Godfather of TV historical dramas passes away

In 1961, the Defense Ministry of Korea held a novel prize contest worth 3 million hwan (a monetary unit before won was introduced), equivalent to more than 300 million won (264,900 dollars) in current monetary value. The winner was an elementary teacher in Gangreung, Gangwon Province. The man, who had started his literary career by debuting a modern poem, challenged a new genre because he had to make living. Feeling triumphant with the prize money, he spent the money for 20 friends by buying them suits in a famous tailor shop in Seoul.

He expected he could receive a flood of requests for scripts. However, no one asked for it and he eventually had to return to his hometown. Nevertheless, his experience served as a foundation for becoming the No. 1 script writer of Korea's TV historical dramas. His name is Shin Bong-seung, a veteran playwriter who passed away Tuesday at age 83.

He contributed to a shift from stories of unofficial history to traditional history works based on vast reading and historical evidence. His main work is "500 Years of Joseon Dynasty" that he had spent years writing the story since age 50, which was based on the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty. Since it was yet to be translated into Korea, he read the book through two to three times with help from scholars of Chinese classics. "There are 413 books of Annals of the Joseon Dynasty translated into Korean. It takes four years to read 100 pages a day. I devoted 40 years reading them all."

At present, historical dramas that are not based on historical research are gaining popularity. It is a pity that Shin's contribution to popularization of stories that combine historical facts and imaginative power based on humanity is fading. Shin Suk-joo, who had been known as a betrayer to Han Myeong-hoi and even to this wife, had a chance to be shedded with new light through a historical drama on him. The late writer said he was proud of the fact that he contributed to correcting historical awareness on Joseon that had been weighed down by colonial histories. He has stressed that people should learn from history and not just learn history. He had said, "During the Joseon Dynasty, the king never did things on his own will. Scholars made outspoken comments to the king and acted what they had learned. The king's followers never just obeyed the king thoughtlessly."