이청준 소설 연구 - 전쟁의 상처와 분단극복을 중심으로 -

Abstract

Lee Chung-Joon’s novels have many major characteristics, but one of them is not much addressed by researched. It is the fact that his novels talk about the Korean War and the division of Koreas. Since he began writing novels, Lee has talked about the Korean War and the division of Koreas in various ways, and these ways can be classified into three types：ment alagony after the war, tragedy and brutality of the war, and search of solutions to Korean War. In his 「The Disabled and The Retarded」 and 「The Wall of Rumors」, he depicts how deeply the aftermath of the War can affect one’s life. It was the agony and wounds that had to be suffered by the generation of that time. In his 「The Hidden Finger」 and 「Gaebaekjeong」, he stresses the negative aspect of human nature that takes advantage of the War to depict the tragedy and brutality of people in the War. Although the Korean War was caused by ideological and political conflicts, the violence within it was also caused by the conflicts and confrontations between various social classes. Therefore, the aftermath of the War cannot be treated easily. Lee’s literary efforts to treat the wounds and pursue reconciliation can be found in his 「Face of the Offender」 and 『The White Clothe』. 『The White Clothe』, in particular, discusses ways to overcome the division and suggests two solutions. First, it is to have a positive mindset from love and good human nature to solve conflicts. It is logic of reconciliation based on the traditional beliefs of the Koreans, but it cannot evade the criticism that it is too conceptual. Second, it is ‘sharing the agony’ expressed through Dong-woo, a character from the post-war generation. This is not a new type of solution, but it is significant in that there is no better way than to rely on the beautiful and precious emotions of Korea to overcome everything that restrains the lives of the Koreans.