해방 이후 김동인의 소설과 친일 청산을 위한 자기합리화

Abstract

The pro-Japan literary men at the end of the Japanese colonial period assert that there is a greater heteronomy aspect than the autonomy aspect since their pro-Japan activities during the colonial period were a inevitable choice attributable to the oppression of the Japanese rulers and deed for people. However, the cooperative writings in favor of Japan before the liberation and the task of eradication of pro-Japanese collaboration after the liberation have the same implication in fact. Thus considered, it was the outcome of the voluntary survival strategy to protect their own interests from the realistic crisis that they were encountered with. In this point, bringing the critical issue on the pro-Japanese collaboration at the end of the Japanese colonial period may approach to the empirical truth by paying attention to the narratives of oblivion and distortion appeared in the writings of those pro-Japanese writers after the liberation. In the novel of Kim Dong-in, 「The Traitor」released after the liberation, Kim Dong-in made Lee Gwang-soo who was at the center of the criticism of the pro-Japanese writers as the main character to emphasize that his record was completely irrelevant to pro-Japanese collaboration at the end of the Japanese colonial period. In addition, Kim Dong-in released 「Manggukingi (Story of Man from Fallen Country)」 and 「Sok- Manggukingi (Sequel to Story of Man from Fallen Country)」, and through these two novels, he asserted that he devoted his life to keep the innocence in literature far from anything in political sector. Especially, he emphasized more than anything else that he was the man of literature who dedicated his full endeavors in using the language of Joseon to demonstrate his national spirit without complying with the Japanese Rulers, and this is attributable to the fact that the novel writing of Kim Dong-in based on such self-rationalization comes from his detailed calculation to place the highest priority in fending off the criticism on his pro-Japanese collaboration activities at the end of the Japanese colonial period. With the focus on these issues, this article analyzes the narratives of oblivion and distortion appearing in the novel of Kim Dong-in, and through this effort, it intends to take a look at the critical view on the attitude of self-rationalization displayed in the process of executing the encountered issue of the eradication of pro-Japanese collaboration.