Let
me begin with sharing my first experience of Seoul (South Korea) in form of an
interaction with an old Korean lady which is fresh in my mind even today. Let
me take you to the year 1994 when I went to Korea to join H.U.F.S as visiting
professor. After finishing my classes I went to Bus Stand to catch my bus to my
residence. My student secretary had handed over a slip on which place of my
residence was written in Korean Language. Because of right hand drive system in
Seoul about which I was not aware of at that time, I was confused. Nobody was
there who could help me, I thought. I kept on waiting at the Bus Stop which was
on the wrong side of the road about which I came to know later. After sometime
I saw an elderly lady coming towards me. She spoke something in Korean. I could
not follow her but using my sixth sense I showed her the slip on which my
destination was mentioned. By indication she made me realize that I was on the
wrong side. At the same time she uttered a word which again I could not follow
and later on I came to know that the word was Token, the accent of which was
different to me. She took me to her nearby shop of photography and showed me
bus tokens and tried to know whether I had the same with me or not. After
knowing that I did not have tokens and perhaps I was not aware of token system
she gave me tokens and in spite of request she did not accept money in lieu of
them. Not only this she also accompanied me up to right Bus Stand and when my bus
came she guided me to board the same and she also instructed the Driver to drop
me at the right place. The next day when I visited her with my student
-secretary she informed that she could know by my face that I was an Asian and Professor and she was very happy that she
helped an Asian. When she came to know that I was an Indian or “Indo” in her
words she further became very happy. From her gesture it was obvious that she
had special feeling for Indians. Since I
come from village basically therefore I could identify the warmth and values of
human relationship of that lady. It was really a glimpse of Asian countryside
culture which was still visible in one of the most modern cities of world,
Seoul. . I can share many more such experiences. This first experience was very
encouraging for me and feeling of alienation disappeared to a great extent.
Being Asian countries, Korea and India share a lot of
similarities on cultural front. Borrowing the words from Prof. Lee Jeong Ho
from his article ‘Literary Contacts and Influences between India and Korea’ I
may put them as “India and Korea have long been culturally interacting with one
another. The introduction of Buddhism to Korea has brought Indian culture with
it and, today, there remain similarities in both cultures. Even into the modern
times, the two countries have suffered similar fates, although their
backgrounds differed, being subjected to foreign occupation and struggling for
independence. Both countries experienced socio-political upheavals after
liberation followed by a national division, conflicts and civil wars.”
Truly speaking, main points of contacts
between Indian and Korea are Buddha, Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatama Gandhi. Of
course, in the present time, some more factors can be traced.
One can
trace long history of the cultural fraternity and Influences between India And
Korea . Primarily it was Buddhism which
played a great role in bringing the two Asian countries very close. The officially acknowledged date
in which Buddhism was first introduced to Korea is 372 AD (CE). Korea was
divided into 3 states ie. Koguryo, Paeckche and Silla. Silla officially
authorized Buddhism as the national religion. Silla unified the three kingdoms.
However, in the opinion of Prof. Oh
Kuk-Kuen who has been President of the Association of Young Buddhists of Korea the date of introduction of Buddhism into
Korea was much earlier than the official record. The route of Buddhism from
India to Korea was via China. But as per his findings, the monks who brought Buddhism to the Korea
via China were Indians. In his words quoted from his article ‘A Few Aspects of
Korean Buddhism’, “Ado, one of the two monks who brought the new religion to
Koguryo, was said to be the same monk that brought it to Silla. In Silla, Ado
was recorded as Muckhoja, the dark barbarian, meaning Indian. It was Marananda
who brought the Holy scripture to Paeckche and he was officially recorded as an
Indian. Hus the three states in the peninsula were indoctrinated with Buddhism
by Indian monks through China.’ Dr.
Anita Sharma of University of Delhi
believes that cultural and trade exchanges with India as well as China
influenced and helped to nurture the Korean culture over a period of thousands
of years. It were Indian merchants who opened the way to expand Indian culture
to Korea. They were the first conveyors of Buddhism and other aspects of Indian
culture although it was soon overshadowed by missionary activities. The Korean
monks who visited India at later stages also brought flavor of Indian culture
to their native land. Dr. Anita Sharma has mentioned in her article Indo-Korea
Cultural Exchange during the Silla Period: Role of Buddhist Monks’ that “India
was a kind of dreamland for many Korean monks who never gave up their arduous
travels to India. Some Korean monks preferred to learn Buddhism in the land of
its origin and while returning from India to Korea they brought Sanskrit texts
with them.” We know that books play a great role in exchanging the culture.
