김광섭의 수필론

Abstract

This research is an analysis of Kim Kwang-sup’s 'supilmunhaksogo (수필문학소고)', which was published in 1934, and aims to enunciate its significance in the history of criticism. Though 80 years have passed since the theory discussed in Kim’s literature was introduced, it still holds strong authority in the world of essays and is highly influential to this day. The core ideas of Kim Kwang-sup’s theory were largely categorized into three groups for analysis. First of all, Kim defined supil(수필) as ‘essay’. To Kim, western literature was an ideal form of literature which Korean must progress towards. Secondly, he stressed the importance of lyrical essay in his theory. A majority of his logic behind the theory could be summarized as emphasis on lyricality of essays. This perception stems from a literary romanticism and continues to influence the Korean essay circle. Due to his stance, the genre of essay was able to be taken seriously as literature in Korea,which was a meaningful achievement. Lastly, his theory established some prominent creative writing methods. In terms of structure, ‘follow where your hand leads you’ and ‘no structure itself is structure’ are some examples, and ‘literature of humor and wit’ is also a dominant idea. His principles and methods became the undeniable mainstream in the genre of essay as his theory was developed and expanded, and continues to influence the Korean literary circle. During the 1930s, the overall direction of modern essay criticism was negative perception of essays. However, Kim Kwang-sup recognized essay as a literary genre and acknowledged its value. His theory was an outstanding piece when it was published in 1930, and to this time, it continues to be relevant. For these reasons,supilmunhaksogo can viewed as establishing the foundation of Korea’s theory on essay. Despite its many contributions, various ideas proposed in Kim’s literature containing significant errors persist to prevail as well which is unfortunate.