안수길 장편소설 <북향보> 연구

Abstract

In this paper, I examined the theme of Pukhyangbo 北鄕譜 (The Song for the Northern Hometown) and its ideological position, by introducing the original source text of this novel. It became clear that the whole text of Pukhyangbo exists as clippings which have been preserved by his family. There are a few modifications in these clippings. Some parts were blacked out by the author, most of which were dealing with the necessity of Koreans’ collaboration with the Manchukuo and wartime mobilization. But the core narrative of this novel is about overcoming the crisis in the process of pursuing the ideal of a northern hometown. It is important to examine the multi-layered features and ambivalence of both ‘the spirit of a northern hometown’ 北鄕情神 and ‘the soul of rice farming’ 稻魂, which were suggested by the heroes of this novel as guiding ideas in making an ideal town for Koreans in Manchukuo. ‘The spirit of a northern hometown’ seems to be ambivalent, because it was considered not only as a collaborative ideology for Manchukuo but also as a rebellious thought by the colonial authority. ‘The soul of rice farming’ is also multi-layered, in that it seemed to serve as an imperialist ideology for Koreans’ expansion to Manchukuo as a Japanese imperial subject, while it also reminded Korean nationalism.