The Guest by Hwang Sok-Yong - Essay Example

‘The Guest’ by Hwang Sok-Yong Hwang Sok-Yong’s book d ‘Guests’ is one of the intriguing texts by a Korean author, touching on one of the historical events that trigger a realm of feelings of indifference. 1950 saw one of the tragic atrocities that compromised the human values and rights, leading to many deaths. For many people, the memories of what transpired in the Sin-chon massacre registered episodes of extreme horror. During this time, the Christians and communists staged attacks against each other. Notably, both of these were foreign ideologies, adopted by some Koreans, who abandoned the traditional ideologies and perspectives. Notably, the same time saw the arrival of the American military that expressed its resilient support for the staged anti-communist efforts. Sin-chon was the center of all the horror that transpired, and is a historically significant place as signified by the museum erected in the same place as a memory of the past. The book ‘The Guest’ offers vivid descriptions of the 1950 events, presented through dreams of some characters who witnessed the atrocities. The context of the book thus exhibits a cultural, historical, and political relevance. This paper will highlight the relevance of its context in the three aspects. The author of the book ‘The Guest’ focused on one of the most sensitive subjects to both the south and northern Korea. In his introductory note, the author presents the contextual justification of the title selected for his work. A weighty analogy appears between the issues discussed in the book and small pox. Evidently, when the smallpox pandemic was of critical concern in Korea, the people regarded it as a ‘foreign disease’ and coined the term ‘sonnim’ that translates to guest in its reference. With the novel focusing on the adverse effects of Christianity and communism, the analogy to small pox becomes relevant. The fact that both of these ideologies were not concepts that had not emanated from the Korean people, but rather from foreigners justified them to bear the reference as guests. Moreover, the American army that has received immense criticism as the principal cause of the massacre, was a guest among the Korean (Lee 195). The book offers a salient criticism of the issues that transpired. Contrary to the common belief that the American army bears the ultimate blame for the atrocities that happened, the book offers an expose of the real perpetrators of the extreme violence that was carried out against the people in 50 days that those who witnessed the events would rather forget. However, the extremities of the atrocities committed are clear from the vivid descriptions offered in the book. The author relies on the concept of ghosts and through their narrations offers the readers an opportunity to fathom the depth of the violence committed (Lee 195). The author uses the family of Rhu to present a realistic picture of the extreme animosity that surrounded the Sin-chon massacre. According to the author, Korea had been under the Japanese and American influence prior to the events that defined 1950. There was an evident division of Korea into the northern and southern part. Some American had introduced the Christian ideology ad religious beliefs, and some Koreans abandoned their traditional religion and conformed to the Christian religion. Notably, the Americans exerted control on the use of land, offering most of the Christian devotees land. With time, a land ownership system had developed with land owners relying on the peasants in the maintenance of the land (Lee 197). Communism would emerge to disrupt the existing order, and introduce a new set of rules that would govern the usage and division of labor. This was according to the concepts introduced and promoted by the socialist society. The united states had always promoted anti-communism efforts under in the South Korea. The Soviet forces had served to introduce the communist ideology in the northern part of Korea. Evidently, the United States offered support to the southern region that had been a Japanese colony. The author of the book presents a critical analysis of the war that served to leave a permanent division of the two countries. The war was happening after the globe had experienced the adverse effects of the Second World War (Lee 198). The Korean War has received recognition at the initial significant event that marked the beginning of the cold war. His motivation to publish this work was after his encounter with some people who witnessed the events that defined the Sin-chon massacre. The publishing of this book as a powerful literary work centered on factual events was the author’s move to awaken both the North and South Korea on the need to embark on a journey that would reconcile them with their past mistakes. The return of Yosop to the province after many years as highlighted in the book is used by the author as an illustration for the need of the Koreans to make a step of acceptance of their previous mistakes. Yosop reminds his brother that he had to plead for divine forgiveness, as a move towards enjoying the benefits of a clean conscience. Moreover, the author outlines twelve impeccable steps that he opines are sufficient in a bid to exorcise the spirits that motivated the perpetration of the atrocities. Hwang Sok-Yong opines that his books will serve as a revelation of the events that transpired during the Korean War. As is common, sometimes the globe can have a flawed understanding