1970년대 신춘문예 경향 연구－ 동화 당선작(가작 포함)을 중심으로

Abstract

After the liberation of Korea in 1945, the annual spring literary contests revived and flourished, and contributed to the rise of talented new writers in Korea, which had suffered from a shortage of writers since the beginning of the Korean War. In particular, the spring literary contests reflected the institutional and literary demands of the newly emerging postwar children’s literature. It is difficult to gauge the actual contribution of the institution of the spring literary contests to the quest for and the birth of new type of literature. However, it is undeniable that the aim of the spring literary contests-discovering talented new authors, expanding the base of writers in Korea, and forming a new literary base-was met. The development and success of the spring literary contest was not possible in the colonial period. Owing to the fact that it was an important feat in the history of Korean literature, this essay examines the characteristics of the fairy tales and other literary works of the spring literary contests of the 1970s. In particular, two daily newspapers, “Donga” and “Chosun,” both of which had long histories dating back to the time of the Japanese colonization of Korea, analyzed the fairy tales of the 1970s. According to the results of the study, the fairy tales evaluated by “Donga” and “Chosun” had many creative ideas centering on weak characters similar to that of weak children. Also, unlike an adult with a bath, the child was innocent of innocence. In other words, it seems that the fairy tales of the spring literary contests of the 1970s provided much insight about children. This is a theme and creative tendency that is not much different from what was found in the winning works of the spring literary contests of the 1960s. Additionally, while “Donga” favored fairy tales, “Chosun” preferred considering a variety of works in addition to fairy tales and works pertaining to children’s literature. It is unreasonable to think that we can comprehend the entire literary trend of the spring literary contests during the long period of the 1970s from only two daily newspapers. However, the long history and literary achievements of “Donga” and “Chosun” can help us discern and understand the characteristics of the fairy tales that won the spring literary contests.