김정은 시대 북한문학에 나타난 과학기술자 형상화 고찰: 최근 『조선문학』(2020~2022)에 게재된 시와 단편소설을 중심으로

Abstract

This paper is written to examine the pattern of the shaping of scientists and engineers in North Korean literature during the Kim Jong-un era, focusing on the text published in 『Chosun Literature』 between 2020 and 2022, during the COVID-19 period. Since the 7th Party Congress in 2016, North Korea has continued to express expectations for a science and technology powerhouse beyond “imperialist blockade” and “frustration of the North Korea-U.S. summit” until recently before and after the 8th Party Congress in 2021. In the short story, Cho Hoon-il’s 「White-Eye Maiden」 analyzed the meaning of the shape of a female scientist lying in bed due to “hair loss and gas poisoning” while devoted to metal research. In Lee Chul’s science fantasy novel, 「Higher Faster」, the character of a three-dimensional figure was analyzed through the contents of a young chemist who was in internal conflict due to a conflict of opinions on Earth. Second, Kim Hye-young’s 「Luck」 focused on the devoted efforts of the scientist’s head of households on business trips throughout the country like the “modern Hong Gildong” and the sacrifice of his wife behind it. Song Hye-kyung’s 「Talent」 noted the concreteity of the meaning of the leader Kim Jong-un, who selects “pioneering talents in future science” as “Today’s National Scientist.” The poems paid attention to Lee Myung-ok’s 「Doctor of Women’s Engineering I Know」 and 「The House of Scientists」 by Ryum Hyung-mi. In the works of the two poets, the devoted exploration of minerals by the “Female Engineering Doctor” and the story of married scientists who succeeded in launching satellites are captured as poetic seeds, embodying the unique delicacy and maternal dedication of female scientists. In the end, the “image of a scientific engineer” revealed in literary works presupposes the love of the people of the leader, but it is seen as a struggle to build a socialist powerhouse through self-reliance beyond imperialist blockade.