Moreover Buddhist monks were authors, artists etc. too apart from being
religious figures. In many respects help of Indian side remains necessary to
interpret the Korean culture.
Samguk
Yusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms) , a book written by a Buddhist monk Ir(l)yeon (1206-1289) reveals
points of connection between the two countries in many ways. Even significant
influence of Buddhism can be observed on native songs, Hyangga which are known
as poetic heritage of the Silla Kingdom. Even the earliest poem written in Chinese characters by King Yuri (19 B.c.-17
A.D.) of the Koguryo Kingdom seems to have echo of
Indian author Valmiki’s first composition in spite of the different contexts.
The poem reads as follows:
Golden orioles are flitting about,
Male and female enjoying each other.
Left alone to myself in solitude,
Who shall I return home with?
In Valmiki’s composition,
the mating birds were killed by a hunter. A Prof. of History Ko Chun
Han has written a book ‘-4 Guk Side-Sinbi
Wanguk Gaya’ about a fourth small kingdom of Korea, Gaya. It was located along
the southern coast of the peninsula. It is said that before Buddha there were
3-4 statues like Buddha in Korea One the basis of this Prof. Ko imagined that
Korea and India has contacts even before Buddha. In a formal meeting held in
the Chamber of the then Ambassador of India in Korea, Mr. Shashank, Prof. Oh
Kuk-Kuen surprised me by his firm guess that in the ancient time there was a
colony of Indians in the name of ‘Gaya’. The Indians wanted to spread out
Buddhism. These were Indians who introduced the best ways of agriculture. They
were the merchant of cloths, Iron, Jewelry etc. They also introduced the rice.
Prof. Oh promised to provide proofs for the same in future about which I am
still not awared. There is a very interesting legend about Gaya
recorded in Samguk Yusa. As per the legend the first king of Gaya, Kim Suro
(42-199A.D.) married a princess who came from Ayodhya. Even today, at Kimhea
near Busan one can see memorial of these two. When I visited this place, a
Korean student very proudly mentioned that their grandmother was from India. This
aspect need a great research. Some Korean scholars and many people believe that
the name Gaya suggests a town in India near Bodh Gaya. Gaya (or Garak) was
conquered by Silla in 562 AD. But its name survives in a couple of very
important things: Gaya-geum(Khyagum), the oldest Korean musical instrument
which is similar to string musical instrument of India, and Mt. Gaya where one of the largest and oldest temple Haein-sa
is located. There are other instruments also which are like Indian flute etc. It
is the Haein-sa where the sacred wooden blocks of the world-famous Tripitaka
Koreana have been kept and preserved. Although Korean Buddhists knew that Buddhism is the religion of the
utmost peace and mercy, yet they enjoyed the freedom of action in doing
whatever they consider to the best for the cause of the nation. Koreans found
the sublimation of their patriotism in their Buddhist faith, and believed
firmly in the power of Buddha to defend their country against any hostile
country. In short, I may say as many
others trust that for exchange of traditions, thoughts etc., Buddhism has
played a great role in context of the two countries. But it is not only the
Buddhism which is bond between these two Asian civilizations. On the basis of
his experiences, Prof. Brahm Swaroop Agrawal has rightly said as per my
experience too in his paper “The Immortal Cultural And Historical Bonds Between
Korea And India” that “ …both (India and Korea) are integral parts of a greater
cultural milieu of the Orient characterized by the pursuits of knowledge, peace
and wisdom, and quest for a harmonious way of life compatible with nature, divinity
and other living beings.” Further, I may refer to my own article “Promotion of
Korean Studies: With Reference to Cultural Globalization” published in ‘hindi’,
Language Discourse Writing, July-September, 2013, a journal of Mahatama Gandhi Hindi Antarrashtriya
Vishwavidalaya, Wardha, India.
Here,
again I may share my another experience. I had picked up some Korean words by
then. An old student of the University where I was Professor and who
claimed to be a believer of Buddhism became my friend. He could speak English.
So he became my unannounced interpreter.
