Historiography and Baseball

Henry Em's essay on Korean historiography and collective identity wastes no time in clarifying that Koreans as a distinctive group really had no movement towards nationalism until the imposition of colonial rule (p.338). In YMCA Baseball Team, the players reflect this burgeoning national dynamic. Em argues that it was because of the growth of a Japanese historiography that a Korean one emerged at all, and when it did it was to counter the indignity of revisionist colonial accounts. I wanted to closely examine the first YMCA-Japan match in the film and apply the four characteristics of colonial historiography, and then go on to question where the Western frameworks come into play. The four characteristics, from Em, are a) assertion that external forces shaped Korea, b) Korea's history was stagnant, c) Koreans are factional by nature, and d) Japan and Korea come from shared roots. These four ideas were the specifics of Japanese historiography that spurred a Korean counter-historiography. In the film, all four of these same aspects are noticeable during the first match.

First of all, the idea of Korea's identity being shaped by external forces is embodied by Min Jungrim. She is the mastermind behind the team, and it was her experience of foreign culture that brought baseball to Seoul (along with American missionaries). Visually, the Korean team is rendered stagnant by their inability to make any runs against the almost mechanical Japanese team. The ragtag group of players from various backgrounds, of different ages, and with wildly different appearances represents the idea of factionalism, and finally, the childhood connection between the Japanese army official and Oh Dae-hyeon signifies shared roots. Essentially, what I observed is that the first baseball game is a process which works to destabilize and dishearten the Koreans the same way Japanese historiography did. Only by countering the loss with a rematch at the end do they rebuild their identity as a team. The YMCA team had to reappropriate their sense of commonality the way historical Koreans did, turning their national identity based on inferiority into one based on shared values and goals.

On a wider note, what do we see as the role of Western influence in this film? If we take Em's word for Japanese history being a response to changing Western ideas of history, and Korean history as a reaction to the Japanese response, what is the exact relationship between Korea and the West? Do we have to see any Western facets of the film as being filtered through a Japanese framework, or is Korea appropriating Western ideas independently, in the same way it is working to establish itself in other ways? This was something I couldn't come to a conclusion about throughout the film- baseball is such a distinctly American part of culture, but it really seemed to become a distinguishing tool between Korea and Japan (or at least a leveling one).  

Colonialist Historiography and YMCA Baseball Team

In "Minjok as a Modern and Democratic Construct: Sin Ch’aeho’s Historiography" Em addresses the issue of the modernity of a Korean "narration" and of colonialist historiography justifying Japanese imperialism. These two concepts are ones that I also noticed are present in YMCA Baseball Team. When discussing minjok as a modern concept, Em emphasises the need to first examine when Koreans became Korean, when a national identity was established. Did Koreans become Korean when their norms and culture were being taken away by the Japanese in the early 20th century? In the context of YMCA Baseball Team there is a prominent theme of Japan vs. Korea -- the most glaring being the two rival baseball teams, as well as Min Jong-rim's relative's suicide protesting the Eulsa Treaty, the hatred "Eulsa Five" traitors, and the depiction of the Japanese as brutal colonists beating up Koreans--  but what I found interesting was that in many ways, the film creates a sense that a Korean identity had not yet been formed. The YMCA baseball team was created by the American missionary while the Japanese team was completely Japanese. Though the movie stresses the rift between the two countries, even just on the basis of it being called the YMCA team and not the Korean team, a lack of national identity is displayed. In recognising that baseball was a Western, and primarily American, sport, the film gave the sense that even once the Japanese were gone, Korea would still have the presence of foreign influence. On the other hand, one moment that stood out was the parallel created between Lee Ho-chang's love letter to Min Jong-rim and the mourner's expressing their grief/anger towards Japan. Korea and Japan's colonial relationship in this moment was made to be comical but at the same time, referring to Japan as "the thief who stole my heart" might be understood as Japan taking away what makes Koreans Korean, giving the sense that there was an existing national identity.
In regards to colonial historiography, Em addresses Japan's justification in historiography for their imperialism by Korea's "lack" for development and progressiveness. In YMCA Baseball Team, this "lack" is displayed most  noticeably in the different uniforms of the two teams. While the Koreans were using hay bales as bases, cloth for gloves, and had hand-made shoes, the Japanese were using a proper field, fancier uniforms and real shoes. Though the film is Korean, the fact that it is set during the colonial period connects the two countries. Korea and Koreans are still defined in relationship to the Japanese. This made me question what type of colonial historiography the film could be seen as. Having depicted the "lack" that Em discusses, YMCA Baseball Team has an aspect of Japanese colonial historiography but creating a sense of confusion as to whether or not there was a Korean national identity captures the limbo that Korea was in during the colonial period.

