해방공간기 양악계의 양상 -음악 단체를 중심으로-

Abstract

Upon the independence of Korea from Japan on August 15, 1945, new organizations of musicians were created and existing ones were reorganized as a part of the efforts to prepare and initiate a new era of Korean music. However, this unfortunately meant not only a new opportunity but also a new challenge. In other words, it meant not only the beginning of the contemporary period of Korean music but also of a damaging split within the Korean music sector and the onset of a national division within the music sector. This article aims to provide an overview of the Korean music sector of the Post-Liberation period known as Haebang konggan'gi 解放空間期 (1945-1948), which was the beginning of the contemporary period of Korean music history and the origin of the music history of divided Korea. That is to say, the goal of this research is to examine, with a focus on the dominant organizations in the music sector, which organizations were created, which characteristics they had, who were their members, and in what activities the members engaged. The first organization of musicians that was created after independence was Chosŏn ŭmak kŏnsŏl ponbu 朝鮮音樂建設本部. The organization was formed on August 16, 1945, and it was intended to embrace all musicians regardless of their political and ideological stance although it was led by left-wing musicians. In the same year, Prolletaria (Proletariat) ŭmak tongmaeng 프롤레타리아音樂同盟, a left-wing organization, was created on September 28, and Chosŏn ŭmakka hyŏphoe 朝鮮音樂家協會, which brought together both leftist and rightist musicians with the goal of uniting the Korean music sector, was formed on Oct 22. Chosŏn ŭmakka tongmaeng 朝鮮音樂家同盟, which was formed in December 1945, was a left-wing organization, and Taehan yŏnjuga hyŏphoe 大韓演奏家協會, which was formed in February 1946, was a right-wing organization. Chŏn'guk ŭmak munhwa hyŏphoe 全國音樂文化協會, which was formed in August 1946, was a right-wing organization with many members in support of the UN trusteeship, whereas Koryŏ ŭmak hyŏphoe 高麗音樂協會, which was organized in March 1947, was a right-wing organization that stood against the trusteeship. In addition, Chosŏn ŭmak kŏnsŏl tongmaeng 朝鮮音樂建設同盟, which was formed on June 15, 1947, was a left-wing organization, but many of its activities had rightist leanings. Musicians of the left-wing and of the right-wing differed in their thoughts, perspectives on music, and their plans and methodologies for the development of new music. Generally speaking, rightest musicians sought out music of the Korean nation and art music for art’s sake, and leftist musicians strived to locate class distinctions in music and the arts for the proletariat. Within the right-wing group, there were many senior musicians who developed their career during the Japanese colonial period. The right-wing musicians favored Western classical music and only a small number of them participated in political activities. Compared with the rightist musicians, the leftist musicians included many junior musicians who had returned to Korea just before or after the national independence and those who actively participated in underground resistance movements. They favored Russian nationalist music and were actively involved in political actions, for example, affiliating with Namnodongdang 南勞動黨 and Kŭllo inmindang 勤勞人民黨. Furthermore, left-wing musicians publicly opposed right-wing musicians, insisting that they should not work with musicians who had collaborated with Japanese colonizers. Rightist musicians also came into conflict with leftist musicians, insisting that they should prohibit political utilization of music and the infiltration of communists into the music sector. In the midst of this turmoil, however, there were significant efforts invested in the integration and unification of the music sector. There were some cases in which more than a few musicians joined musicians’ organizations regardless of the organization’s political stance; simultaneously joined two organizations with different ideological positions; or joined organizations depending on their relationships with the members of the organizations rather than the organization’s political and ideological positions. After the division of Korea, however, musicians were pressured to decide which side they would support. In the end, rightest musicians decided to stay with the South, and the leftists with the North. The national division resulted in a parallel division within the Korean music sector. To put it another way, the post-liberation period started with a time of ideological freedom, but proceeded to ideological confrontation and, eventually, a time that required a choice between these two ideologies.