of certain political and historical events, the Sinchon massacre and the factors that defined it have been surrounded by multiple misconceptions. For many years prior to the publishing of this book, many sources highlighted that the American army had perpetrated the atrocities witnessed in Korea. However, the author seeks to refute such widely known claims that have blamed the American army (Lee 196). In his book, Hwang Sok-Yong offers new insight that the atrocities were crimes contravening human rights, perpetrated by the Korean, who had motivation either from the communist or Christian ideologies. From the confessions from the ghost characters, that author makes his expose more real. With the evident guilt exhibited by each of the characters in the book, the reader realizes the responsibility of Christians and communists in perpetrating the atrocities. The author opines that it is time for the Korean people to exhibit efforts towards reconciling with the past. The museum erected at Sin-chin promotes the similar misguided conception as the author describes through the narration of Yosop, who toured the museum (Sok-Young 56). History of the Sin-Chon Massacre According to the book, the Northern Korea had adopted communism while the southern region had adopted Christianity to an extent of using Christian names. This was after the Japanese had left southern Korea. Evidently, the division of Korea, caused numerous wrangles, that served to prompt the war, that caused death of a remarkably high number of people. As communism was becoming an acceptable in Northern Korea, the people abandoned the traditional order that had defined their traditional belief (Sok-Young 98). A communist party had been formed and had gained popularity with increased membership. On the other hand, the South Koreans had become christen devotees. The ownership of land was a critical issue because many of the Christians had been allocated vast pieces of land. However, communism advocated for a fair distribution of land. In a bid to ensure that such fairness became a reality, the communists formulated new rules that governed land ownership. This faced the compulsion on the landowners to let go of the excessive land, a fact that they refuted. The Christians who had lacked an in depth understanding of many Christian beliefs opined that the communists were representatives of the devil as they were taking away their privileges (Sok-Young 87). Such feelings promoted an unwarranted resentment that served to fuel the attacks that ensued. The different ideologies held by the northern and southern people prompted the attack that ensued. The communists from the north attacked the southern Christians. The Christians believed that the communists were representatives of the devil, and hence sought to destroy them. As the northern Communists staged an invasion in the south, the Christians retaliated. The Koreans motivated by varying ideologies waged war against one another. Coincidentally, the American army was approaching Seoul, in its bid to protect the southern Korea from the invading communists. Evidently, the United Nations, mandated the American army after the united states had expressed its willingness to support South Korea, in a bid to conform to the international convention of promoting peace. The united states army served to equip the South Koreans with the weapons they needed in their retaliatory attack. These are the circumstances that prompted the massacre that resulted. The Koreans attacked each other, killing many in brutal scenes (Sok-Young 54). Neighbors waged war against each other, possessed by the guests as the author defines them. A clear example of what transpired becomes evident as Yohan remembered how he had participated in the fateful atrocities. He recalled how he had maimed people that he had always known, especially one of the people who had worked for his family. Moreover, he describes the death of his uncle, and the ruthless methods used in killing the people. The guilt that he harbors in his heart prior to his death and the sleepless nights are consequences of his troubled conscience. The author defines how the guns provided by the United States army were used in the killings, with the dumping of both the dead and some live people deemed dead into the trenches where they perished. This massacre persisted for about 52 days, resulting in the murder of a large number of people (Sok-Young 76). Despite the perceived idea that the united states army was responsible for the massacre, the author reveals the truth of the matter. From the Rhu’s family, the author helps the readers to realize that the Koreans were responsible for the massacre. In a bid to ensure they had access to political and social power, the people were willing to compromise the existing familial, and neighborhood relationships that defined their society prior to the massacre. The people exhibited an obsession with the ideology they had adopted. The communists belonged to the infamous communist party, and sought to gain political and social recognition. On the other hand, the Christians had the dire conviction that the communists were the equivalents of the representatives of the slanderer, Satan. Yohan exposes this perspective, as he recollects on the evil he caused upon some communists. The adoption of foreign ideologies motivated the people to become intolerable to their fellow Koreans. This is the reason why the author regards the ideologies as ‘the guests’. It proves rather unfortunate