Kim Uchang

Kim Uchang (The romanization preferred by the author according to LTI Korea[1]) (Hangul 김우창; born 1937) is a South Korean literary critic and English literature scholar.[2] He is known for his arguments on building a rational society based on “aesthetic rationality” and moving beyond the dichotomy of conservatism and liberalism, modernism and post-modernism, nationalism and globalism, and literature as an ideology to empower the masses and literature as an art free of any political context.[3]

Life

Kim Uchang was born in Hampyeong County, South Korea in 1937. He graduated Seoul National University in 1958 with a degree in English literature, and earned his doctoral degree at Harvard University in 1975.[4] He taught English literature at Seoul National University from 1963 to 1974 and at Korea University from 1974 to 2003. He holds an endowed chair at Ewha Womans University.[5]

Writing

Kim Uchang’s criticisms focus on how people can reclaim their humanity in a modern capitalist society. He defines “modern era” as the age in which people lose their humanity and human rationality is suppressed, undermined, and turned into a tool, due to the separation of individual agency from the operation of society. According to Kim, quality literature can be produced when society and the individual, or universality and individuality, merges dialectically. He argues that literature can help overcome the divide or discord between society and the individual. He views literature as a bridge between the two that can restore humanity.[6]

Kim thus judges a literary work based on how successfully it brings together society and the individual. He uses the concept “specific universality” as his judging criteria and argues that specific universality can be achieved through “aesthetic rationality.” This is why Kim often emphasizes the universality of rationality. Universality derives from the ability to impartially observe life and reality. Having a universal perspective based on flexible and holistic rationality is far from making judgments mechanically. A person’s awareness of their potential for universality is what saves them from reality and connects them to it. Kim sees rationality as “the best means to perceive the marvels of the physical world or lifeworld.”[7]

Works

1. 문학의 경계와 지평 (2016)

The Boundaries and Horizons of Literature (2016)

2. 사물의 상상력과 미술 (2016)

Imagination of the Object and Art (2016)

3. 예술론 (2016)

On Art (2016)

4. 시대의 흐름과 성찰 1, 2 (2016)

Currents of History and Reflections Volumes 1-2 (2016)

5. 대담/ 인터뷰 1, 2 (2016)

Talks and Interviews Volumes 1-2 (2016)

6. 풍경과 마음 (2016)

Landscape and Mind (2016)

7. 정치와 삶의 세계 (2016)

The World of Politics and Life (2016)

8. 다원 시대의 진실 (2016)

Truth in the Age of Pluralism (2016)

9. 산과 바다와 생각의 길 (2016)

Mountains, Seas, and Paths of Thought (2016)

10. 세 개의 동그라미 (2016)

Three Circles (2016)

11. 궁핍한 시대의 시인 (2015)

Poets in the Poor Age (2015)

12. 문학과 그 너머 (2015)

Literature and Beyond (2015)

13. 법 없는 길 (2015)

Lawless Road (2015)

14. 보편 이념과 나날의 삶 (2015)

Universal Ideology and Everyday Life (2015)

15. 이성적 사회를 향하여 (2015)

Towards a Rational Society (2015)

16. 시인의 보석 (2015)

Jewel of a Poet (2015)

17. 김우창 평론선집 (2015)

Selected Critical Essays by Kim Uchang (2015)

18. 바다를 낚는 어부 (2014)

A Fisherman That Catches the Ocean (2014)

19. 깊은 마음의 생태학 (2014)

The Ecology of a Deep Mind (2014)

20. 기이한 생각의 바다에서 (2012)

From the Sea of Strange Thoughts (2012)

21. 성찰 (2011)

Reflections (2011)

22. 김우창 (2008)

Kim Uchang (2008)

23. 평화를 위한 글쓰기 (2006)

Writing for Peace (2006)

24. 유종호 깊이 읽기 (2006)

A Close Reading of Yoo Jong-ho (2006)

25. 시대의 흐름에 서서 (2005)

Standing in the Currents of History (2005)

26. 풍경과 마음 (2003)

Landscape and Mind (2003)

27. 103인의 현대사상 (2003)

Modern Philosophies of 103 Thinkers (2003)

28. 산호와 진주와 금아 (2003)

Coral, Pearl, and Geuma (2003)

29. 경계를 넘어 글쓰기 (2001)

Writing Across Boundaries (2001)

30. 정치와 삶의 세계 (2000)

The World of Politics and Life (2000)

31. 21세기의 환경과 도시 (2000)

The Environment and City in the 21st Century (2000)

32. 이미지는 어떻게 살고 있는가 (1999)

How Do Images Live? (1999)

33. 미당 연구 (1994)

A Study on Midang (1994)

34. 심미적 이성의 탐구 (1992)

The Study of Aesthetic Rationality (1992)

35. 문학의 지평 (1991)

Horizons of Literature (1991)

36. 지상의 척도 (1987)

Criteria on Earth (1987)

Works in translation[8]

1. Korean Literature: Its Classical Heritage and Modern Breakthroughs (English)

2. LE ROMAN CORÉEN : Essais de littérature et de philosophie (French)

3. Writing Across Boundaries (English)

4. Landscape and mind : Essays on East Asian landscape painting (English)

Awards

1. 2015: 11th Kyung-Ahm Prize in Humanities and Social Science

2. 2005: 19th Inchon Award for Humanities and Literature

3. 2003: Green Stripes Order of Service Merit

4. 2000: 41st Korea Baeksang Publishing Culture Award for Nonfiction

5. 1998: Korea University Scholar Award

6. 1997: 14th Geumho Scholar Award

7. 1994: 2nd Daesan Literary Award for Best Criticism

8. 1993: 4th Palbong Literary Criticism Award

9. 1981: Seoul Culture and Arts Award for Best Criticism

References
  1. "김우창 | Digital Library of Korean Literature (LTI Korea)". library.ltikorea.or.kr. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
  2. "김우창 | Digital Library of Korean Literature (LTI Korea)". library.klti.or.kr. Retrieved 2017-12-03.
  3. "[김호기의 '우리 시대 사상의 풍경'](6) 인문주의, 인간과 삶에 대한 질문 : 이어령과 김우창" (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-12-03.
  4. "Kim Uchang". Korean Literature Now (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-12-03.
  5. BiscuitPress.kr. "김우창 | 문학과지성사". moonji.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-12-03.
  6. "김우창" (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-12-03.
  7. Seok-ju Jang, 나는 문학이다 (Namu Iyagi, 2009).
  8. "김우창 | Digital Library of Korean Literature (LTI Korea)". library.ltikorea.or.kr. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
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