Maybe Love Korea

“Whenever he encountered Misao, he would bow wordlessly, as if cowed to be appearing before a king. He didn’t understand that either, but his actions were completely instinctive.” (326)

In Yi Kwang-Su’s story, Maybe Love, the lover Mungil expresses his unrequited love through his inner thoughts and his conflicting conscious. Although Mungil initially “held suicide in contempt” the ending implies his unfortunate death. Contrary to stereotypical ideas of committing suicide due to social criticism of homosexuality, Mungil chose his fate for other reasons. The social criticism was irrelevant for Mungil, as even though the “landlord stared at him suspiciously, Mungil glanced away” showing his negligence against the social norm. Through many years “his thirst for companionship grew greater and greater, making his suffering even worse” leaving him in extreme solitude. In addition, his grandfather and little sister passed away freeing him from the bonds and having “no one here to stop me”. Furthermore, by emphasizing the isolation and solitude of Mungil it can represent Korea as a whole. As Mungil represents the isolated Korea, Misao is posed as the “cultured” Japan. Through the relationship between Mungil and Misao it can be seen as a relationship where Mungil/Korea is trying to emulate Misao/Japan. Mungil may have loved Misao due to his racial status instead of a sexual desire. This is evident in Tears of Blood when Wu Wanso followed Ongnyon because of the similarity in their Korean race. Therefore, Mungil holds Misao in high regard and entails the desire to imitate the Japanese, where “he would bow wordlessly, as if cowed to be appearing before a king.” This implies that Korea should mimic the cultural situation of Japan, as it is the norm and “completely instinctive”. Moreover, its foreshadows the future of the country, since Mungil/Korea is unable to reform like Japan they will have the same fate as Mungil, self-devastation.