By Rhee Tae-rim
Contributing Writer

SEOUL?orean literature has undergone rapid changes amid the political and social upheavals during the last decades.

In the l980s, when political issues were a main theme of Korean literary works, they often featured the labor class and students suffering from the dictatorship. Some of the progressive writers were detained, with their works subject to censorship.

But with the democratization in the l990s, the social or political engagement stopped serving as one of literary causes, with writers turning their eyes from politics and society to themselves and their private lives.

In the 2000s, the "introversion" still remains a dominant feature in literary works.

According to Choi Won-shik, a literary critic and managing director of Changbi, a representative literary magazine which advocated literature of social engagement, Korean literature is now seeking to explore new ways, or a dialectic point of contact between the "privatized" literature and society.

"There is a new move to map out ways to encounter society," Choi said, "among prominent writers such as Hwang Ji-woo and Hwang Suk-young," in particular.

"We used to know Hwang Ji-woo as the one who distanced himself from social engagement. But the poet published a play, ?worui Sinbu (May Bride), which sheds new light on the pro-democracy struggle in Kwangju in May l980. Given that the play is a literary genre that meets the audience face to face, it might be his effort to maximize the communication with society."

As a different move among the writers and social engagement, Choi cited the novelist Hwang Suk-young, one of the representative critics of the political establishment, who is now opting to detach himself from social and political affairs.

Hwang? recent ?raedoen Chongwon (An Old Garden), which is a sort of psychological novel told in the first person, is proof that he began to see society in an introspective manner.

For the younger generation of writers who mostly made their literary debuts in the l990s, however, literature still remains focused on their personal domains. Some critics express concern that this outlook "trivializes literature."

The "petty" aspect of their works, however, is an inevitable result of the demise of grand ideologies in the post-Cold War era, according to Choi.

"Their works represent the self-centered and trivialized urban life of present-day Korea, now devoid of ideological tension," he explained.

Another feature representing the changes in the social reality is the young writers imitation of Murakami Haruki? hard-boiled style to describe their dry and fragmented lives, Choi pointed out, adding that such a style appeals to younger readers.

Choi cited the works of Eun Hee-kyung and Youn Dae-noung as the most successful examples of setting such a style of storytelling as a literary trend.

Choi went on to expect that the "cursed attraction" of the city, as Baudelaire has said, would continue to occupy the minds of younger writers.

As to the strong impact of the Internet age on literature, meanwhile, Choi expressed more optimism than concerns.

"A German poet, Enzensberger, said something about ?igital Revelation and ?igital Gospels at the same time. Cyberspace can subordinate real space but, on the other hand, it can achieve ?eledemocracy by using its mutuality."

For writers, just like others, the digital era comes as a blessing, instead of a scourge, according to the literary critic. "If admitting that the Internet has become an indispensable part of life, it can be used as a means to be more interactive with readers.

"Actually, most Korean writers have been content with print media. They have also insisted one-way communication by assuming an authoritative position as information providers. In that respect, the digital technology might serve as an apt momentum for writers to rethink their roles and build a constructive solidarity with readers."

At the same time, the literary critic does not agree with the voices predicting a dismal fate for liberal arts under globalization, which judges everything by market value.

"Someone said that literature is always a venture. An overly affluent society cannot produce great literary works. In the l990s, we naturally expected our country to attain the same status as other developed countries. People focused on their private lives rather than on the society, and this was reflected in the literature. But after the financial crisis of l997, which subjugated the nation to the IMF trusteeship, they realized that individuals cannot remain independent from society and they started to seek a contact point between the two."

Considering this change in the social consciousness, it? about time to see a great literary achievement, Choi said.

"Nowadays, people face great economic challenges in the wake of the ?MF crisis and the political issue of national reunification. As a result, the public and writers alike started to rethink their social identities and collective fate."

The changes in the social consciousness, Choi expects, will lead to the revival of a discussion on a "grand design" in the literary circle, which in turn can give birth to a great, monumental work.

"Korean literature is now experiencing the Hegelian dialectic process. I expect that the literary circle will soon produce a masterpiece. I? waiting for it."