A Korean Discovers New York

揚’爾’’ (YOUNGHILL KANG)

’個朝’’’’’’ A Korean Discovers New York

早’我’’夢見’’’’不’巴黎’不’’敦’不’’’’不’’尼黑’不’維’’’’不’’歲月掩’’羅馬’

揚’爾’’(1903－1972)生’朝’’l 921’移’’國’’’’教’’翻譯’’’說’’’憶錄’’’’’’’’創’’’試圖’’國讀’介紹’’’’’’’第’部’’’’方詩’譯本’(1921)’’’’’’’’本’’’’’傳’’’’’’頂’ (1931)’’’’’’’(1937)’’’’’’’’關’移民’歷’敍’’’’錄’’’’’’’’’’

我’’有’’歷’’’詩’’學’衆’’’’’’’牆環繞’’’ ’’’’’’’’’’我不’’接’’’’’’’說’’’’’’’’遠’’’艘’輪船把我載’’’’溫哥華’’’我’’’’陸’橫跨’’’里’’’’’路’之遙’’’橫濱’溫哥華’’’’離’’’’’’斯我’’’’艘’船’’’’’’’’’我’’覺’’’’’’’正“’船”’’我’’生’’’端必須’’裏奠’基礎’’朝’’“’船”’個習’’’爲“’生”’’爲“’’”’“船”爲’’個詞’有個’’講’’’朝’’’’身’分文’需’’’’船夫’’’渡’對’’’’’’船錢’’’’’’’’’對剛’船’船夫說’“’不’’’’’’’’船錢’’嗎?我們倆’’’船’’’’”’’’’不用’船錢’’對’’’國’白皮膚’數’種中’’次跨’’’’’’我’唯’懇’’那’’’’’滑’說’’樣’當我’’’個對月’陰’’部分不’’’’講’實際’國’’’僅’個’手’’’’’’’’我’巧’’反’方移民’’’’’’’’國’’

’而’’’’’’’’’個’立’’石’’’基不’’緊’不’’熙熙’’’’’’夢’’’’市’成’我’巨’機械孵’器’

早’我’’夢見’’’’不’巴黎’不’’敦’不’’’’不’’尼黑’不’維’’’’不’’歲月掩’’羅馬’那’我’’’歲’’’’少’’國對我’說僅’個’稱’我竟天’’’’’’反應’’’實’’不’’議’’’’’執’飛蛾遵照’種’奧莫測’’’’’’’’飛’方’’’’我對’’說’“我’不’夢’’不’詩’’’不’’切傳統’’不’滿月’”’’’分’離’’’’’朝’’擁有’’’而等’著’’’’’’我渴望快捷’不’’礙’’動’’動’’及難’’’’’’’由’動産生夢’産生詩’唯’止’夢’’’’用’’’原’’’我’著對’月’’’’’’裏’那’月不’’’’’’圓月’而’’’’’’’’’’月’

“終’’’’啦!”我聽見’’’’’們說’而’’資’’不需’’報’’’’市’立’’’’白’’紫’’中’’立’白’’’’中’’’’’’夢’’’’’’’難’’’’’’它’實’立’揚揚’’’’質’’’高傲’’豪中’’’’’輕’’條’端莊’’’’樓(’’’’對我’說顯’’麽高’’爲我’’’個國’’那’’’’’不敢’’’’戰)’’’’’個個都像’天塔’高塔’立’參’不齊’插’雲天’不啻’天塔之’’’’’’巨’’’’’’’’’麻麻’’立’’國’邊’’’們不’爲’’’’’’個’’’任’’’’教而’’’’而’由’個生’’’’’’’’單詞’’機’’’’’’’’成’’’’化而成’而’’商’辭’’源’’個’’資源豐’’國’’’’模’’’’動’’’白’’’’’’立’’石’’’們’裙’不’’’’’’’’們’’智’’’’’’’’’’’’’視野’’們藐視’’’’有什麽比’國’稱’’’機器’’’豐’’’

