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Han (cultural)

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Han
Hangul
한
Hanja
恨
Revised Romanizationhan
McCune–Reischauerhan

Han, or haan, [ha̠n] is a concept of an emotion, variously described as some form of grief or resentment, among others, that has been said to be a characteristic of Korean culture. Han is a modern phenomenon that did not exist in premodern Korea.[1][2]

The idea of han and its association with Korean identity are relatively recent, originating during the Japanese occupation of Korea from Japanese colonial stereotypes and the characterization of Korean art and culture as "sorrowful" by Yanagi Sōetsu.[3][4][5][6][7] Yanagi's theory, called the "beauty of sorrow", has received criticism in both Korea and, more recently, Japan, and has been criticized as "under-theorized" and "prejudiced".[8][9] Han, as a specifically Korean characteristic, did not originally exist prior to the Japanese occupation,[2] but was adopted and popularized by Koreans in the 20th century because of its propagation by scholars,[4][7] the circumstances of Korea's turbulent modern history,[5] and the political promotion of ethnic-national solidarity through a sense of "shared suffering".[10]

Han, as a theme, is expressed in many aspects of modern Korean culture, such as film and contemporary pansori.[11]

Definition

Han is derived from the Chinese character 恨, which means resentment, hatred, or regret. "Han" is not found in the first Korean–English dictionary, published by James S. Gale in 1897, and is rarely found in classical Korean literature.[1] According to Michael D. Shin of Robinson College: "In actuality, classical Korean literature is full of joy and satire and humor, stuff that you don't associate with han. Han is a very small and minor part of classical Korean literature."[1]

According to the Translation Journal, "Han is frequently translated as sorrow, spite, rancor, regret, resentment or grief, among many other attempts to explain a concept that has no English equivalent."[12] The film director Im Kwon-Taek, many of whose films deal with han, says that Koreans have different interpretations of han.[13] The minjung theologian Suh Nam-dong describes han as "a feeling of unresolved resentment against injustices suffered, a sense of helplessness because of the overwhelming odds against one, a feeling of acute pain in one's guts and bowels, making the whole body writhe and squirm, and an obstinate urge to take revenge and to right the wrong—all these combined".[14] The novelist Pak Kyongni describes han as both sadness and hope.[15]

Michael D. Shin says that defining han in terms of emotions is highly subjective; almost any negative emotion can be called "han". He argues that the central aspect of han is loss of identity, and defines han as "the complex of emotions that result from the traumatic loss of collective identity". Han is most commonly associated with divided families: families who were separated during the Korean War. According to Shin, all Koreans may experience han, or a "constant feeling of being less than whole", because of not having a collective identity as a result of the continued division of Korea. Furthermore, new generations of Koreans seemingly inherit it because of growing up in a divided country.[1]

It has been argued that the current usage of the word han in Korean is "a postcolonial translation of a Japanese colonial construct" that has acquired ethnonationalist and essentialist tones.[3][16]

History

Yanagi Sōetsu was prompted to write about the "beauty of sorrow" by the March First Movement, in which approximately 2,000,000 Koreans participated in more than 1,500 demonstrations.

As a national phenomenon or specifically Korean characteristic, han did not exist in ancient Korea but was an idea anachronistically imposed on Koreans during the Japanese colonial period.[2]

— Korean Han and the Postcolonial Afterlives of "The Beauty of Sorrow"

The concept of han originated from Yanagi Sōetsu's theory of the "beauty of sorrow" (悲哀の美) and Japanese colonial stereotypes of Korea and its people.[3][4][5][6][7] Following the March First Movement, an independence movement that ended with the death of about 7,000 Koreans at the hands of the Japanese police and military,[17] the Japanese art critic Yanagi Sōetsu wrote articles in 1919 and 1920, expressing sympathy for the Korean people and appreciation for Korean art.[18] In his 1920 article, Yanagi said: "The long, harsh and painful history of Korea is expressed in the hidden loneliness and sadness of their art. It always has a sad beauty and loneliness that brings you to tears. When I look at it, I can not control the emotion that fills my heart. Where else can I find such beauty of sadness."[19]

The characterization of Korea as sad and stagnant was common in Imperial Japan;[20][21] Japanese historiography of Korea was centered on the idea that Korea was stagnant.[21] To justify the colonization of Korea, the Japanese propagated an image of Koreans as an inferior, uncivilized people, who were incapable of being independent and prone to being invaded and oppressed.[22] The Japanese viewed Korea's "sorrow" as being because of "a national history of unremitting disaster".[21] Yanagi's views of Korea mirrored those of contemporary Japanese colonial politics.[23] Yanagi said that Korean history was characterized by instability, invasion, and subservience;[24] the "sadness" of Korean history was said to be manifested in Korean art, which, according to Yanagi, embodied the "beauty of sorrow".[25] Yanagi contributed to the naturalization of Japanese colonialism in Korea.[26]

