Shim Hun
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Shim Daeseop (12 September 1901 – 16 September 1936), more commonly known by his
pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...
Shim Hun (also spelled Sim Hun or Sim Hoonhttp://www.iansan.net/english/tourGuide/trace/ChoiYongsin.jsp?menuId=01014016), was a Korean novelist, poet, playwright and patriot.


Life and career

Shim Hun was born in Seoul in 1901 to an old Yangban family which for centuries held high government positions and served the royal court as ministers. His father is Shim Sang-jeong and his mother came from another notable Yangban family Yun (her father was a celebrated calligrapher). Shim Hun was the youngest of three sons and had one sister. He entered the Gyeongseong Ordinary School (, now Gyeonggi High School) in 1915, but due to his participation in the March 1st Movement protests against Japanese rule in Korea in 1919, was arrested and expelled. When he was in prison, Shim Hun wrote his famous impassioned letter to his mother vowing to fight for the freedom of his country ("the Greater Mother") from Japanese rule. Imprisoned for eight months, he went into exile in Hangzhou, China where he attended the Zhejiang University, returning to Korea in 1923. From then until 1930, Shim Hun worked as a newspaper columnist and reporter at the '' Dong-a Ilbo'', '' Chosun Ilbo'', and ''Joseon Jung-ang Ilbo''. His arranged marriage to his first wife Yi Hae-yeong () ended in divorce (1917-1924). Yi Hae-yeong was from the Yi royal family, the daughter of a duke. In 1930, Sim married Ahn Jeong-ok (1913-2004), a "modern woman" whom he met at a music-theatre group, with whom he had three sons; Jae-geun, Jae-gwang and Jae-ho. In 1935 he won an award for his most famous novel ''
Sangnoksu Sangnoksu (, translated into English as '' Evergreen Tree'' or just ''An Evergreen'') is a 1936 novel by Korean writer Sim Hun on the Korean rural education movement. It is considered his most famous work, and has been described as "one of the most ...
''; he used the prize money to create the Sangrok Academy. Sim is credited for the Sangrok (Evergreen Tree) movement which encouraged young, educated people to move to the countryside to educate and organize rural populace, and awaken them from their oppression (e.g., Japanese colonial rule, traditional landed gentry class). He died in 1936 of typhoid fever without seeing his country's independence that came in 1945.


Works

Shim Hun was a prolific writer. In his short life, he wrote several novels, short stories, plays and poems. He was a meticulous writer who kept original copies of his writing; most of Sim's original manuscripts (over 4,000 pages)survive today. Sim's 1926 novel ''Talchum'' (, ''Mask Dance'') was the first Korean novel to be made into a movie. He wrote a collection of poetry ''Kunari Omyeon'' (, ''When that day comes'') to commemorate a student independence movement in
Gwangju Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial office ...
in 1930, in which he yearns for the day Korea gains independence from Japan. His novel ''Dongbang-eui Aein'' (, ''Lover from the East'') was serialised in the ''Chosun Ilbo'' beginning in October 1930. His Jiknyuseong ("Weaver Girl" star or Constellation Lyra) was serialized in Chosun Joong Ang Ilbo in 1934 and is believed to honor and be inspired by his first wife Yi Hae-Yeoung's life. He wrote ''
Sangnoksu Sangnoksu (, translated into English as '' Evergreen Tree'' or just ''An Evergreen'') is a 1936 novel by Korean writer Sim Hun on the Korean rural education movement. It is considered his most famous work, and has been described as "one of the most ...
'' (, ''Evergreen Tree''), a novel about rural development, in 1935 while staying in Dangjin, Chungcheongnam-do; it was published in 1949 in a novel collection commemorating the 15th anniversary of the ''Dong-a Ilbos establishment. Sim's last work was a poem "Joseonui Nama" or "Chosun's Son" which he wrote after learning that the Korean marathon runner Sohn Kee-chung won the gold medal for Marathon at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. As a colonial subject, Song was forced to run wearing the Japanese flag. Sim wrote the poem on the copy of the Special Bulletin that announced Sohn's victory. ''Kunari Omyeon'' was published in 1949 since the original volume was censored and banned by the Japanese colonial government. A seven-volume series of his books, ''Sim Hun's Books'', came out in 1952 and a three-volume series, ''Shim Hun's Complete Works'', was republished in 1996.


Legacy

Decades after his death in 1936, Shim Hun is still honored as one of the pioneers of modern Korean literature, for his patriotic service to Korea through resistance and the Sangrok Movement, and for living a life that was an embodiment of exceptional artistic talent, prolific writing, and vision for his country's future freed from the darkness of colonialism. Shim Hun's writings are mandatory readings for all students in South Korea today. Shim Hun's high school issued an honorary graduation diploma in his name in 2005. His third son Shim Jae-Ho, who lives in Virginia, United States, holds the original manuscripts of many of his works; he lent them out to be displayed in Dangjin in 2010. In 2011, the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation commemorated Shim Hun in its series of Medals of Korean Historical Figures; Shim was one of 100 notable historical figures to be recognized and honored.


Pilgyeongsa

In 1932, Shim Hun designed and built his house Pilgyeongsa () in Dangjin, Chungcheongnam-do, where he wrote most of his major works and his children were born. Today, it is designated as a historical site preserved and managed by the Chungcheongnam-do Provincial Government. In addition, there is a Shim Hun Memorial adjacent to Pilgyeongsa; the government is planning to build a new, expanded memorial.


See also

*
Korean literature Korean literature is the body of literature produced by Koreans, mostly in the Korean language and sometimes in Classical Chinese. For much of Korea's 1,500 years of literary history, it was written in Hanja. It is commonly divided into classica ...
*'' Sangoksu'' on the Korean-language Wikisource


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sim, Hun 1901 births 1936 deaths Korean novelists Infectious disease deaths in Korea Literature of Korea under Japanese rule 20th-century novelists Cheongsong Sim clan Deaths from typhoid fever