뉴스레터

The NAHF has published a Korean translation of Sakhalin Island by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. Chekhov the Russian literary giant has been known to Koreans as the author of world-class, high-quality short stories. As it turned out, Chekhov also wrote Sakhalin Island, a nonfiction field report, after travelling Siberia and Sakhalin in 1890. Sakhalin Island, which had never been translated into Korean before until this time, holds important significance in both history and literature. The historical significance of Sakhalin Island is that Chekhov gave a detailed account of the territorial disputes of the late 19th century between Russia and Japan over Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands (including the so-called 'Four Northern Islands of Japan). The literary significance is that the book held the key to understanding changes in Chekhov's literary world. In this respect, this book is highly significant in that it highlights the Russian literary giant Chekhov's perspective on Siberia and Sakhalin and changes in his literary world.

Chekhov the Russian Literary Giant Records His Journey to Sakhalin

Chekhov departed Moscow on April 21, 1890 and arrived in Yekaterinburg (Екатеринбург) eight days later on April 29th. After crossing Siberia, he arrived at Sakhalin Island on July 11th. Afterwards, he departed Sakhalin Island on October 13th, and arrived in Moscow on December 8th. After his journey to Sakhalin Island, he began writing Sakhalin Island, which appeared serially in Russian Mind (Русская мысль) from October 1893 to July 1894. In 1895, Sakhalin Island was published into a book. Sakhalin Island was a 390-page field report with a total of 23 chapters outlined as follows. Chapters 1 to 3 described Chekhov's journey from Nikolayevsk to the mouth of the Amur River, his arrival in Sakhalin, and his survey of exiles in Sakhalin. Chapters 4 to 11 described exiles and peasants in the Alexandrovsk District of Sakhalin, and the history of the Ainu and the Gilyak. Chapters 12 to 14 described Chekhov's survey of South Sakhalin and the history of Russia's sovereign rights to Sakhalin. Chapters 15 to 23 described the composition of exile population in Sakhalin, women issues, the family life of exiles, the morality and criminal nature of exiles.

Chekhov Finishes Writing Sakhalin Island Based on Collected Documentation and Field Survey

Based on the documentation and field survey collected and conducted before and after his visit to Sakhalin Island, Chekhov finished writing Sakhalin Island in four years. According to Professor Bae Dae-hwa of Kyungnam University, who was the first to translate Sakhalin Island into Korean, "Before travelling Sakhalin Island, Chekhov researched Russian criminal law, imprisonment and exile, and materials related to Sakhalin. He also studied the reports of the central prison authorities, statistics, and oceanographic records. While travelling, Chekhov read and wrote in the evening, putting together his travel logs. To investigate the life of exiles, he attempted to visit every household in each of the towns. Chekhov wrote a firsthand account of the landlord couple, cohabitants, and workers. To write Sakhalin Island, Chekhov referred to a variety of documentation, including academic journals on Sakhalin, such as Mine Journal, Oceanographic Series, and History Bulletin."

Russia and Japan in Sovereignty Dispute Over Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands

Here is what Chekhov wrote about Russia's and Japan's sovereign rights to South Sakhalin. According to Chekhov, Japan first began exploring Sakhalin in 1613. In 1808, a Japanese surveyor named Mamiya Rinzo (Мамиа Ринзо, 間宮林藏) travelled along the western coast of Sakhalin, and proved for the first time that Sakhalin was an island. Chekhov also took note of sea lions of all the mammals in South Sakhalin. According to him, there was a lone rock above the sea near the shore, which was called the "Dangerous Rock (Камнем Опасности)." A witness who was aboard the sailboat Yermark (Ермак) and explored the rock wrote: "We still have 2.4 meters to go before reaching the rock. But the rock was covered closely with large sea lions. The cry of this herd of countless wild creatures startled us. They were huge as mythical creatures, and looked like a single rock from a distance. Each of the sea lions stood about no less than 4 meters tall." This account tells us that in the late 19th century sea lions were distributed widely in the Sakhalin waters as well as the waters near Dokdo.

In 1875, Russia and Japan entered into the Treaty of Saint Petersburg which determined South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands as the borders between the two countries. Chekhov criticized Russia for giving up all the Kuril Islands (Курильские островы) to Japan. He attached a high economic value to the Kuril Islands that he said "gave away annual income of 1 million rubles to Japan" through cession. Chekhov conceded that it was the Japanese who first explored Sakhalin and first occupied South Sakhalin. The way I see it as the annotator of this book is that even though Chekhov wrote that Japan was ahead of Russia in discovering Sakhalin, Russia actually already had information about Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands as early as in the 17th to 18th century. According to my studies, in 1700 Russian geographer and historian Remezov (С.У. Ремезов) marked the Kuril Islands on his map of Siberia. On April 30, 1779, Yekaterian II of Russia issued an edict about "residents of the Kuril Islands who became subjects of Russia never paying any taxes."

Why Chekhov Visited Sakhalin

Why did Chekhov visit Siberia and Sakhalin Island? His journey to Siberia and Sakhalin brought many changes to Chekhov. In March 1892, Chekhov settled down in Melikhovo (Мелихово), south of Moscow. He was active in social as well as creative activities. He served as a physician when cholera was prevalent, relieved hungry peasants, and donated generously for the construction of schools. He wrote 'Gusev (Гусев, a person's name),' a short story inspired by his experiences during his journey. He also wrote 'Ward No. 6 (Палата No.6)', 'In Exile (В ссылке)', 'Murder (Убийство)', 'Panic Fears (Страх)' among other short stories. At the heart of these stories were struggle against power and hypocrisy, and simplicity. Chekhov made a 'drastic' decision to travel Siberia and Sakhalin in order to get 'comfort.' It appears that he sought comfort by taking temporary refuge in the exotic nature of Siberia where he wanted to sort out thoughts troubling him in reality, including his agony over the necessity of Sakhalin Island in Russian society. Chekhov made an observation of the Russian colony and exiles. It was a decision reflecting his interest in the socially marginalized people.

The turning point of Chekhov's fiction was Sakhalin Island. After his journey to Siberia and Sakhalin Island in 1890, Chekhov agonized over the essence of human nature. He took note of situations where power accidently took complete control human life. He realized that the writer should begin contemplating the weak in earnest. After his journey to Sakhalin, he decided that the writer should be based on the life of the people. This shows the weight of real life on Chekhov. Through Sakhalin Island, Chekhov gives this message to those of us living in reality: "Man suffers, torn between the life of reality and the life of his dreams. The writer should capture this irony, projecting both the life of reality and the life of dreams simultaneously onto his works."