Yanagi Sōetsu was an influential figure in colonial Korea, and was accepted as a true friend by contemporary Koreans; he sought to preserve the traditional art of Korea, held fund-raising lectures and concerts for humanitarian aid, and spoke out in defense of Korean people and cultural heritage.[6][27][28][29][30] Moderate Korean nationalists, who had a non-confrontational approach toward Japanese authority, supported Yanagi, and the Dong-a Ilbo actively promoted and sponsored him.[31] Yanagi was admired by prominent figures in the fields of history, art, and media, who had a profound influence on the formation of modern Korean concepts of traditional art, aesthetics, and history.[32] The concept of han, based on the "beauty of sorrow", was propagated by Korean scholars and writers, continuing Yanagi's legacy,[4][7] and gradually spread to the entire education system.[33] According to Jeong Il-seong, who authored a book about Yanagi Sōetsu, the passage of modern Korean history, going from the Japanese occupation to independence to national division to civil war then to the "dark" period of military dictatorships, influenced figures in art and culture to adopt the concept of han.[5]

Ethnic nationalism’s processes took the colonial origin of "the beauty of sorrow" and produced han as an ethnonational, biologistic badge of Korean uniqueness.[34]

— Korean Han and the Postcolonial Afterlives of "The Beauty of Sorrow"

Sandra So Hee Chi Kim's article on han says that "the term han itself emerged as a significant ideological concept during the 1970s" and "[s]ome contend that it was during the Park Chung Hee regime that the idea of han transformed from a personal sense of sorrow and resentment to a broader, national experience of unrelenting suffering and injustice".[2] Han was used politically to promote "Korean uniqueness" and ethnic-national solidarity through a sense of "shared suffering".[10] Han acquired a biologistic aspect,[34] as seen in descriptions of han by the poet Ko Un, "[w]e Koreans were born from the womb of Han and brought up in the womb of Han",[35] and the film critic Ahn Byung-Sup, "[h]an is an inherent characteristic of the Korean character ... [i]t becomes part of the blood and breath of a person".[12] During the authoritarian regime of Park Chung Hee, the idea of han, and thus resentment and suffering, as a national characteristic of the Korean people may have been an ideological state apparatus to indoctrinate the working class into accepting the hardships of rapid industrialization and economic inequality;[36] the idea of sadness being an inherent Korean trait had served a similar purpose during the Japanese occupation to naturalize the suffering of the colonized Koreans.[11] Sunghee Choi, an art education scholar, said that her inculcation of han in education started as early as elementary school.[37]

Criticism of the "Beauty of Sorrow"

Yanagi Sōetsu viewed the "whiteness" of Joseon white porcelain, among other aspects of Korean culture, as the color of sadness. Yanagi later revised his view: Joseon white porcelain emanates from an "instinctive faith in nature", not sadness.[38] Citing historical examples, Kim Talsu argues that, from a Korean perspective, white is the color of humor and dynamism.[8]

Yanagi Sōetsu's theory of the "beauty of sorrow" has received criticism in both Korea and, more recently, Japan.[8][9] It has been described as prejudiced, imperialistic, orientalist, sentimentalist, colonialist, and under-theorized.[32][39][40] Yanagi's interpretation of Korean history and art has been disputed.[7][32] The "beauty of sorrow" was criticized by Koreans as early as 1922.[8] In 1974, the poet Choe Harim published an influential article that established the "aesthetics of colonialism" and accused Yanagi's theory of imperialism, colonialism, sentimentalism, and a "superficial interpretation of Korean history".[8] Choe criticized Yanagi's view, that Korean art has a "beauty of sorrow" because Korea has long suffered at the hands of foreign countries, as being in accordance with Japanese colonial policies, which, he said, were intended to instill a sense of defeat and shame in Koreans about Korean history.[41]

Mark Peterson of Brigham Young University disagrees with the view that Korea experienced many invasions, a view that he says is a "20th century phenomenon" that was advocated during the Japanese colonial period, and argues that Korea experienced very few invasions and had long periods of peace and stability.[42] Peterson also disagrees with the Japanese colonial view of Korea as stagnant, inefficient, and corrupt.[43] John Duncan of UCLA calls the idea that Korea experienced constant invasions or that Korea has a "history of suffering" (수난의 역사) a "myth", and argues that premodern Korean history is characterized by very long periods of peace.[44] According to David C. Kang, the dominant narrative depicting Korean history as "one of almost incessant foreign incursions" is a "meme" that emerged in the 20th century.[45]

Mari Nakami says that Yanagi did not profess to be an expert or intend for his theory to be an "objective observation" or a "scientifically approached scholarly study", but rather "an expression of the human heart".[46] Furthermore, Nakami argues that the "beauty of sorrow" was not the only perspective Yanagi had of Korean art: He expressed admiration and praise for Korean art, such as the Seokguram,[47] and believed that most Japanese national art was Korean in origin or an imitation of Korean art.[48] Yanagi gradually changed his theory of Korean art from the "beauty of sorrow" to the "beauty of health", the "beauty of naturalness", and the "beauty of unity".[20][49]

Despite receiving criticism for his theory, Yanagi Sōetsu has oft been praised for his humanism and preservation of traditional Korean art. In 1984, he was posthumously awarded the Bogwan Order of Cultural Merit, the first to be awarded to a non-Korean.[50]

In American media, han has been referenced in Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, "Koreatown, Los Angeles", and The West Wing, "Han". In "Han", Josiah Bartlet, the president of the United States, says, "There's a Korean word, Han. I looked it up. There is no literal English translation. It's a state of mind. Of soul, really. A sadness. A sadness so deep no tears will come. And yet, still, there's hope."

