Reading Yeats among Korean Modernists in the Early 1900s

Abstract

William B. Yeats, the Irish nationalist poet, has been introduced to Korea in the late 1890s but gains popularity among Korean Modernists after the failed 3.1 Uprising of 1919, which claims the end of Japanese colonial rules. Many disappointed Korean young scholars and writers try to build a modern (or revolutionary) literary tradition turn their eyes to Irish writers like Yeats to seek an alternative model from which they can refer. This presentation explains the historical and political backgrounds of Korea and Irish nationalism, foundation of Korean Modernism, and acceptance and adoption of Yeats into Korean literature system.