Abstract

The writings of Park Hwa-seong have primarily been discussed in the context of women’s consciousness and socialist ideology. However, such an approach is insufficient for understanding the overall nature of her work. This paper focuses on the city of Mokpo, which raised Park Hwa-seong. Mokpo is not only the city where she grew up, but it is also a keyword that illuminates various artistic aspects of her work. Through an analysis of Park Hwa-seong’s Mokpo immigration novel, I attempt to reveal how her characteristics as an author, social consciousness, and sense of identity were formed. According to existing research, these characteristics were formed from her thoughts. It is believed that this idea was influenced by her brother and husband as well as the reading group she participated in during her studies in Japan. This paper focuses on her hometown of Mokpo, where she lived before encountering these influences. Mokpo, a modern colonial city, had a profound influence on the formation of Park Hwa-seong’s social consciousness and sense of identity. I examine how her social consciousness and sense of identity are expressed in “Chuseogjeonya” (1925) and novels written in the 1930s. Busan and Incheon were forced to open their ports by the Japanese Empire; in contrast, Mokpo opened its ports following a decree by the Korean Empire. Thus, a new world could be maintained completely free from the traditional system of domination. Mokpo was a new world and many people flocked to it seeking new opportunities. As Japanese immigrants arrived, Mokpo became a unique city of immigrants. Park was clearly different from writers from rural areas and other cities because she had many experiences living in a free and open colonial city. She grew up freely in the “New World,” and in her first novel, “Chuseogjeonya,” she described the life of immigrants in Mokpo based on her social consciousness and sense of identity. Her surrounding environment had a decisive influence on her personality and the formation of her social consciousness and sense of self. Moreover, the social consciousness and sense of self that she formed at this time became an important foundation that informed the entirety of Park Hwa-seong’s creative period.