我’’’’’’’有任’’方’比它離我’’’’遠’我們’’’’’’飽’風霜’’滿’蘚’憎’’’生’’’條’’’’’有限’’’之’’喜’’旋曲’’’’筆觸’’頂像船’’翹’’’忘不’興風’’’’’’’我’’’’’’離’裏’’之遙’’’’走’’’著’’而不’’’’離’我那’’錯落’’’’’’’’離’巨’’’’之’’’’’等遙遠啊! 而’’’反’精’’動著我’心’它’野’’’塊’凝’’’’’’’最’’’仿’’躇’’’’’’頂部’’精巧’’’’它’揮’未’’禱’爲獲’’’’掠煤’’’布’用’石’’璨奪目’’數’’裝飾’’’脫’’’偉’’市’’’’切’我’’個’’’心’’’’’’’身’我’’’不’彌爾’筆’’撒旦’而’布萊’’撒旦’

From an old walled Korean city some thousand years old―Seoul― famous for poets and scholars, to New York. I did not come directly. But almost. A large steamer from the Orient landed me in Vancouver, Canada, and I travelled over three thousand miles across the American continent, a journey more than half as far as from Yokohama to Vancouver. At Halifax, straightway I took another liner. And this time for New York. It was in New York I felt I was destined really "to come off from the boat." The beginning of my new existence must be founded here. In Korea to come out from the boat is an idiom meaning to be born, as the word "pai" for "womb" is the same as "pai" for "boat"; and there is the story of a Korean humorist who had no money, but who needed to get across a river. On landing him on the other side, the ferryman asked for his money. But the Korean humorist said to the ferryman who too had just stepped out, "You wouldn't charge your brother, would you? We both came from the same boat." And so he travelled free. My only plea for a planet-ride among the white-skinned majority of this New World is the same facetious argument. I brought little money, and no prestige, as I entered a practical country with small respect for the dark side of the moon. I got in just in time before the law against Oriental immigration was passed.

But New York, that magic city on rock yet ungrounded, nervous, flowing, million-hued as a dream, became, throughout the years I am recording, the vast mechanical incubator of me.

It was always of New York I dreamed― not Paris nor London nor Berlin nor Munich nor Vienna nor age-buried Rome. I was eighteen, green with youth, and there was some of the mystery of nature in my simple immediate response to what was for me just a name . . . like the dogged moth that directs its flight by some unfathomable law. But I said to myself, "I want neither dreams nor poetry, least of all tradition, never the ftill moon." Korea even in her shattered state had these. And beyond them stood waiting― death. I craved swiftness, unimpeded action, fluidity, and amorphous New. Out of action rises the dream, rises the poetry. Dream without motion is the only wasteland that can sustain nothing. So I came adoring the crescent, not the full harvest moon, with winter over the horizon and its waning to a husk.

"New York at last!" I heard from the passengers around me. And the information was not needed. In unearthly white and mauve, shadow of white, the city rose, like a dream dreamed overnight, new, remorselessly new, impossibly new. . . and yet there in all the arrogant pride of rejoiced materialism. These young, slim, stately things a thousand houses high (or so it seemed to me, coming from an architecture that had never defied the earth), a tower of Babel each one, not one tower of Babel but many, a city of Babel towers, casually, easily strewn end up against the skies― they stood at the brink, close-crowded, the brink of America, these Giantesses, these Fates, which were not built for a king nor a ghost nor any man's religion, but were materialized by those hard, cold, magic words― opportunity, enterprise, prosperity, success― just business words out of world-wide commerce from a land rich in natural resource. Buildings that sprang white from the rock. No earth clung to their skirts. They leaped like Athene from the mind synthetically; they spurned the earth. And there was no monument to the machine-age like America.

I could not have come farther from home than this New York. Our dwellings, low, weathered, mossed, abhorring the lifeless line― the definite, the finite, the aloof― loving rondures and an upward stroke, the tilt of a roof like a boat always aware of the elements in which it is swinging― most fittingly my home was set a hemisphere apart, so far over the globe that to have gone on would have meant to go nearer not farther. How far my little grass-roofed, hill- wrapped village from this gigantic rebellion which was New York! And New York's rebellion called to me excitedly, this savagery which piled great concrete block on concrete block, topping at the last moment as in an afterthought, with crowns as delicate as pinnacled ice; this lavishness which, without a prayer, pillaged coal mines and waterfalls for light, festooning the great nature-severed city with diamonds of frozen electrical phenomena― it fascinated me, the Asian man, and in it I saw not Milton's Satan, but the one of Blake.

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