Humor the Uncomfy.

YMCA Baseball Team is a comedy based on an unfunny history. To fulfill its entertaining purposes and still be solemn and thought-provoking at the same time is a subtle maneuver. Some particularly amusing and noteworthy scenes: the grieved family member reading Lee Ho-Chang’s love poem as the last words of the deceased; YMCA team singing Three Bears; and the encounter between Lee Ho Chang and the crane. They are all somehow juxtaposed at the clash of cultural or personal identities, entailing the uncomfortable. Indeed consider the scenes immediately follow: Japanese soldier intervention along with the collaborator; stunned and unresponsive audience; the news of his brother’s death. Facing the sensitive, is laughter the only way out?

The guy with nerdy glasses seems to be the comical figure. He represents the upper class of the “pro-Japanese collaborators” as well as the colonized, patriotic Korean mass. His ambivalent attitudes and indecisive, even pusillanimous character is humorized at large because he serves as the Korean mentality impersonated – even of history, when the concept of nationality was not yet widely applied. Serious moral dictation would still stir sensitivity and sentimentality.

From the reading we see the paradoxical Korean mindset of on the one hand seeking national independence, and on the other recognizing mutual ancestral affiliation with Japan – even a time of pleading to be “liberated”. To humorize the sensitive could be the best response to the historical problems unresolved. Or to horrify them, as we have seen in Gidam.

This is hardly news as throughout the century, all over the world, humor and horror become the main mechanisms of criticizing the unsatisfactory and releasing the unwanted. Post-war Germany produced a generation of proliferate humorists and elusive mythists. America, Israel – we could see the number of humorist literature surges after, always after the traumatic events.

Does humor educate the world then? I don’t know, but I prefer to be taught by a whole bunch of jokes, man.

YMCA baseball team

While watching the film, ‘YMCA baseball team’ by Kim Hyunseok, I could easily recognize that the film contains the time settings (backgrounds) of 1900s. 1900s was the time before the Japanese colonial era. Seoul was known as ‘Hwang-seong’, and western cultures were newly introduced in South Korea. Also, that was the time where Western missionaries built schools in South Korea. People in those days thought they have to follow and learn western cultures that were newly introduced to them. As mentioned in the reading “Colonialist historiography suggested that because of such inherent deficiencies Japan ahd no choice but to lead Korea into the modern world… ‘Modern’ Japanese historiography emerged as a response to the Oreintalism of the West- that is, as an attempt to de-objectify Japan and Aisa” (Em, P.346, 348).

