항구와 공장의 근대성 - 인천에 대한 문학적 표상 연구

Abstract

This paper aims to explore how Incheon is represented in the Korean modern novel. Until the Joseon Dynasty, Incheon was a small fishing village. Since the opening of its port in 1883, Incheon has grown into a modern city. The reason why Incheon has rapidly developed into the modern city can be found in its geopolitical factors. Taking advantage of such conditions of the city, Japan actively exploited Incheon. By developing land for port and factory area, Japan secured a bridgehead. Therefore Incheon was able to develope into the port and industrial city in the Japanese colonial period. The study on the way in which Incheon is represented in the Korean novel inevitably engages in the examination of Korean modernity. It can be also a useful pathway to see how the Korean literature internalizes the problematics of modernity. Incheon frequently appeared in Korean novels of the early 20th century more than any other city except Seoul. However, it cannot be said that Korean writers gave attention to Incheon as it was. But only they considered the city as a gateway to Japan. In other words, they took neither Incheon nor people living in the city as the subject of narrative. Inganmunje (Human problems), which was published in the 1930s by Kang -Kyungae, well represented the aspect of Incheon as an industrial city. In this respect, it was a very rare work in the Japanese colonial period. By dealing with the struggle of workers living in Incheon, Inganmunje delineates the confront between labor and capital that is one of the important traits of modernity. The novel represented Incheon as the city of workers. It means that Incheon was portrayed as the city in which the contradiction of capitalism could be overcome. Meanwhile, Hyeon-deok's 「Namsaengi (Freshwater tortoise)」, Han-namgyu's 「Badaka Sonyon (Beach boy)」, and Oh-Cheonghee's 「Junggugin Geori (Chinatown)」 took a different approach toward Incheon. These short stories described the various problems of people living in Incheon by focusing on the city space. The life of the lower classes living in the port as well as the perspective of a teenager well exposed the modern characteristics of Incheon. These stories shared common features. For instance, the life of port city in which workers cannot settle but float, the city of migrants who lost their home, and the perspective of minors looking at the city life. The viewpoint between parents and child's generation are comparatively revealed in these works. This can be read as a intersection between intense nostalgia for the rural community and unknown longing for new urban life.