The smokestack by LTI Korea Library

TheSmokest ack

YunGi -j eong Tr ans l at edbyMi -Ry ongShi m

The Smokestack By Yun Gi-jeong Translated by Mi-Ryong Shim

Literature Translation Institute of Korea

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and Literature Translation Institute of Korea. The original manuscripts to these translations were provided by Gongumadang of Korea Copyright Commission.

The National Library of Korea Cataloging-in-Publication Data Yun, Gi-jeong (The) smokestack [electronic resource] / by Yun Gi-jeong ; translated by Mi-Ryong Shim. -- [Seoul] : Literature Translation Institute of Korea, 2014 p. 원표제: 양회굴뚝 Translated from Korean ISBN 978-89-93360-46-2 95810 : Not for sale 813.61-KDC5 895.733-DDC21

CIP2014028974

About Yun Gi-jeong Yun Gi-jeong (1903 – 1955) participated in the proletarian literature movement as a novelist, literary critic, arts activist, and organizer. Born in Seoul, Yun was educated at the Boin School. He made his literary debut in 1921 with the publication of his short story “Memories of a Christmas” in the daily newspaper Joseon Ilbo. He participated in the leftist literary organization Yeomgunsa after its creation in September of 1922. After joining the Seoul Youth Group (Seoul Cheongnyeonhoe) in 1924, he worked with Ch’oe Seung-il, Song Yeong, Bak Yeonghui, and others to unite the two leftist literary organizations Yeomgunsa and PASKYULA into a single entity. As the result of his efforts, he was appointed in 1925 as the inaugural secretary director and central committee member of the united group KAPF (Korea Artista Proletaria Federacio). Yun’s works in the literary field can be organized into two broad categories of fiction and literary criticism. Many of his fictional works depict in a critical manner the pain and the exploitation of the working class. In some of these works, the ideological line of the proletarian literary movement is mechanically applied to the narrative, and as such, these works tend to be highly conceptualized and schematic. Yun’s literary works include, “New Life,” “The Walker,” “The Smokestack,” and “Nirvana.” As with his fictional works, Yun’s literary criticism engaged with politics in a relatively direct manner. His criticism places heavy emphasis upon political ideology and makes clear that for proletarian literature in the present period of historical struggle, its primary role lay in functioning as a form of propaganda for the struggle. With this well-defined emphasis, he played a major role in outlining the trajectory of KAPF as a radical leftist organization. As part of the large-scale government suppression of KAPF activities, he was arrested in 1931 and again in 1934, and was released on suspension of indictment and probation, respectively. After being released, he continued to act as the secretary director of KAPF under the leadership of Song Yeong, Han Seol-ya, and Yi Gi-yeong. In addition to seeing through both the start and the end of KAPF, Yun also showed great interest in film as a medium. Placing high value in film’s potential to propagate to and instigate the masses, he participated in the early production and the criticism of film in colonial Korea. In more ways than one, his literature serves as an example of how an influential group of writers at the time sought to define the notion of “literature as political movement.”

About “The Smokestack” In Yu Gi-jeong’s “The Smokestack,” the factory girls at a large silk mill go on strike to protest the company’s plans to increase their working hours and lower their wages. After firing the commuter workers en masse, the management threatens to do the same to the workers living in the factory dormitories. Facing intensifying pressures, the factory girls struggle to maintain a brave united front. “The 3

Smokestackâ&#x20AC;? provides interesting insights into the historical lives of factory girls. Moreover, the short story, both in its subject matter and style, raises important and thought-provoking questions about the social role of art and the relations between literature and politics.

The Smokestack 1 The concrete smokestack of the Donga Silk Mill stood tall, soaring high like a monster stabbing at the sky above. For four days now, no smoke had come out of it. Before then, the chimney had spit black smoke from its mouth for at least twelve hours a day, everyday. It was a strange thing indeed to see it resting idle. “I never know the time anymore without that siren.” “It is nice though without the soot flying all over the place.” “If this doesn’t end soon, how are we going to survive? That’s my worry,” the people who lived near the silk mill muttered amongst themselves.

2 A midday call sounded in the distance. This factory's siren, however, remained silent. The overseer of the factory appeared near the dormitory grounds. He was tall, with a stiff Kaiser mustache stretched across his coarse, dark face. His already sinister appearance was made worse by his sour demeanor. “Here he comes again,” one of the factory girls whispered. The other girls turned their eyes in his direction. “Everyone into the cafeteria now.” The overseer’s rumbling voice thundered through the tension-filled dorm rooms. “Hurry up, hurry up!” the overseer urged, as the girls shuffled into the cafeteria in small groups. Soon, the cafeteria was filled with the three hundred factory girls. They noticed right off that the rice and banchan today were clearly better than their usual fare. Today there was pure white rice with none of the usual filler grains mixed in, and four different kinds of banchan. There was even a small piece of fish for each person. In all the time since the dormitories had opened, this was a first. Halfway through their meal, the company president entered the cafeteria and stood up on a platform of sorts. The vice president, superintendant, foreman, factory overseer, and clerks all trailed in cautiously behind him. The girls immediately stopped eating and followed this procession with their eyes. After mulling something over for a moment, the president smiled gently and said, “Everyone! Excuse the interruption, but if you could give me five minutes of your attention please. I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams that such an unfortunate thing could happen in our factory. What more could you want? What could have made you so dissatisfied that you would refuse to work for several days? We give you this delicious food. We provide you with a comfortable place to sleep and even give you reading and writing lessons for a few hours every day. And don't you get to send money back to your families every month? All this talk nowadays about paradise this, 5

