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Spring at Unhyeongung Palace Cover

Spring at Unhyeongung Palace

Kim Dong-in

In order to write 'Spring at Unhyeongung Palace' and gather material, while seeking out elders, I asked several old men who had once been high officials like provincial governors, "How exactly did His Majesty address the Queen? Surely he didn't call her 'my dear wife' like we do; there must have been some special title?" But no one knew. Only the eunuchs and female attendants—especially those who served in close proximity—would know this; even the high officials did not know.

Writing about the details of that era—where the 18 ranks, from the lowest ninth rank to the highest first rank, each had different hat strings, different ways of bowing, different palanquins or carriages, different headdresses, different sashes, and different titles—is truly a headache. I will wait for a later opportunity to write about it in detail.

— 'The Novel and the Author's State of Mind' (Samcheonri, Vol. 5, No. 9, September 1933)

From the Author to the Reader

Wherever possible, I have used modern Korean for the terms employed in this work. I was utterly ignorant of court etiquette and terminology, so I sought out elders and gathered extensive materials. While I acquired sufficient knowledge to write this novel, the overly intricate terms and rituals might feel cumbersome to modern readers and contain many elements difficult for them to grasp. Therefore, adhering to the novel's original intent, I modernized it as much as possible. Please keep this in mind as you read.

— From Chapter 33 of 'Spring at Unhyeongung'

Notes

  1. 'Spring at Unhyeongung' is a novel serialized in 197 installments in the Chosun Ilbo newspaper from April 26, 1933, to February 17, 1934. The first single-volume edition was published by Hanseong Publishing Co., Ltd. in October 1938, followed by multiple editions over the years. This illustrated edition uses the 1948 edition of 'Spring at Unhyeongung Palace' published by Hanseong Publishing Co., Ltd., which is closest to the original, as its base text. It has been collated and corrected against multiple editions, and the orthography follows the current 'Hangul Orthography'.
  2. Archaic terms, dialects, or difficult words are annotated to aid reader comprehension.
  3. The illustrations feature the original drawings from the newspaper serialization, though the photographs at the beginning have been replaced with clearer, contemporary versions related to the subject matter.
Night at the Border Cover

Night at the Border

Pae

Born in the mountainous northern land where white snow piles deep and sandstorms rage, Mr. Pae spent his quiet childhood. Drawing from his unique sensibility, he gathered material from his sorrow-filled, deeply felt homeland near the border. With a brushstroke tinged with melancholy and pathos, he crafted a romantic epic and several other lyric poems singing of youth. Now sent forth into the world under the title 'Border Night', such poetic works, I believe, can only truly come to life through the hands of an author like this.

Moreover, the adoption of this expressive form in a long narrative poem is unprecedented in our poetic world. In many respects, it can be considered a precious harvest for our poetry scene. Yet, Mr. Pae's poetry possesses both solemn power and tender beauty. That solemn power passionately dissects reality without hesitation, while the tender beauty, imbued with the hues of a rich humanity, sings of life with exaltation.

In short, Mr. Pae is a poet richly imbued with humanistic color. It is almost sacred how the author, as a knight of humanity, takes up the torch and leads the way, spitting venom without mercy at anything displeasing. Moreover, his condemnation and 'correction' of crumbling modern civilization, coupled with his praise for the genuine simplicity of rural life, is truly beautiful.

Is this the fault of the author, or the fault of modern materialistic civilization? I know you will surely grieve and know how to fight together.

I am deeply glad to send such a warrior into our poetry world, and I also hope that this 'Night at the Frontier' will resonate in people's hearts.

About Littera

Littera is dedicated to introducing Korean literature to English-speaking readers around the world. We carefully select and translate significant works from Korean literary history, preserving their cultural essence while making them accessible to a global audience.

"Littera" — from Latin, meaning "letter" or "literature"