Analysis of "on the Eve of the Uprising"

The Journey towards Self-Actualization in “On the Eve of the Uprising”

        In “On the Eve of the Uprising,” Yi Inhwa’s trip from Tokyo to Seoul forces him to face the realities of Japanese colonialism after having assimilated into the shadows of Tokyo. Each interaction Yi has with the Japanese colonizers and the Korean nationals help Yi expand his understanding of his own nationalism. This essay will argue that the narrator uses the trip as a symbolic representation of Yi Inhwa’s own journey towards understanding his identity. To better present the argument, the essay will analyze how Yi transitions from his lack of identity in Tokyo, his realizations during his trip, and his epiphany when he departs from Seoul.

        In colonialism, the colonizer projects its ideals onto the colonized country. Through this process, the original, colonized citizens adopt the values and ideals which are important to the colonizer. In Yi Inhwa, the narrator portrays a Korean national who has abandoned his Korean identity for the convenience of existing among the Japanese. When explaining his reasoning for leaving to Seoul to his professor, Yi tells the professor about “his mother’s illness,” and after this interaction, he “couldn’t get over the bad aftertaste of that lie.”1 There is an implication of Japanese superiority here; he does not acknowledge it is his wife’s illness because she is Korean. As a subconscious reaction, he reasons that a duty to a universally important figure, such as a mother, is more excusable than his duty to another Korean. This lie shows both Yi’s acceptance of Japanese superiority and his deep-rooted consciousness of his Korean identity, and it is only when he has time to reflect on his actions he acknowledges the significance of his lie.  

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1 Yŏm Sang-sŏp, “On the Eve of the Uprising” (Mansejŏn, 1924), in On the Eve of the Uprising, trans. Sunyoung Park (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2010), 7.

        In addition, his interactions with the modern establishments of Tokyo (the shop where he purchases his vest and the barber) show how he can blend into the background as a citizen while never having to question his identity. For instance, the banter between Yi Inhwa and the barber shows his competency in speaking Japanese. The barber treats this like any other business transaction; Yi is just another customer in Tokyo. Yi has the luxury of being able to blend in as a Japanese citizen only because he has accepted the language and economic system a Japanese citizen would use. Furthermore, the scene also reveals Yi’s inner battle with his identity when he asks the question, “Well, then, what on earth am I going for?”2 Through the Japanese establishments, Yi can be insensitive to his wife’s illness. For Yi, there is more comfort in hiding among the modern institutions of Japan than facing the realities of his life back in Korea and, more importantly, his Korean identity.