도적, 식민지인의 영웅: 홍명희의 『임꺽정』을 중심으로

Abstract

This paper examines the popular sensibility embedded in the popularity of Hong Myeong-hee's novel Im Kkeokjeong, focusing on ‘thief’ and ‘colonial hero’. The popularity of Im Kkeok-jeong is firstly because this novel was created based on motifs such as storytelling format, folktales, and legends that are familiar to the traditional readers who still enjoy the old-fashioned novels. Second, it is because it accepted the righteous motif of 'The Story of Hong Gil-dong', enjoyed by the public for a long time, and at the same time presented Lim Kkeok-jeong's gang riot as an allegory for counter-violence against Japanese imperialism. This means that any violence that was illegal during the colonial period would soon lead to an armed struggle for independence. The heroic acts of the independence fighters and martyrs against the Japanese colonial rule were called “terrorists,” “national criminals,” “bombers,” “conspirators,” and “heavy criminals,” and were condemned under the Japanese colonial rule. Hong Myeong-hee, who had no choice but to have anti-Japanese consciousness through his father's suicide, indirectly denounces the injustice of Japanese colonial rule through Im Kkeok-jeong, and suggests the legitimacy of armed struggle as counter-violence. Almost all of the six brothers who formed siblings with Lim Kkeok-jeong in Im Kkeok-jeong are composed of lower-class people who are persecuted by the ruling class. The ‘robbery’ of those belonging to the marginalized class in the feudal status system, such as butchers, servants, salt merchants, and child of a concubine, usually targeted at corrupt officials and regional power. Also, Im Kkeok-jeong's heroism is most vividly depicted in the battle against the government army. The heroism of 'thieves' highlighted in Im Kkeok-jeong can be said to be a piece of popular sentiment that dreams of uprising and rebellion against the Japanese colonial rule, which monopolized all armed forces.