41 Facts About Yi Sang

Kim Haegyong, known by his art name Yi Sang, was a writer and poet who lived in Korea under Japanese rule.

Yi Sang is well known for his poems and novels, such as Crow's Eye View and The Wings.

Yi Sang is considered as a pivotal and revolutionary figure of modern Korean literature.

Yi Sang lived in a very affluent household, but the annexation of Korea by Japan led to a decline in the family's fortunes.

Yi Sang's father worked in letterpress printing for a palace before his birth, but after an accident that cut off his finger, he became a barber instead.

Yi Sang was raised by his uncle Kim Yeon-Pil as an adoptive son since 1913, as Yeon-Pil and his wife had no children at the time of his birth.

Yi Sang met his friend Koo Bon-Woong at Sinmyeong School.

Yi Sang's first known use of his art name Yi Sang was in the graduation photobook.

Since the art box he received was made of plum wood, Yi Sang is interpreted to mean 'plum wood box'.

Yi Sang used different pen names on these two pieces: "Bigu" for the former and "Bosan" for the latter.

Yi Sang opened a coffee house, Jebi, where he interacted with other writers and artists.

In 1936, Yi Sang edited the Guinhoe's magazine, Poetry and Novels, published by Changmunsa under the aegis of Koo Bon-Woong.

Yi Sang and Park Tae-won were born around the same time and both hailed from the four gates of Gyeongseong, now known as Seoul.

Park Tae-won and Yi Sang were inseparable, sharing not only their literary endeavors but their indulgences, depressions, and moments of decadence.

Yi Sang was initially introduced to Kim by Park Tae-won.

Yi Sang designed the cover of Kim Ki-rim's poetry collection, "Gisangdo".

Between 1936 and 1937, Yi Sang sent seven letters to Kim Ki-rim, which are still preserved today under the title 'To Kim Ki-rim'.

Koo, who had a hunchback, attended school intermittently due to health problems and ended up graduating alongside Yi Sang, who was four years younger.

Similarly, Yi Sang, who had a strong interest in art, became friends with Koo, supporting and respecting him.

In 1933, to care for Yi Sang, who had quit his job as a public official due to illness, Koo Bon-Woong took him to Baechon Hot Springs in Hwanghae Province.

Baechon Hot Springs is known as the place where Yi Sang first met Geum-Hong.

Yi Sang eventually found work as a proofreader at Koo Bon-Woong's printing press.

When Yi Sang was struggling with a series of business failures, Koo got him a job at a publishing company, Changmunsa, founded by his father in 1935.

Ultimately, the women depicted by Yi Sang can be interpreted as symbols of his deep-seated loneliness and sense of disconnection.

In 1933,23-year-old Yi Sang first encountered Geum-Hong, who was a kisaeng, during a trip to Baechon Hot Springs to recuperate from tuberculosis.

Yi Sang designated Geum-Hong as the manager of the coffee house, and they lived together for an estimated two years.

Geum-Hong frequently stayed out, and Yi Sang would lash out at her by mentioning her previous life as a kisaeng.

Furthermore, Yi Sang's poems reveal the dynamics between him and Geum-Hong.

Yi Sang recruited Kwon Soon-ok, who had worked as a waitress at another cafe, 'Angel'.

Only three months into their marriage, Yi Sang left for Tokyo alone, where his health sharply deteriorated.

Yi Sang was transferred to Tokyo Imperial University Hospital in a severe state, worsened by a sudden arrest.

Yi Sang is renowned as perhaps the most famous avant-garde writer of the colonial era.

Yi Sang's poems reveal the desolate internal landscape of modern humanity.

Yi Sang's stories dismantle traditional fiction forms to depict the conditions of modern life.

Yi Sang did not receive much recognition for his writing during his lifetime.

Yi Sang's reputation soared in the 1970s, and the Yi Sang Literary Award was established in 1977.

Yi Sang's works are complex and often use ambiguous expressions, sometimes employing words that do not conform to conventional grammar.

Many of Yi Sang's works contain information related to physics.

Four papers on Yi Sang were published from the course.

Since 1960, a total of 26 works by Yi Sang have been discovered.

Yi Sang inspired numerous contemporary cultural works including video games, musicals, music and movies.