20세기 초 서양연극의 한국도입과 한국 가톨릭교회 - 1917년 2월15일 『경향잡지』의 「연극의 이해」 기사를 중심으로

Abstract

As Korea upheld an isolationist policy that deterred them from contact with the West up until the 19th century, it Korea remained an exotic, secretive land for Westerners for a long time near the end of the 19th century, the Korean dynasty opened their doors to interact with other countries in part voluntarily and in part forcedly. The ‘diplomatic treaty’ they agreed on actively spread Korean history and culture throughout the world during the mid- and late-20th century. Ironically, studies of Korea’s modern, or enlightenment period relied heavily on Westerners’ records and testimonies. Even dictionary compilations were based on foreigners’ work on Korean. For instance, the Korean-English and Korean-French and vice versa dictionaries were first completed by the missionaries in the 19th century. However, Westerners’ perspectives on and depictions of Korea are ultimately based on their culture, circumstances and contextualisation. Their archives may have more value when assessing how ‘they’ interacted with and perceived other cultures and mindsets (the ‘other’), rather than as a generally verified testimony of how ‘we’ used to be. As such, reverse anthropology suggests a switch between the ‘subject’ and the ‘object’, and has risen as an important approach in postcolonial studies. Nicolas Standaert, a professor of Chinese Studies at KU Leuven, Belgium and Jesuit father, emphasizes that in religious studies, the history of missionary work also “has to be viewed not via the missionaries eyes, but the eyes of those who encountered the missionaries”. This paper examines the Korean Catholic church’s attitudes towards the introduction of Western plays to Korea during the early 20th century, as gleaned from a Kyunghyang Magazine article (published on Feburary 15, 1917 under the title “The Understanting of Theatre”, p.71-72). Furthermore, these attitudes will be held in comparison to those of the French Catholic church. Some careful speculations will also be made on how those attitudes may have impacted the theatrical activities of Korean theological seminary students versus those of others. ‘Western play’ is not a proper noun, and therefore cannot be defined succinctly and definitively. Jerzy Grotowski questioned precisely where ‘the West’ is considered to begin and end, so did French theatre scholars in the 21st century, who critically inquired in depth what (Western) plays are. ‘The attitude and stance of the Korean Catholic church’ is also a complex, multifaceted heritage composed of various cultural exhibits and thus, cannot be generalized as a singular entity. This article explores the intersections between change and succession, bias and perception, understanding and ignorance, underlining any contact that takes place between people or ‘others.’ It further suggests a change in how the ‘subject’ and ‘object’ have been viewed and treated historically during modernization and enlightenment processes. Ultimately, it testifies to a need to transfigure a new consciousness with which societal, cultural, artistic, and religious phenomena are perceived.