One day we were going somewhere when all of a sudden a boy of hardly 12 years
came near to us and uttered in question style “Indo”. I knew he wanted to
confirm whether I was an Indian. When I said ‘Ne’ means yes he almost jumped
with happiness and uttered some words out of which I could follow Gandi
(Gandhi) and Thagore (Tagore). My friend told me that the boy wanted to know
whether I was familiar with Buddha, Tagore and Gandhi. On listening yes from me
he again expressed his joy and uttered few lines in Korean which I could not
follow at all. By now I had come to know that the above three names were like
identity of an Indian in the eyes of an average Korean. India here is generally
recognized and identified as the land of Buddha, Gandhi and Tagore. I was
amazed to know from my Korean friend that the boy uttered Korean translation of
four lines poem of the poet Tagore. The
poem reads as: In the Golden age of Asia/ Korea was one of its lamp-bearers/And the lamp is waiting to be
lightened once again/
For
the illumination of the East.
In brief, This poem was written by
Tagore during his 3rd visit to Japan in 1929 to leave the same for
the Korean patriotic youths in Tokyo who requested him to visit Korea and the
poet could not visit this time also. This poem was translated by poet Chu
Yo-Han and was published in April, 1929 in ‘East Asia Daily’ under the title
“Tongband Ui Tungbul (light of Asia) and soon after independence it found place
in text book for high school. Before going ahead in this respect I may add that
Mahatma Gandhi also aware of the sufferings of the Koreans and their resolution
for independence. He also sent a letter to the same paper i.e. “East Asia
Daily’ in January, 1927 in which he hoped “Chosun will be on its own in
non-violent ways.” In the words of Prof. Lee Jeong Ho, “ The facts bears
historical significance that independence activists of India at the time not
only acknowledged but sympathized with the Korean people and encouraged their
struggle for liberation. Coming on Tagore again we should understand that the
Koreans respect him as a first Nobel laureate of Asia who has influenced many
Korean authors. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore (Thakur) (1861-1941) remained no more
unknown to KOREA Just after he won the Nobel Prize in 1913. Between 1916 and
1919 Tagore’s name had entered in the homes of the Koreans. Translation of his
works has started in 1916 and it has not
stopped till now. Truly speaking Tagore is accepted and respected in Korea not only as a great writer but as a
great philosopher too. In a 1925 ‘East Asia Daily ‘article, Kim Ok , a
very famous poet and a most prolific translator of his time, commented that
Tagore’s poetry presented hope for Asia and shed the light of spiritual culture
onto material culture. In 1917 Chin Sun Song, one of the first authors to
introduce Tagore to Korean readers, wrote an article in CH’ONGCH’UN (Youth)
that referred to Tagore as a great prophet of the twentieth century who would
spread the spiritual culture of India to the whole world, overcoming Asia’s
inferiority complex and correcting the
image of defeated East. Again, Jin Hak
moon, a famous Korean writer introduced “ The Song of Defeated” in the magazine
Youth in 1917. This poem became very popular among the readers. . It is a known
fact that ‘Tagore’s influence on the
Oriental world is restricted mainly to China, Japan and Korea, and the common factor in these countries is
that all three countries were nationalistic. Of the three countries, the most
influenced and the most accomplished work was produced by the sage Manhae.’ as
per Kim Yang Shik, the founder president of Tagore Society of Korea founded in 1981. But according to Kim Yong Jik (1991),
Tagore’s influence was not limited to Han Yong Un (The Silence of Love) but
extended to many other writers of the time, including wang-Su. Tagore was
considered a hope in despair. Tagore’s mysticism, naturalism and humanism
touched the poet very deeply. During the post war period from 1960s South Korea
entered in new phase of increasing its cultural and literary activities.
Interest in Tagore remained high and in the early 1970s translation of complete works of Tagore
was published by Yu Yong. Mutual cultural and literary exchange programs have
become the priority agenda between India and South Korea. For details in this
regard I may refer to my own article ‘Tagore: A Hope In Despair” published in
Sahitya Akademi’s journal “New Literature” sometime in 2012.
