카츄샤 이야기: <부활>의 대중서사와 그 문화 변용

Abstract

This study examined the reproduction and the acculturation of (Tolstoy’s) Resurrection as a popular narrative centered on ‘Katyusha’ through mass media, such as plays, novels and gramophone records, after the 1910s. A summary of Resurrection was initially introduced in the second edition of Cheongchun, issued by Nam-sun Choi in November of 1914. Afterward, the abridged re-composed edition Haedanghwa (Sweet brier) was published by Shinmungwan in 1918, with the completed translation serially published in Maeil-Shinbo between 1922 and 1923. On the other hand, the sequels Katyusha after Resurrection by Seo-gu Lee and Resurrected Katyusha by Heukjoseng were published in Maeil-Shinbo in 1926 and were also released as books. However, Resurrection did not gain public popularity through books, but rather through performances. Hogetu Shimamura(島村抱月) from Tokyo performed Resurrection in 1915 to attract public interest. In the following year, Katyusha performed by the Shinpakuk(新派劇, The New Trend Theater) company (a kind of melodrama group) Yeseongjwa(藝星座) drew international attention. In 1923, Katyusha was re-performed as Shinkuk(新劇, The New Theater) by Towolhwe(土月會) to be later established as a representative foreign play repertoire of Korean drama. Furthermore, the theater music Katyusha’s Song became a hit from the Yeseongjwa performance and was produced as a gramophone record. Resurrection was mostly received by the public as a narrative reproduced through re-composed translations, sequels, plays and as pop music. To be more accurate, the popular narrative of Resurrection was reproduced while being centered on ‘Katyusha’. Only the complete translation of Chungae-saeng was entitled Resurrection; the translation by Hyun-hwan Park was entitled ‘Haedanghwa’ (Sweet brier) as a metaphor for ‘Katyusha’ with the subtitle established as the ‘Sad Story of Katyusha’. The sequels were also entitled ‘Katyusha after Resurrection’ and ‘Resurrected Katyusha’. Plays were also performed based on the title ‘Katyusha’ with the theater music of ‘Katyusha’s Song’. The play Katyusha was adapted as a melodrama centered on love, heartbreak, corruption and the moral improvement of Katyusha. Unlike the heroines of new plays at the time who remained strictly faithful to the virtues requested by modern families as a ‘good wife and wise mother’, Katyusha deeply impressed the public with her strange fate of being abandoned after losing her virginity to a man she loved and then becoming a prostitute and even being falsely accused of murder in court. Along with the charming sexuality of the character, the audience was strongly attracted to Katyusha’s ardent and pure love for Nekhlyudov, which is shown in her decision to reject his marriage proposal despite the fact that she succeeded in achieving self-improvement. Katyusha’s Song reflects the emotions felt by Katyusha as well as the public’s pity toward Katyusha. A story ending with the voluntary breakup of a couple much in love - even if the two parted to live a life of service for others and the society - seemed rather unfamiliar when compared with narrative customs existing at the time. Such unfamiliarity or bizarreness was straightened out when the two characters reunited in the sequel of Resurrection. Katyusha rejected Nekhlyudov’s proposal and decided to remain in Siberia because she believed that as a prostitute, she was not good enough for someone like Nekhlyudov. However, the breakup was more important for her because she was determined to serve convicts for the rest of her life by marrying Simonsson. For Katyusha, parting with Nekhlyudov was not an act of self-sacrifice but rather a way to complete herself. Nonetheless, Katyusha’s decision to choose herself and society and give up on having a loving family was an unfamiliar narrative for the public. In fact, the pity felt toward Katyusha projects the public’s emotions toward the heroine at the time.