근대전환기 ‘소설’의 발견과 『조선소설사』의 탄생

Abstract

It is almost common knowledge to prescribe the characteristics of classical novels as biographical structure, flat characters and didactic themes. However, our forerunners in the late Joseon period prescribed kinds of novels as fictional invention, ghost stories or dream stories, stories of social conditions, joy and sorrow, good and evil so they accurately indicated that novels utilized all of the above to touch people's hearts. They grasped fictional feature, verisimilar description and narrative impression as novels' essential characteristics. Nonetheless, we find answers for classical novels' characteristics in flat characters, cliche, ridiculous plot, and happy endings instead of aforementioned properties. When we trace back the reasons, we come to encounter the stipulations of foreigners residing in Joseon such as Maurice Courant in early modern period. We have accepted the characteristics of classical novels given by them. This article started from that awareness. I have examined the struggles of the first generation novel researchers that had no other choice but to start from the horizon of novel studies that were explored and prescribed by others from the late nineteenth century. Moreover I endeavored to retrace the procedures of building opposition narratives against existing ones. First, I observed the interest and the real conditions of novels written by foreigners residing in Joseon at the turn of the twentieth century. In particular, Japanese who resided in Joseon were deeply involved in colonial narratives as well as early modern narratives of Westerners living in Joseon. Next, young students who entered Joseon language and literature department in Kyungsung Imperial University in 1920s had deep affection in Joseon literature and were anxious to organize it. We need to keep in mind their contentious relationship with Takahasi Doru, Joseon Language and Literature professor in order to properly comprehend the reality during the period. Finally I explored the strategy of narrative composition by the first generation researchers of Joseon Literature Study in 1930s focusing on The History of Joseon Novels by Kim Taejun. I paid special attention on the reasons that they evaluated two novels as masterpiece; The Tale of Heungbu, displaying the process of becoming a novel from legends and showing double strategies, in addition, The Tale of Janghwa and Hongryeon, noteworthy as ethnography and being evaluated as a masterpiece of early modern novels. I paid special attention on the reasons that they highly evaluated two novels; The Tale of Heungbu, displaying the process of becoming a novel from legends and showing double strategies, in addition, The Tale of Janghwa and Hongryeon, noteworthy as ethnography and being evaluated as a masterpiece of early modern novels.