Kyŏng-ae (; 20 April 1906 – 26 April 1944) was a Korean writer, novelist and poet involved with the

Feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

movement. She is also known by her penname Kang Gama.

Life

Kang Kyŏng-ae was born in

Songhwa County Songhwa County is a county in South Hwanghae province, North Korea. Administrative divisions Songhwa county is divided into 1 ''ŭp An ''eup'' or ''ŭp'' () is an administrative unit in both North Korea and South Korea similar to the unit ...

, Hwanghae Province,

Korean Empire The Korean Empire () was a Korean monarchical state proclaimed in October 1897 by Emperor Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. The empire stood until Japan's annexation of Korea in August 1910. During the Korean Empire, Emperor Gojong oversaw the Gwa ...

and had an unhappy childhood.Korean Literature Translation Institute: She was the daughter of a servant and lost her father at the age of five. She was then forced to move to Changyeon where her mother remarried a man with three children. All of these circumstances resulted in substantial unhappiness.Feminist Press: Kang was something of a prodigy and started teaching herself to read the

Korean alphabet The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

when she was eight years old using her step-father's copy of the '' Tale of Ch’unhyang'' at a time when female literacy was not greatly valued. By age ten, she had been nicknamed the “little acorn storyteller” by neighborhood elders for whom she read traditional Korean tales. She was also praised in school for her essay writing and often read stories for her friends. Kang enrolled in a Catholic boarding school with the help of her brother-in-law. She was later expelled for orchestrating and participating in a sit-in against the school's strict policies and a particularly cruel dorm mistress. She met a college student who was visiting from Tokyo, moved to Seoul with him, and began an affair. When the affair ended, she moved back to her family home in Hwanghae-do. In 1931 Kang began publishing her writing ("P'ag ŭm" or ''Broken Zither'', 1931A History of Korean Literature. Peter H. Lee - editor. Publisher: Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, England. 2003. Page Number: 412.), and moved to Manchuria as a newlywed, married to a

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

who had divorced his first wife. She lived as a housewife in Yongjin and began to churn out literary works. This period lasted seven years after which Kang ceased writing

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

altogether. This was partly related to the fact that she became the managing editor of the Manchurian Chosun Ilbo. On April 26, 1944, one month after her mother died, Kang Kyŏng-ae died at her home in Hwanghae Province.

Work

Kang is often mentioned by literary critics as one of the foremost female writers of the colonial period. Different from other prominent female authors of the time, such as Na Hye-sok and Heo Jong-suk, she focused solely on fiction and essay writing and did not branch out into other forms of artistic expression such as painting. She produced works focusing on the Korean underclass often based on her experiences with extremely poor Koreans in Manchuria, where many of her works took place. These include: "The Broken Geomungo" (''Pageum''), "Vegetable Garden" (''Chaejeon''), "Football Game" (''Chukgu jeon''), and "Mother and Child" (''Moja''). She also wrote proto-

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

works focusing on women's oppression including "Mothers and Daughters" (). Most of her works are anti-love/anti family, in which only those women who cut their ties with their failed relationships can achieve freedom. ''From Wonso Pond'' (''Ingan munje''), which many consider her best work, is her only novel and deals with a multiplicity of class and gender issues.

Works in English

From Wŏnso Pond
(Feminist Press 2009)
The Underground Village
(Honford Star 2018)

Works in Korean

''The Broken Geomungo'' (''Pageum'' 1931)
''Mothers and Daughters'' ( 1931)
''Comet'' (''Hyeseong'' 1931)
''The Front Line'' (''Jaeilseon'' 1932)
''Vegetable Garden'' (''Chaejeon'' 1933)
''Football Game'' (''Chukgu jeon'' 1933)
''Existence, Nonexistence'' (''Yumu'' 有無 1933)
''Fathers and Sons'' (''Buja'' 1934)
''The Human Problem'' (''Ingan munje'' 1934)
''Salt'' (''Sogeum'' 1934)
''Drugs''/''Magic Medicine'' (''Mayak'')
''Mother and Child'' (''Moja'' 1935)
''Writer's Fee: 200 won'' (''Wongoryo Ibaekwon'' 1935)
''Layoff'' (''Haego'' 1935)
''Underground Village'' (''Jihachon'' 1936)
''Mountain Man'' (''Sannam'' 1936)
''Darkness'' (''Eodum'' 1937)

References

External links