paradise that, and you're all trying to reach paradise, but I would say our factory is indeed a paradise for you. Think about it. What to eat, what to wear, where to sleep all such worries are all taken care of for you. And you still get to save money! One might say you are truly the chosen ones. Earlier we did make an announcement that your shifts will be extended by two hours and daily wages will be cut by a quarter. But we really had no other choice. Sales of goods have been down in general this year, and cash has been scarce, so we had no choice but to make such difficult decisions. However, when sales begin to pick up and we have more cash, things will naturally return to normal. So what is the use of all this needless arguing back and forth? “Then there is also the matter of the commuters. When the board of directors first met, we had planned to cut more than half of the hundred and eighty of them. Out of compassion, we finally settled on increasing their work-day by two hours and reducing their daily wages by thirty percent. Isn't it galling that instead of being grateful, they continue to complain and refuse to come in for work? I am here to inform you that our factory will not hire back one single person who shows such a lack of loyalty. As for you, I hope that you come back to work immediately and don’t do something you'll regret— I mean, I hope that you'll return to your work as usual after you finish your lunch and rest a bit.” The president hurried out of the room after delivering this speech, his flunkies rushing out after him just as they had trailed in after him. Every corner of the room erupted in whispering and grumbling, some sneering while others resumed eating. Their hearts, however, were not swayed in the least. “He must think our work is so easy. Why doesn’t he try sitting all day in the summer heat with his hands in boiling water? He wouldn't last a day.” “A day? He wouldn't even last an hour.” “Ha! He calls this place paradise?!” “Yeah, a paradise where you waste away your youth to support your parents. What does he know?” “Regrets? What regrets? The worst they can do is fire us, and if they do we can go to another factory. And if that doesn’t work, we can go back home and see our dear parents and hug the brothers and sisters we miss so much!” “Not an hour more work and not a cent less pay.” “Thirteen, fourteen hours a day aren't enough for them...” “That won't even be enough and then they'll want to make us work longer still. They must think we're made of steel.” These complaints burst out of the factory girls, all three hundred minds now twisted into impossible knots. “If their plan goes through, my wages will barely cover my room and board. How will I buy clothes? I’ve barely managed to send any money home every few months; where is that going to come from?” “That’s what I'm saying.” “Isn't that why we're refusing to work? And didn’t we promise our commuter sisters that we wouldn't go back to work in here until they can all come back too?” 6

It was at that moment that the tall, surly overseer reappeared in the cafeteria. “Be quiet, all of you! You heard the president: eat up, take a little rest, and get back to work… Hey, answer me! Every hour of missed work is your own loss!” The workers sat still, in deathly silence. With a tone of anger in his voice, the overseer barked. “Why don’t you answer me?” Just then a girlish, slightly trembling voice sounded out from a corner of the room. “Sir, how do you expect us to work?” “How do I expect you to work? Oh I see. I see. But just remember, once you make your decision, you can never go back.” No sooner had he finished speaking, than the factory girls rose in unison and filed out of the cafeteria in total silence. Glaring down at them, the overseer thundered, “Anyone refusing to work will be fired effective this evening. Make your choice!”

3 Three days passed, and on the fourth, still no smoke came from the factory. Since early this morning, more than a few people in the vicinity had resumed their watch of the soaring smokestack, their worries piling up with each passing day. Like farmers staring helplessly up at the sky during a drought, they waited with baited breath for the sight of billowing smoke. The young workers who wrestled the silk cocoons in the factory were their daughters, their sisters. When these young women did not work for a few days, their already tightly stretched households filled with anxiety. By now everyone knew that even if the girls commuting from the villages agreed to the longer hours and reduced pay, they would not be hired back. Knowing this, they were even more curious as to whether the girls in the dormitories had gone back to work. Around three o’clock, Gyeongsun and Hyegyeong arrived at Myeongsuk’s house. “Hey Myeongsuk, have you heard anything?” “You already know that they're not going to take us back no matter what, right?” “Yeah, I heard that yesterday. What I mean is, have you heard any news from the dormitories?” “Word is they haven't given them any food since last night. How could they be so cruel?” “But if they don’t feed them….” “They're basically saying, ‘You'd better work if you don’t want to starve to death.’” Perched on the raised floor of the entryway, the three girls looked over toward the factory, their faces flushed as they traded stories. “Oh Hyegyeong, it looks like this thing isn't going to end so easily. And I am so worried about what will happen to my family. What should I do?” 7

