『문학이란 무엇인가』의 번역과 해석 그리고 냉전의 문학지(文學知)

Abstract

Sartre's literary theory, which included a discussion of the writer's responsibilities as an intellectual, and the social role of literature, has had a great impact worldwide. His book, What is Literature is a text that focuses on this subject. In the 1950∼60s literary field of Korea, this book was the only theoretical resource that can be used in situations where the artist's participation in society should be discussed with avoiding the leftist theory, and also was the object of criticism of literary critic who internalized the anti-communism through the experience of Korean war. Therefore, by examining the history of the translation and interpretation of a book titled What is Literature, we can grasp the aspect of Korean transformation of literary knowledge in the Cold War. In this paper, we pay special attention to the attitude of Kim Bung-gu, who translated What is Literature. His translations resulted in the omission of the main chapter. Sartre's theory of participatory literature was introduced, and at the same time distorted, by him. In addition, he presented the skepticism that it was difficult to apply the theory to Korean literature, at the “Writers and Society” seminar hosted by the Korean Committee of Congress of Cultural Freedom(CCF). His criticism of Sartre was completed the logic by constructing a history of Korean participatory literature which was different from Sartre’s theory. These discussions are the result of his experiential anti-communism and his response to the tension of Cold War. The literary theory of What is Literature, criticized and refracted by Kim Bung-gu, was restored and reinterpreted by critics of the next generation.