In the film, the scene when Lee Hochang tries to kick the baseball when he first saw, this portrays that baseball was never introduced in South Korea. Some people mentioned on the website that the director Kim used ‘baseball’ since it includes the western characteristics the most. Also, since there was an existence of the ‘status system’ (sinbun jaedo) in Souh Korea, the creation of the ‘baseball team’ was new and remained as one of hopes to South Koreans who wished to remove the status system. The scene where students learn the song indian boys (western song) at school and where students were learn ‘the thousand-character classics’ (chunjamoon) at Hakdang also portrayed the time period. Since the genre of the film was ‘comedy’, there were many comic scenes in this film. Especially, the moment where South Koreans awkwardly trying to adopt the baseball game rules made this film more comics. However, some people would have question about whether they (South Korean) really have to follow and learn the western cultures? Well, since following and learning about the things that one desires and/or respect is one of people’s instinct, South Korean in 1900s had desires of Western cultures. In the film, it shows that Hochang’s dream of becoming royal secret inspector; Jeongrim and Dahyun’s dream cannot be achievable due to the introductions of western cultures. However, at the end of the film, it indirectly made Hochang became royal secret inspector (where he beat by Japanese militaries). From this, one could think that maybe the director Kim would like to end up the film with the question of what was their (people in 1900s)’s dream that led them to follow the western cultures.  

The Modern Leisure Activities in Colonized Korea

The introduction of baseball in Korea was presented in “YMCA Baseball Team” as an act of modernization. Also, I think it could be used as a symbol reflecting the whole process of modernization through which Korea went during the time of colonization. We see at the beginning a few foreigners playing the game, which grabs Ho-Chang’s interest in the sport right away, and as a result he ends up being part of the first Korean baseball team. Of course as every new trend the sport is more popular among the younger generations. As a matter of fact, the older people seem to have an initial negative attitude about it and it is only natural for older people to reject change. However, Ho-Chang’s father understands that there is nothing wrong with it and decides to accept his son as a baseball player. An interesting detail is the fact that he is a scholar, so he is supposed to be wiser than others and understand that modernity can be beneficial.

                As every modern trend, the sport has supporters from all types of groups. For example, we even see different social classes: a master and his former servant as teammates. Initially, there was a conflict between them, mostly because the higher class man didn’t want to be on the same level as a servant. Nevertheless, by the end of the movie the two understand that they need to work together if they want to move ahead. Overall, this shows that modernization implies replacing old customs with new ones; it doesn’t mean that people will only adopt a new sport, but they also have to change their mindset to fit a more modern perspective, and in this case it meant getting rid of social class barriers. In a modern society everyone is equal.

Behaviour of a Pro-Japanese Korean in YMCA Baseball Team

In the film, Ryu Kwang-tae’s father was a pro-Japanese official and for his political affiliation to the imperialist invaders, he was attacked by the anti-Eulsa 50. In the scene where the Japanese general, Nomura, talked of his plan on arresting Min Jeong-rim (the baseball coach) and Oh Dae-Hyeon (Jeong-rim’s love interest) for their opposition to the empire, we see Kwang-tae’s father doing his best to be in the favour of the Japanese general such as commenting on how Japanese tea tastes better than Korean tea. He and Ryu Kwang-tae consented to help the general in arresting the two conspirators even though Oh Dae-Hyeon was on the same baseball team as Ryu Kwang-tae. Kwang-tae, out of guilt, confessed this to the baseball team after he was able to lure Dae-Hyeon to the site of his arrest with an “I’m sorry”. Because of Kwang-tae’s father’s attachment to Japanese officers, he has been alienated by the Korean majority as we’ve seen in the funeral vignette, where Kwang-tae’s father was unwelcomed by the mourning Koreans as he accompanied General Nomura.

Kwang-tae’s father may been spurred on to assist the Japanese out of selfish desires as it appeared he enjoyed the privileges he got from helping the Japanese in developing the nation to how they wanted it. As Seo mentioned “high officials of the state, newly-promoted officials, middle-ranking professionals and secondary sons of yangban officials were mainly concerned with the maintenance of power and privileges and were primarily motivated by selfish considerations” (Seo, 96). YMCA baseball meant a lot to Kwang-tae, and when Hideo and his soldiers took away the baseball field, the father did nothing to have the field returned to the baseball team. Also when Kwang-tae called out “father” at the funeral, Kwang-tae’s father did not acknowledge the presence of his son in front of the Japanese, mainly because his son was standing among Koreans who were opposed to Japanese imperialist goals.