다문화 서사에 나타난 초국적 이주와 고향의 의미 : 조선족 소재 소설을 중심으로

Abstract

Now, modern people live in a time when transnational migrations across borders are frequent. This suggests that the number of deceased people leaving their hometowns is increasing rapidly, and that the number of people who lost their hometown, which is a condition of existence, is rapidly increasing. The multicultural narrative of Korea, which portray the reality of transnational migration in the 21st century, are filled with the emotions of those who have crossed the border. Among the strangers in the multicultural narrative, the meaning of the hometown is more deeply felt for the Korean‒Chinese. The Korean‒Chinese is confused by the experience of overlapping migration from Korea to China and back to Korea. In the meantime, Korea is an uneasy space that makes the Korean‒Chinese to miss their hometowns constantly. Focusing on this point, this study examines the way in which novels address the problem of ‘hometown’, focusing on multicultural novels in the Korean‒Chinese, and examines what the meaning of hometown is in the era of transnational migration. The Korean‒Chinese who are suffering from anxiety of existence in novels are often comforted by reminding them of their identities and the beautiful memories of their hometowns. In addition, the Korean‒Chinese experience a serious identity struggle, seeing Koreans who view themselves as negative in Korea. Since then, the Korean‒Chinese have shown that they will form their own new identity. On the other hand, the Korean‒Chinese who can not find their hometown in Korea and are anxious are also dreaming of their second home in Korea. Based on their experiences of cultural hybridization and living together in the process of migration, the Korean‒Chinese have an ambitious dream to settled in Korea by realizing their hometown. Thus, the multicultural narrative reveals the emotions of many migrants who are forced to live in an anxious state by losing their hometown in the era of transnational migration. At this time, the image of the hometown that is repeatedly circulated in novels is not a specific space but rather an image of hometown as a universal archetype space imagined by modern people. This multicultural narrative makes us think about the way the strangers exist from the perspective of the displaced who lost their homeland. It also makes people think of the meaning of their hometown even for the modern people who have lost their original hometown.