최인호 소설 『구멍』에 나타난 폭력 연구

Abstract

This paper examined the aspects of violence in Choi In-ho's novel 『Hole』 and attempted to confirm the world of Choi In-ho's work. 『Hole』 is at an unusual point in the classification of Choi In-ho's works. It is a work from a period when historical and religious novels were actively created. Classification of a writer's works by period is important because it serves as the basis for an in-depth understanding of the author's literary world through keywords by period. Furthermore, if there is a type pursued consistently regardless of the work of each period, it can serve as a basis for confirming the artist's world of work. The violence that the protagonist experiences in 『Hole』 is the core motif that drives this novel. There are two major aspects of violence shown in 『Hole』: violence committed by the state and violence by small citizens who imitate that violence. First, in Chapter 2, we looked at the state violence that was prevalent in the 1980s and his perception of it. He drives out into the streets to enjoy his day off and receives an emergency call from the hospital. On the way to the hospital, he see protesters denouncing the dictatorship and the violence of police forces stopping them. The violence committed by police forces against the crowd of protesters is close to replicating the violence of the airborne troops who mercilessly and bloody suppressed the citizens of Gwangju during the 5·18 Movement. This is an era in which the barbaric tyranny of the new military government at the time of 5·18 is still being repeated, expressed through physical and visible violence. He encounters the violence taking place in the city directly and indirectly, and shows resistance not only to the police forces carrying out state violence but also to the slogans of the protesters who encourage him to participate. Despite experiencing the tyranny of dictatorial power, his unwavering attitude and indifference to politics is that of a passive citizen. Then, during the light control training, his path was blocked once again due to the restraint of the training personnel. The attitude of the training staff who blindly believe that something that is not exists is reminiscent of ‘reporting guidelines’. The asymmetry of the right to know leads to the asymmetry of gaze, and as he watches the city lights flicker due to blackout training, he is reminded of the ‘gaze’ of a dictator. This is the point where he recognized the violence inherent in the system. In Chapter 3, we looked at the way he committed violence as a perpetrator and the structure and meaning of that violence. Even though he recognizes structural violence, he inflicts violence not on the state but on women who are weaker than him. His actions show an example of how the more damage a person suffers from vertical violence, the easier it is to fall into the temptation of horizontal violence. He shows the violence of his gaze by peeking at women in street shops from his car, objectifying them, and classifying them as if they were objects on display.His sex partner, Seon-yeong, is objectified and demoted like a woman in pornography. After Seon-yeong, who felt shame due to his visual pleasure and violence, leaves him, he also experiences the shame of being objectified. He wants to be comforted by Seon-young, and just then he gets a phone call from Seon-young. However, the sound of the car phone that comes to Seonyoung causes him shock and unfamiliar fear. The external sounds he experienced in the car were a medium of communication that conveyed the situation of the times and were sounds he heard with his will to confirm information. Feeling fear at the sound of a car phone is his sensuous response to the fact that his actions, which have internalized and imitated state violence, cannot escape the violent structure designed by the dictator. He comes to the conclusion that “only the dark streets of darkness exist” and has no choice but to fail to reunite with Seonyoung. This is because violence cannot be cured without the reflective thinking of the perpetrator of violence. Additionally, a scapegoat is chosen as a means of concealing the violence amidst the overlapping violence, and Seon-yeong, the weakest in the violent dynamics, is sacrificed. The day after Seon-yeong's death, he is found committing suicide in his car. His death was a choice he made after reflecting on and awakening to his own actions of ignoring and even imitating the violence committed by the dictatorship against the people. Therefore, although his death is extreme, it can be said to be an active resistance that proves one's existence and denies the dictatorship through the act of suicide. This can also be confirmed through the subjects in Choi In-ho's novels showing growth curves in relation to real-life problems and reasons for existence. This paper is the first study to examine the overall components of 『Hole』. And it is significant in that it expands the issues of urban people and existence consistently presented in modern novels, the main body of Choi In-ho's literature, by linking them to violence.