소설에 나타난 식민지 조선의 물가― 음식 가격을 중심으로

Abstract

This study tried to reveal the colonial era price by examining the price of food in the novel. Without knowing the price shown in the novel, it is difficult to properly understand the text. In addition, it is difficult to realize the life or daily life of people at the time. Looking at Hyun Jin-Gun’s 〈The Lucky Day(운수 좋은 날)〉 and Lee Gi-Yeong’s 〈The Human Class(인간수업)〉, the price of a glass of alcohol at the stand-up bar at the time was 5 jeon. In Kim Nang-Un’s novel published in the mid-1920s, a person giving 25 jeon to buy ‘cold noodles(냉면)’ appeared. In a novel about the Great Tokyo Earthquake, it was said that rice curry was more expensive than ‘Udon’ or ‘Soba’. Chae Man-Sik’s 〈Leaving the Doll’s House(인형의 집을 나와서)〉 and Lee Buk-Myeong’s 〈Mr. Minbo’s Household Ledger(민보 씨의 생활표)〉 tell us that in the first half of the 1930s, rice cost about 2 won per ‘Mal(말)’. ‘The plan to increase rice production’ promoted by Japan was at work in causing the price of rice to plummet around 1930. In Park Tae-Won’s novel, there was a scene where people drink coffee and pay 10 jeon at a coffee shop. Coffee prices were unchanged except for the war footing. In 〈Wild rose(찔레꽃)〉 by Kim Mal-Bong, serialized in the late 1930s, a course meal in a restaurant at the Chosun Hotel appeared. The prices for breakfast, lunch, and dinner were 1 won 50 jeon, 2 won, and 3 won 50 jeon. If you look at the novels of Kim Woong-Cho or Lee Tae-Joon, you can see that the price of a beer at a bar or cafe was about 50 to 70 jeon. During the colonial era, the price of gold was also not an effective way to determine the price. Colonial food prices were reduced by 25-30% around the 1930s from the 1920s standards. In 1933 and 1934, it was restored to the previous price, and in 1937 and 1938, when the war footing occurred, it increased by about 30 to 40%. To convert colonial-era food prices to current prices, 1 won must be multiplied by 50,000 to 60,000. The conversion of colonial-era salaries to the present is also not different from the previous standard. To convert housing prices in ‘Gyeongseong(경성)’ to the present, convert them to food prices and then multiply by 6 to 12 again.