for people perpetrate such inhumane acts against fellow men in pursuit of political, material or social gain. For example, Yohan, was discontented with the fact that some portion of the land owned by his family was taken away. Ironically, the family had been allowed to own a remainder of the land, yet the pursuit for more and the obsession with his misconception of Christianity moved him to perpetrate such extremities of violence against his people. The guilt that he had to battle with until his death only serves to indicate that he was responsible for the crimes he committed. The unpleasant memories of the atrocities committed against humans haunted Yohan, and was one of the reasons why he did not fancy the idea of his brother returning to his province (Sok-Young 34). Common Pursuits of Communists and Christians Both the Communists and Christians who perpetrated the atrocities that defined the Sin-Chon massacre had specific objectives. On one hand, the communists who had adopted the communist ideology from the pertinent soviet forces had the conviction that they held an outstanding position in the society because of their salient membership in the communist party. Moreover, the communists who reclaimed land from the Christians regarded themselves highly, especially because they were landowners, compared to their previous position (Miller 1). On the other hand, the Christians strived to reclaim the lost land, which had become a symbol of power to them. This makes it saliently evident that the pursuit of power was an obvious motivation. The case of Yohan, his uncle and the previous servant that he killed presents an evident illustration of the drive to gain access to power. The foreign ideologies served as benchmarks for them to create a front that would place them at an advantage to access power. The effects of foreign forces, namely the soviet society and the United States had served to infect the people with the ideologies. The two foreign forces indulged in a struggle to prove which one deserved the regard as a superpower on a global front (Sok-Young 45). On abandoning their traditional values, Koreans gave up on the traditional advocacy for family and society, and focused on new pursuits. The division of the country into two also motivated the massacres as each side sought to prove itself stable. Difference in Pursuit between Communists and Christians Despite the evident similarities in the pursuit of the communists and the Christians, it is evident that there were certain salient differences. Evidently, the communists were in pursuit of a new social ideology that had emanated from the Soviet forces. Communism was an ideology that defined the role of the state to the people. Communism was both a political and social ideology. Communism defined the role of the society, and served to highlight new political structures. Therefore, communists were in pursuit of this type of power. On the other hand, Christianity was a religious ideology that defined the religious beliefs that the people held. In essence, the Christians sought a religious ideology that would have served to transform their moral perspective (Kramer 1). However, their participation in the perpetration of murder did not reflect the expected morality. Evidently, the massacre was a clash between political/social ideology and a religious one. Unfortunately, the ideologies emanated from, foreigners, and exhibited undesirable effects on the Korean people (Ramzy 1). Without doubt, the book exhibits, literary, cultural and historical relevance. It serves to introduce the reader to an intriguing work from Korea. The book presents a lot of literary wealth as the author makes salient use of varying styles to help the reader grasp his ideas. In addition, the book depicts the Korean culture in different ways (Hodges 1). The reader can understand the meanings of different cultural aspects through the different stories. Historically, the book highlights one of the critical events that defined Korea history. The 1950 war registered immense international losses as the lives of people emanating from different nationalities were lost. Conclusion The Sin-Chon museum serves as a constant reminder of the Sin-chain massacre, that altered the life of many Koreans. During the 1950 massacres, may lose their lives while others abandoned their homes and chose to resettle in other regions as depicted in the book. The book serves as an expose of the real perpetrators of the violence that registered numerous deaths. Although many people assume that the United States army was responsible for the massacre, it becomes evident that communists and Christians indulged in the fateful war, in pursuit of both social and political power. Work Cited Hodges, Horace. Hwang-Sok-Yong: “the guest is a western disease”. Web. 15th March 2014. Kramer, Martha. ‘Book Review: The Guest, By Hwang-Sok-Yong’.´ Political Affairs. Web. 15th March 2014. http://www.politicalaffairs.net/book-review-the-guest-by-hwang-sok-yong/. Lee, Jin-Hyung. The Guest by Hwang Sok-Young. The Journal of Korean Studies, 11, 1 (fall 2006), pp. 195-198. Miller, One. ‘The haunted battlefield’. International socialism. Web. 15th March 2014. Ramzy Austin. ‘The Ghosts of War’.´ Time Magazine. Web. 15th March 2014. http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1145266,00.html Sok-Young, Hwang. The Guest. Seven Stories Press, 2008. Print. Suleski, Ronald. The Guest(Review). Journal of Korean Literature & Culture, 1(2007):289-293. Read More