감화원이 있는 섬-영화 <해연>(1948)과 남한 초기 소년 수용시설

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to find various ways to approach the film Haeyeon (Seagull)(1948) beyond the frame of the nation-building narrative that existing researches have been focusing on. Haeyeon is a film located within the cinematic genealogies about delinquent boys since the 1930s, especially directly or indirectly connected to films based on juvenile delinquents, which were screened on the Korean Peninsula before and after liberation. Moreover, the film is related to specific social facts at the time of production, including the surge of juvenile delinquents and the correctional institutions for juvenile delinquents in early South Korea. This paper approaches Haeyeon as a film about reformatory school and examines the representation of correctional institution justified under the pretext of enlightening the vagrant and the delinquent boys into “discipline of genuine love” in relation to the socio-cultural context of the time. First of all, it considers the issue of vagrants and delinquent boys and correctional institutions for juvenile delinquents immediately after liberation, along with the connection of the “Flanagan-Boys Town-the film Boys Town” formed around Edward J. Flanagan’s visit to South Korea. Next, it traces the film’s production background in relation to the juvenile delinquency films screened on the Korean Peninsula, and examines the reformatory school in Haeyeon in relation to the establishment and expansion of correctional institutions in early South Korea. Finally, it analyzes the reenactment of the film Haeyeon regarding the ideal and practices of the “discipline of genuine love” between teacher and student who form the two pillars of the narrative, and explains the characteristics of the film compared to other juvenile delinquency films or early South Korean plays and films. In doing so, the paper argues that Haeyeon is a film linked to the early South Korean discourse on correctional institutions for juvenile delinquents, which is a complex intersection of humanitarian and security discourse, and is a historical place to rethink the post-colonial detention facilities.