식민지기 일본어문학에 나타난 ‘만주’ 조선인상 - ‘만주’를 바라보는 동시대 시선의 제상(諸相) -

Abstract

This study examined some of the literary works written in Japanese during the time of Japanese colonial rule over Korea wherein Manchuria Joseon Koreans had been typified through literary work in certain ways, by looking into all the related aspects of the Koreans portrayed and the background of such portrayal in the light of the history of literature. The literary works by Korean authors using Manchuria as a backdrop and the ones by Japanese authors offer different background when viewed from literary history. The differences become more obvious in the form of narrative and the time of publication, as the historical background and the type of emigration to Manchuria are examined. It was not until 1932 when Imperial Japan founded the Manchu and started to implement a full-scale immigration policies of relocating some of its population to the region that the Japanese literary world and Japanese writers began to turn to Manchuria for literary creation utilizing the country as a subject of interest. Examination of the Japanese works in that period which had described the life and reality of Joseon Koreans in Manchuria offers a confirmation that each of the writers had some inherent motive for taking advantage of the subject. Specifically, the main materials of this article, such as Ito Einosuke's "Mount Manbo (萬寶山)"(1931), Jang Hyeok-Ju's "Cultivation(開墾)"(1943) and Yuasa Katsue's "The Yalu(鴨綠江)"(1944), not only reveal the detailed characteristics of the Colonial Period Japanese literary version of Manchuria Joseon Koreans as well as the manifestation of literature and state affairs of the time collaborating and colliding with each other. Ito Einosuke's "Mount Manbo(1931)," in particular, is the very first novel written in Japanese by a Japanese writer of the people from Joseon Korea who had to relocate to Manchuria. This pioneering work is considered significant in that there is very little research previously conducted to address the problems found in the author's typification of the Joseon Koreans. Re-examination of the materials, therefore, is a worthwhile endeavor. On the other hand, Jang Hyeok-Ju's "Cultivation(1943)" is the portrayal of the Korean immigrants in Manchuria, written by a Korean writer who was operating in the Japanese literary circle at the time. Considering this special circumstance of the author, review of the book is likely to contribute to a deeper understanding of the overall picture of the Koreans, as it will add important insights to the existing research by Korean scholars. Lastly, Yuasa Katsue's "The Yalu(1944)" is an exemplary work by an author from the later Colonial period who had compromised to encompass the Japanese government's pressure for creating a distorted image of Joseon Koreans. Understanding the full capacity of the people as described by the Japanese writer will provide a novel look into the publications during the final stage of the Imperialistic Japan.