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Exilic Experiences and Creative Practice: Insights from the Lives and Art of Scholar-Artists Exiled on Cheju Island During the Choson Dynasty (1392-1910)

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Exilic Experiences and Creative Practice: Insights from the Lives and Art of Scholar-Artists Exiled on Cheju Island During the Choson Dynasty (1392-1910) Art and Design Faculty of Humanities Exilic Experiences and Creative Practice: Insights from the lives and art of Scholar-Artists exiled on Cheju Island during the Choson Dynasty (1392-1910) Keumhee Oh This thesis is presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Curtin University November 2012 i Declaration To the best of my knowledge and belief this thesis contains no material previously published by any other person except where due acknowledgment has been made. This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university. Signature: …………………………………………. Date: ………………………... ii Abstract During the Choson Dynasty (1392-1910), under Korea’s exile system, hundreds of scholar artists and politicians were prosecuted for political crimes including disobedience to the royal command or to political policies. Of the hundreds of regions around the Korean peninsula to which the exiles were banished, Cheju Island, located some 140 kilometres away from the South Korean mainland in the East China Sea, was one of the most notorious. Choson exiles were banished from their hometowns and their movements severely restricted within their places of exile on the distant island. The exiles were forced to adapt to a life of isolation amongst suspicious local islanders and their unfamiliar local customs, religions and rituals. Additionally, unpredictable climatic conditions, infertile land, contaminated water systems, disease, and poor supply of everyday necessities such as food and medical care led some exiles to succumb to despair and lose all hope and will, while for others such harsh conditions fuelled their artistic creativity to new levels. Many exiles made art and literature their primary avenue for discharging their thoughts and emotions of loneliness, despair and anguish. Today, their outputs form an invaluable window into the lives of the Cheju Island exiles during the period. The aim of this research is to examine the exilic experiences of three notable scholar artists who were exiled to Cheju Island during the Choson Dynasty: Kim Jeong (1486-1521), Lee Geun (1614-1662) and Kim Chonghui (1786-1856). By examining the artists’ personal letters, poetry, calligraphy, records, paintings and other works of art and literature, as well as other remaining historical records, this thesis presents insight into the lives and experiences of some of the politically prosecuted exiles of the period. Kim Chonghui’s artistic achievements during his nine years in exile, which have been lauded as having made an enormous contribution to Korean art history, stemmed from his exilic experiences on the island. Likewise, Kim Jeong left writings, which were later compiled into two collections, providing insight into some of the pain and despair of life in exile on Cheju Island. Lee Geun left a journal and a record detailing his personal experiences and emotions during exile. Western exile literature suggests that, though exile can be a miserable period of suffering, it may also present an opportunity for positive self-reflection and iii cultivation of one’s creativity. It would assert that the political, cultural, social and material circumstances an exile is subjected to during his sentence, in combination with his will to turn his plight into an opportunity, would impact upon his creativity. However, this research has found that the exiles’ experiences were so physically and psychologically torturous and demanding that their mentality bore little room for optimism. This research proposes that their artistic and literary pieces were more the products of a struggle to overcome their pains than the results of any positive willpower to convert misfortune into opportunity. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgments Notes on Transliteration Table of Figures ......................................................................................................... viii Chapter 1 ..................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 Background ................................................................................................................. 4 Leading to the Research Problem ............................................................................. 7 Research questions ................................................................................................... 11 Significance of the research ..................................................................................... 12 Historical sources ..................................................................................................... 12 Translation issues ..................................................................................................... 15 Research Methodology ............................................................................................. 15 Interviews, surveys and site visits ................................................................................................................ 15 Iconographical and Iconological Analyses ................................................................................................. 16 Synoptical Table ................................................................................................................................................ 17 Overview of the Chapters ........................................................................................ 18 Definitions and concepts .......................................................................................... 22 Exile and exilic consciousness: .................................................................................................... 22 Choson Exile: Guiyang and Yubae ............................................................................................... 23 Delimitations ............................................................................................................. 23 Literature Review: Reflections on Exilic Experiences and Creativity ................ 25 Exile in China .................................................................................................................................................... 31 Choson Dynasty Exile and Artists ................................................................................................................ 33 Kim Jeong, Lee Geun and Kim Chonghui ................................................................................................. 35 Summary ................................................................................................................... 37 Chapter 2 ................................................................................................................... 38 Exile in the Korean Context: Causes and Effects ................................................. 38 Historical background ............................................................................................. 39 v The Cause of Increasing Exile ................................................................................. 43 The philosophical underpinnings of the Korean exile system .............................. 46 Exile punishment and its effects ............................................................................. 47 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 53 Chapter 3 ................................................................................................................... 54 The Colony of Exile: Cheju Island ......................................................................... 54 Geographical History ............................................................................................... 56 The Colony of Exile .................................................................................................. 60 Environmental Conditions during the Choson Dynasty ....................................... 63 Exiled Officials and the kisaeng .............................................................................. 69 The Living Contributors ......................................................................................... 71 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 73 Chapter 4 ................................................................................................................... 75 Exilic Experiences and Creativity: Kim Jeong and Lee Geun ............................. 75 Kim Jeong (1486-1521) ............................................................................................ 76 Exile life, Poetry, Death and Restitution ................................................................ 78 Art practice ......................................................................................................................................................... 87 Lee Geun ................................................................................................................... 95 Life in Exile ....................................................................................................................................................... 96 Art Practice .....................................................................................................................................................
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