지역문학의 주체적 정립을 위한 시론(試論) — 근대 대구문학을 중심으로

Abstract

The present paper explores the possibility of establishing Korean ‘local literature’ (jiyeok munhak) as a more recognized genre with the assumption that it can be a force for the internal strengthening of Korean national literature and a broadening of its categories. In particular, the paper’s proposed framework sees local literary history as a prerequisite technique for establishing modern Daegu literature as a ‘local literature’ . Modern local literary history generally relies on the standard periodization of Korean literary history, namely, formative period (1910~1920’s)→ differentiation period (1930’s)→ recovery period (post-Liberation~1950’s)→ development period (1960~1970’s)→ transition period (1980s and 1990s). However, in the present study, this chronological scheme was deemed insufficient for comprehending the content and characteristics of Daegu literature. Instead, a literary historical approach is considered, centered on two main issues. First, Daegu literature displayed a ‘will to preemption’ as it awakened to the new culture that merged with the old culture during the Enlightenment Period. This is evidenced by the major literary drivers of modern Korean literature’s formative period in the 1920s (Hyun Jin-geon, Yi Sang-hwa, Baek Gi-man, and Yi Jang-heui), and by the anti-Japanese posture of Yi Yuk-sa and social reformism of Baek Sin-ae characterizing the literary practice of the 1930s. Second, shifting from the ‘spirit of the conservative right’ that emerged during the early 1950s ‘wartime literature’ movement, Daegu literature gave birth to a new poetic tradition in response to the realist literary view of the radical industrialization period. Embodied by Gim Chun-su’s “meaningless poems” in the 1960s and the activities of the Free Verse coterie of the mid-1970s, this new poetic tradition immersed itself in linguistic reality rather than in societal problems. In addition, the paper asserts that the dearth of Daegu novels appearing from the 1960s (known as the great ‘blank space period’ in Daegu literary history), can be substituted by works by major novelists originally connected to Daegu, i.e., “transplant” (chulhyang) and “transitory” (gyeongyu) authors. At the same time, the paper raises various problems with respect to this local literary history technique: for example, the asymmetry created vis-a-vis Daegu poetry when substituting “transplant” novels for Daegubased novels. It also explains that the history of “literary circles” (mundansa) should not be overlooked as an important aspect of local literary history. It also emphasizes the activities of high school literature clubs, local newspapers and corporate mecenats as important foundations for Daegu literature.