Korean Literature Review – With Her Oil Lamp On That Night
A quick browse through the canon of Korean literature will turn up no shortage of novels based on the events of the Korean War. Indeed, one could be forgiven for assuming that little else has taken the fancy the nation’s writers for the past half-century. No doubt there are some who sigh at the prospect of sitting down with yet another account of this particular chapter of history, but tales of the Korean War are perhaps best likened to the music produced by a symphony orchestra. All instruments lend their sound to the composition, and to exclude any one of them serves only to diminish the overall effect of the performance.
Lim Chul-Woo’s account of the conflict, With Her Oil Lamp On, That Night, hones in on a single hillside overlooking a tiny village not far from Meudeung Mountain. A group of communist guerillas, stranded during their comrades’ hasty retreat north, have taken to the woods and caves where they hope to weather out the remainder of the fighting. Far from maintaining blind loyalty to the communist cause, most simply wish to return to the simple existence they’d known before the outbreak of hostilities. None cherish this wish more earnestly than a young man whose home lies at the foot of the very hill where the group has been hiding for the past several months.
During his watch one cold winter’s evening, the young man spots the unmistakable glow of an oil lamp burning in the window of his childhood home. Though he’s certain it’s his mother, he’s forbidden to break cover for fear that it’s a trap set by the republicans. It is, in fact, his mother who’s returned to the village to honor the anniversary of her husband’s passing. As the old woman sets out a humble meal of broth and millet, her thoughts turn to her absent son. She wonders where the war has taken him, little suspecting how near he is.
The theme of exile is front and centre throughout the story, as is arbitrary way in which the lines of allegiance are drawn in conflict. We get the impression that it was happenstance rather than ardent belief that led the young man to join the Youth Defense Force. Whatever the impetus, he longs to lay down his arms and run to the embrace of his beloved mother. Sadly for both of them, it is the nature of warfare that a combatant can never be truly free.
The other story contained in this book, Sapyon Station, takes place long after the fog of war has lifted. On a dark, snowy night, a stationmaster and nine would-be passengers stand huddled around an old stove, waiting for the arrival of a long overdue commuter train. Although they represent different generations and social strata (from criminals and prostitutes to intellectuals and wealthy urbanites), they are united by a feeling of hopeless resignation. As the story progresses, the act of waiting becomes symbolic, and though the train eventually arrives, there is no sense of delight (or even relief) among the passengers. Perhaps they realize, as we do, that their destinations are all but irrelevant. Wherever they go they will still be waiting, endlessly waiting.
An English translation of With Her Oil Lamp On That Night is available in the GIC library.