“Do you think you're the only one who worries about her family? I do, and so does Gyeongsun. And it’s not only us either. All two hundred others, they are all like us, aren’t they? What an absolutely infuriating thing this is.” “Let’s wait and see what the girls in the dormitory decide to do and keep our eyes on the smokestack. Let's see what happens in the end. Whether the girls in there lose and return to work with tears in their eyes, or whether they struggle to the end and win the fight after all... we all have to wait. And until then we won’t know if they have betrayed us or not.” “Even if they end up betraying us, we have to believe in them till the end. We must believe in them.” “They know our situation better than all two hundred of us. Only the weak will stand up for others who are weak. Who knows how it will go….” “Yes, that's why we must believe in them till the end. They will win this fight and we will win this fight. You just wait and see.” Their faces were taut with tension. Just then, Gyeongsuk seemed to recall something. “Don't forget, it’s at five o’clock. It was a little before three when we got here,” Gyeongsuk said, as though she had just remembered. “Oh yes, the meeting at five o’clock!” “It must be around four now. We should leave soon. Myeongsuk, let’s hurry.” “Girls, I am so sorry.” “What are you so sorry about?” “I couldn’t even offer you lunch today.” “Who can afford lunch these days? Don’t be silly. Let’s go. We can’t expect to eat every meal when we aren’t earning anything.” The three young women left Myeongsuk’s house, walking briskly out of the gates toward their destination.

4 It was a moonless night. It was well past midnight and there were no signs of people on the streets. Just then, soft footsteps could be heard. A lone shadow reached the barbed wire fence. It was a human form, a woman with a long braid. Upon finding an appropriate spot, the figure began to climb the barbed wire fence. Behind her, one could see the back of the entire factory compound, itself set against a mountain sparsely dotted with trees. The drying room and boiler room were dimly visible in the light of the electric lamps, as if enveloped by fog. She had just cleared the tall fence when she heard the patrolman's footsteps, the one with the hobnailed boots. Her hair stood on end and her chest began to pound. Quickly she turned back and grabbed onto the fence, ready to climb back over to the other side. ‘No. It was difficult enough to climb over once. Why am I turning back?’ As this thought flashed through her mind, she turned back again and looked for a place to hide. She saw a small mound and lay flat on her stomach just behind it. She 8

pressed her hand to her heart, hammering like a small bird's as she gasped for breath. The patrolman seemed very near. By the time she finally stood up and let herself exhale, the patrolman had long disappeared. She passed by the women’s bathroom and reached the dormitories. All the lights were off in the rooms. She gently knocked on the windowsills by the back garden, but no one answered. “Is everyone asleep?” she whispered. A rustling came from the room and then, an answer. “Still awake. Who is it?” “It’s Gyeongsun.” “Gyeongsun? From which room?” “I am Gyeongsun from Ahyeon Village.” “Come in through the front. We're all awake.” When Gyeonsun entered the dark room, she was greeted by nine others. “Gyeongsun, how did you manage to get in here?” “I climbed over the fence. I almost got caught by the patrolman.” “It would be terrible if you got caught. They won't even let us go outside to go home because they're afraid of the news getting out. Imagine what would happen if they found you here.” “I know that, but I had to see you all…. Can we have some light?” “It’s been two days since they stopped giving us any lamp oil.” “No oil either? And they don’t give you rice anymore?” “We had breakfast today with some borrowed rice, but that was the last of it. But we are ready to starve if we have to.” “Oh how terrible! They loan you money only to take more from you, and when they give anything to you, they XXX….” “Don’t worry about us. We are determined. We will see this to the end…. And they seem scared too. We hear they are gathering this evening to discuss the matter.” Gyeongsun was overcome with emotion. She felt such gratitude she was moved to tears. “Girls, I’ve come to give this to you.” She pulled an envelope from her bosom and handed it to the girls. Then she got up to leave. “Gyeongsun, do be careful on your way out.” “Don’t worry about me. Please help us. It’s a request from me and many other fellow sisters.” With that, she left the room and climbed back over the fence. The nine left in the room with the envelope could not contain their curiosity. Unable to wait any longer, one spoke up. “Do you think anyone has a candle?” “They all must have been used up in the past two days. I'll bet there aren't any left.” “What’s the use of sitting around here wondering? I’ll go out and look for one.” Gyesun, the oldest of the nine, left the room to get a candle. The other eight waited for her to return.

Gyesun returned soon with a match and a stump of a candle less than an inch long. One set of hands tore open the envelope to reveal a sheet of paper inside. Another set of hands lit the candle. Greetings to our dear sisters in the dormitories. After taking everything into consideration, you have decided to XXX. And how you suffer for it! When we think about you, our sisters, our hearts overflow and our fists are clenched. For the two hundred of us who wander in confusion on the outside, you have â&#x20AC;Ś [following five lines have been redacted]

5 The three hundred factory girls in the dormitories were united, and their power was fearsome and great. Since over two hundred and fifty of the three hundred girls were skilled workers, the company seemed to be unable to do anything about the matter and things finally returned to XXX. Moreover, XXXX was able to become even stronger than before. For the first time in five days, black smoke billowed out of the monstrous concrete smokestack. The siren blared. After several days of silence, it sounded more piercing than before. In this way, the five hundred factory girls with smiling faces returned to fighting with the cocoons and spinning their thread.