이선영의 비평론 연구 – 포스트리얼리즘의 선구

Abstract

This article examines Lee Sun-young’s criticism in the 1980s and 1990s. When he was belatedly awarded a doctoral dissertation during his time as a professor of dismissal (1980-1984), he was over 50 years old. The subject of the doctoral thesis is the ‘History of Literature Criticism’ from the end of the Korean Empire to the 1910s, and in particular, the theory of utility is at the center. Since the concept of realism had not yet emerged, the doctoral dissertation traced the intrinsic generation process of the theory of realism through the history of utility. Although realism is a modern concept, its spirit is rooted in tradition. From this, it can be seen that his criticism is an extension of the theory of intrinsic development. Thanks to the follow-up research of his disciples, this thesis came to fruition as 『The history of criticism of modern Korean literature』(1989). The 1990s was the time when major changes occurred in Lee Sun-young's critique and research of realism. This is also the reaction of a scholar of old age to the cultural upheaval of the fall of the socialist bloc and the advancement of post-discourse. During the research period in the early 1990s, he became to devour Frederick Jameson’s 『Political Unconsciousness』(1981). And what he discovered in Jameson was the possibility of exceeding the limits of the Korean critical world, which was divided into Marcism and formalism (structuralism). Following Jameson, he began to explore the ideological and psychological implications inherent in the form of Korean fiction. Its purpose is contained in the title 『Beyond Realism』(1995), which was published at the retirement age. His writings were also published in 『National Literature and Modernity』 (The Institute of National Literature History, 1995), setting an example for progressive young scholars seeking to expand realism criticism. In this way, his criticism progressed in the direction of discovering the possibility of realism in Korean criticism before the concept of realism was established and attempting to expand it when the concept of realism faced a crisis. In this way, he showed the side of a flexible realism critic who breathes with the times, not a rigid realism critic.