In the Korean diaspora

Korean American scholar Elaine H. Kim has written on han in relation to the 1992 Los Angeles riots.[51]

In Korean American literary works (e.g., Dictee by Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, The Language of Blood by Jane Jeong Trenka, Notes from the Divided Country by Suji Kwock Kim, and Comfort Woman by Nora Okja Keller) Americans of Korean descent are sometimes portrayed as experiencing "Americanized" or second-generational han.[52]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d Shin, Michael D. "A Brief History of Han". The Korea Society. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Kim 2017, p. 258.
  3. ^ a b c Kim 2017, p. 257.
  4. ^ a b c d 이진숙. 위대한 미술책: 곰브리치에서 에코까지 세상을 바꾼 미술 명저 62 (in Korean). 민음사. ISBN 9788937488900. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d 강준만 (2008). 한국 근대사 산책 8 : 만주사변에서 신사참배까지 (in Korean). 인물과사상사. ISBN 9788959063390. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  6. ^ a b c 이문영 (28 September 2007). 야나기 무네요시의 두얼굴/정일성 지음. 서울신문 (in Korean). Seoul Shinmun. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d e 조선 예술에 미치다 (무색미학으로 본 한국인의 미의식). 문학동네 (in Korean). Munhakdongne Publishing Group. Archived from the original on 27 September 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  8. ^ a b c d e Kikuchi 2004, p. 138.
  9. ^ a b Brandt 2007, p. 9.
  10. ^ a b Kim 2017, pp. 266–267.
  11. ^ a b Kim 2017, p. 261.
  12. ^ a b Bannon, David (2008-01-03). "Unique Korean Cultural Concepts in Interpersonal Relations". Translation Journal 12(1). Retrieved 2010-04-10.
  13. ^ Im 1997, p. 85.
  14. ^ Yoo 1988, p. 221.
  15. ^ Kim 2017, p. 256.
  16. ^ Kim 2017, p. 274.
  17. ^ "March First Movement". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  18. ^ Kikuchi 2004, p. 126.
  19. ^ Kikuchi 2004, p. 131.
  20. ^ a b Kikuchi 2004, p. 137.
  21. ^ a b c Brandt 2007, p. 31.
  22. ^ Kikuchi 2004, p. 125.
  23. ^ Kikuchi 2004, p. 140.
  24. ^ Brandt 2007, p. 30.
  25. ^ Oguma 2014, p. 111.
  26. ^ Brandt 2007, p. 32.
  27. ^ Kikuchi 2004, p. 129.
  28. ^ Kikuchi 2004, pp. 138–139.
  29. ^ Nakami 2011, pp. 104–105.
  30. ^ Ch'ŏe 2008, pp. 551–553.
  31. ^ Brandt 2007, p. 25.
  32. ^ a b c 한승동 (28 September 2007). 야나기는 진정 조선예술을 사랑했을까. 한겨레 (in Korean). The Hankyoreh. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  33. ^ Kim 2017, p. 262.
  34. ^ a b Kim 2017, p. 266.
  35. ^ Yoo 1988, p. 222.
  36. ^ Killick 2003, p. 59.
  37. ^ Choi 2014, p. 292.
  38. ^ Lee 2011, p. 73.
  39. ^ Oguma 2014, p. 114.
  40. ^ Kikuchi 2004, pp. 134–140.
  41. ^ Moon, So-young. "Yanagi exhibit navigates critic's controversies". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  42. ^ Peterson, Mark (22 March 2020). "Misconception about invasions". The Korea Times. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  43. ^ Peterson, Mark (23 February 2020). "Longest dynasties". The Korea Times. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  44. ^ Duncan, John. "Myths and Truths about Premodern Korea". USC Korean Studies Institute. USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  45. ^ Kang 2017, pp. 81–82.
  46. ^ Nakami 2011, pp. 97–98.
  47. ^ Nakami 2011, p. 91.
  48. ^ Nakami 2011, pp. 93–94.
  49. ^ Nakami 2011, p. 92.
  50. ^ 야나기 무네요시 전. 디자인정글 (in Korean). Design Jungle. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  51. ^ Kim, Elaine H. (1993). "Home Is Where the Han Is: A Korean American Perspective on the Los Angeles Upheavals". Social Justice. 20 (1/2 (51-52)): 1–21. ISSN 1043-1578. JSTOR 29766728.
  52. ^ Chu, Seo-Young (1 December 2008). "Science Fiction and Postmemory Han in Contemporary Korean American Literature". MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States. 33 (4): 97–121. doi:10.1093/melus/33.4.97.

Sources

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