Before closing this point I may quote a view of Prof. Man-Young Hwang who was a
trustee member of Tagore Society of Korea which is as follows: ‘Indian and
Korea, which have suffered from foreign aggression, have a common
characteristic of firmly keeping ethnic self-respect and the tradition in
cultural arts. Also, aesthetic senses of both nations are very sensitive and in
their pure aesthetic expression is a unique national characteristic.” India and
Korea have suffered under colonial rule of rulers or foreigners and both the
nations have experienced tragedy of division in the eve of their respective
independences followed by wars between two parts. In both the countries the
rulers kept on suppressing the independence movements but the strong protests
through literature and arts also kept on doing their role. Prof. Lee Jeong Ho
has shown lot of similarities related to contents, concerns and pboblems
expressed in Hindi and Korean short stories. In justification of translating
“Tamas” ( a novel of Bhishama Sahani based on partition) in Korean language,
Prof. Lee revealed that to understand Indian History, folk life and relations
based on religions strudy of ‘Tamas’ is
necessary. Korean female author Park
Wan-so’s autobiographical novels brings the tragedy of War and division of her
country. In fact great concern represented for unification of the two parts of
Korea in the writings of poets like Ko Un etc. is based on the tragedy of the
division. Here, Indian and Korean concern in this respect is similar to a great
extent.
There are other areas like behavior,
gestures, some of the traditions and rituals etc. on the basis of which one can
find Koreans close/similar to Indians. No doubt Prof. Choi Jong-chan have
pointed out some contradictions of the Indian traditions along with the virtues
of Indians in his paper “The Indians Know How to Accept New, Strange Things for
Modern Stage” published in The Argus, March 1, 1997.He has written, “Things
have both bright and dark sides. And I believe that Indian traditions also have both faces: positive and
negative. ….For instance, Hindu religion gave birth to the concepts of satyagrah
‘insistence on truth’ and Ahimsa ‘non-voilence’
which contributed to the independence of India. On the other hand it generated
case system which made Indian society stagnant. “ Nobody can disagree to this
fact pointed out by Prof Choi. But Korea itself has suffered a cast like evil
in the name of Yangban (aristocrats). Likewise gender biases ( more importance
to male child) can be seen in both the societies. Although the modern Korea has
overcome gender biases to a great extent and to study ways and means in this
regard may be fruitful but even today one can see some Koreans attaching more
importance to male child. In the novel of Park Wan-So(Sue), “Mom’s Pillar” or
“Mother’s Stake” one can observe this thinking—“Oh God! Instead of a useless
girl (daughter who was saved in the Korean War) why you have sanatched a good
and noble boy (son).” Even a number of Korean festivals are attached to
agriculture almost in the same way as the Indian Festivals are attached to agriculture.
Once I saw a festival “Daljiptaeugi’ (burning the heaps of straw) and I found
it like ‘Holi’ festival in India. On this festival the Koreans eat walnuts and
groundnuts. In the village side of India one can observe use of walnuts on
‘Holi’ Moreover, like an Indian tradition of eating food of the previous day on
a particular day one can see the similar tradition in the evening of
‘Daljippaeugi’ in Korean homes. The shradh (homage or reverence) to the ancestors is also a
common bond between the people of these two countries. When I was in Korea I
observed other similarities too . They
have traditions of hospitality and family attachments like Indians. Koreans
also visit the homes of others with a gift in their hands. I fully endorse the
observation of Prof. Brahm Swaroop
Agrawal according to which “The
resemblance of various cultural ethos and beliefs, social customs and
traditions, and even the general attitude towards life of both peoples is so
astonishing that sometime it is difficult to distinguish what is Korean and
what is Indian.’ The Koreans are known as nationalists, but they believe in one
peaceful world in which all are happy
and prosperous (sarve sukhina bhavantu) like Indians. Yun Sok Chung , a great
children’s author has written in one of his most famous and beautiful poem “
World Map”:
I have got a home work
To show the world in a map.
I could not finish the same
I worked hard the whole night.
If there were no boundaries
If there were no countries and nations
It would have been
easier /To draw the world in a map.
If
we really want to understand the cultural ties of these countries then More and
more mutual translation of literature is necessary in this era of globalization
in my humble opinion. Along with translation of classical works, emphasis must
be given on translation of modern and contemporary literature. While translating the Korean literature, I
have seen a lot of similar cultural and philosophical root both in ancient and
modern literature. Recently I have translated a world fame novel
‘Our Twisted Hero’(우리들의 일그러진 영웅) written by
Yi Munyol and I found how much the
Koreans are for the democratic values like Indians. The Economic Globalization is alright, but if
we really want to save this world from wars, divisions, aristocracy,
consumerism based on pure materialistic and selfish motives, unrest (absence of
peace), inhumanity etc. then cultural globalization is more or at least equally
required on this earth. And cultural globalizations can be achieved through
mutual understanding of art forms including the literature of different
countries. And in the case of mutual understanding of the literature,
translation is the most feasible way. It is good that
India and Korea are heading towards this direction although little slowly.
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