초기 <춘향전> 연구의 한 양상 - 김종무의「아관춘향전」에 대하여 -

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to introduce “Agwan-Chunhyangjeon(我觀春香傳)” written by Kim Jongmu(金鍾武) and published in ”Cheongryang(淸凉)” a student journal in the Preparatory Program of Keijo Imperial University(京城帝國大學). To do that, this article initially looked into its author, Kim Jongmu, focusing on his academic accomplishments. Also, this article, in addition to providing a full Korean translation of “Agwan-Chunhyangjeon” overviewed its composition and content of each chapter thereof. Kim Jongmu, in “Agwan-Chunhyangjeon” introduced synopsis of “Chunhyangjeon (春香傳)” in detail. And he sought to present his own interpretation in various fields (e.g., the work’s theme, style, plot, character creation) used to analyze literary works, and thereby tried to ultimately state that “Chunhyangjeon” was an outstanding literary work. Kim Jongmu’s discussion on “Chunhyangjeon” thus organized had a few notable characteristics. Kim Jongmu, to make arguments on “Chunhyangjeon,” mentioned various Western literary works. It seems that this was to demonstrate his knowledge and wide range of reading and thereby enhance persuasiveness of his logic. And it was paradoxically a strategy to make “Chunhyangjeon” more valuable through comparison with Western literary works premised as superior. Kim Jongmu, in “Agwan-Chunhyangjeon” tried a detailed comparison between “Chunhyangjeon” and “Xīxiāng Jì(西廂記).” It seems that since the Keijo Imperial University professor Takahashi Toru(高橋亨) earlier concluded “Chunhyangjeon” as an imitation of “Xīxiāng Jì,” Kim Jongmu had no choice but to cover “Xīxiāng Jì” in detail. He gave specific examples of the parts of “Chunhyangjeon” similar to those of “Xīxiāng Jì,” which can be deemed as advancement from Takahashi’s arguments thereon mentioning the similarity briefly. Kim Jongmu, despite searching for and presenting similarities he himself found between the two, emphasized that “Chunhyangjeon” was not just an imitation and consistently advocated excellence of “Chunhyangjeon.” At this point in time when a vast amount of discussions on “Chunhyangjeon” are accumulated, various errors or logical contradictions can be found in “Agwan- Chunhyangjeon.” Nevertheless, “Agwan-Chunhyangjeon” can be deemed a noteworthy material in the fact alone that an ethnic Korean student attending Keijo ‘Imperial’ University, a modern educational institution at that time, wrote it in Japanese to prove “Chunhyangjeon” valuable. “Agwan-Chunhyangjeon” can be evaluated as output from an effort to overcome a Japanese scholar’s preceding study and regard Joseon Dynasty’s literature in a positive light as native art.