북한소설의 ‘과로’ 양상과 전쟁의 수사 -‘수령’과 긍정인물의 성격 형상을 중심으로-

Abstract

This paper is part of a larger work exploring the peculiarities of narratives in North Korean fiction, with a particular focus on various kinds of excess. Specifically, the potential image of ‘overwork’ conceptualized in this paper can be found in literary criticism of the 1960s, before the emergence of literary theory on Suryeong-hyeongsang-munhak(the literature of the Great Leader’s imagery). Such images are constructed through reminding excessive experience of people under the period of Japanese colonialism and in the Korean War. In addition, the same sacrifices necessitated by war continue even to the present, meaning that the current situation is essentially similar to the wartime circumstances of the past(the narratives look like cognizing the world). People still must fight to acquire ‘new things’ as opposed to ‘old things’ as in the tyrannical past, so same sacrifices are still required and one of the shapes for expression of the sacrifices is ‘overwork.’ Therefore, the pattern of overwork seen in North Korean fiction will reveal people’s basic values related to society through narratives about the pressures of productivity. Furthermore, this will be related to the general meaning of war rhetoric, one of the special meanings of North Korean narratives. In this context, this paper analyzes two short stories focusing on the imagery of figures:Great Heart and The Sound of Thunder. From these short stories, we can extract three types of characters for analysis: ‘Suryeong(the Great Leader)’, ‘positive figure with Suryeong,’ and ‘positive figure without Suryeong.’ The first two are from Great Heart and the last one is from The Sound of Thunder. Aspects of Suryeong’s overwork are often revealed through direct statements, thus minimizing any misunderstanding or ambiguous interpretation, and most of these aspects are related to people’s adoration of Suryeong. His overwork has a clear aim, and at the same time he is a perfect problem-solver who has the key to all difficulties. Therefore, his work is excessive but includes no mistake or wasted efforts. His real aim is not just to solve particular problems directly but to give people lessons for solving problems in general. The second one, positive figure with Suryeong, has the potential for positive overwork, but only after contact with Suryeong can the productive capacity to solve the problem be developed. Unlike Suryeong, his overwork is often expressed through description or indirect statement in the narrative. Similarly, the overwork of the last one, positive figure without Suryeong, has as its first aim the solving of the problem. However, there is no authority Suryeong to serve as a bridge to remind the war experience which is a fundamental source of the figure. Therefore, the divine source, which is the war experience itself, overwhelms the whole narrative directly. There are shared aspects between the three types of characters, as the attitude of overwork involves the discipline of daily life, and the impetus for their ‘overwork’ comes from the war experience. In North Korean narratives, the pattern of ‘overwork’ that often appears as self-sacrifice is a reflection of ‘daily life required to do the labor in the field and life in a time of war.’ As one of the various types of excess found in North Korean fiction, it can function as a kind of strategy for balance which is to fulfill real needs that must have high-grade labor in the real-world society, essentially, where existence of high-grade labor itself is impossible.