분단 후 백석시의 분석과 평가를 위한 제언 -북한문학 속의 백석Ⅱ-

Abstract

This study questions the view and perception of South Korea’s literary academia regarding the poems of Baekseok written during his life in North Korea. The South Korean literary academia perceives that the core values of Baekseok’s poems written in North Korea are mainly about its lyrical language and melancholy tones. This view does not contribute to the objective analysis and assessment of Baekseok’s poems. His body of work during his days in North Korea is considered as pieces forced out of him to secure his survival, hence, his work has not been actively analyzed as the academia does recognize those works as Baekseok poetry. Also, not many studies have attempted to conduct a serious assessment of his poems within the analytic framework of North Korean poetry. This is not an adequate assessment of Baekseok who lived as a poet in North Korea after Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, releasing numerous poems, in addition to hundreds of children’s poems as well as translation poems. The study examines a few areas of concern in analyzing and assessing the poems by Baekseok, published in North Korea. It is essential to assess Baekseok’s poems regarding the changes and context of North Korean poetry. The radical transformation in North Korean poetry from 1957 to the early 1960s is intertwined with the changes in Baekseok’s poetry. He translated approximately two hundred Russian poems into Korean and this significant fact requires close examination. The ‘thaw’ of Russian literature after Stalin’s death is closely linked to Baekseok’s decision in selecting specific author’s works or poems to translate. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that North Korea’s literary world is shifting its position on Baekseok’s poetry. North Korea’s discussion thus far has mainly evolved around the children’s literature debate and Baekseok’s poems from the 1930s; nonetheless, their view is undoubtedly shifting. The views suggested in this study are not the only answers to assessing the poetry of Baekseok in North Korea. However, it can be a starting point for a comprehensive assessment of Baekseok, who was a versatile writer; as a poet, a novelist, an author of children’s literature and a translator.