학병세대와 군인정치의 시대 그리고 법적 정의 -이병주 문학에 나타난 원한과 법의 문제-

Abstract

This paper discuss the social status of student soldiers who did not escape Japanese military ("non-escape student soldiers") at the end of the Japanese colonial period. The student-soldier generation has played an important role as an elite class in many areas in Korean society and politics since the Independence in 1945. However, they were not free from suspicions that they had supported the Japanese army because they did not actively avoid or reject the military service in the Pacific War. Some student-soldiers were recognized for their patriotism because they ran away from the Japanese military camp. Others, most of the student soldiers, worried about their safety and so accepted their role in the camp. They had to face the criticism of serving the enemy for their survival, so then they had to suffer from self-consciousness as a "mercenary soldier or slave of enemy." This study examines the differences between the two groups in Lee Byung-ju's works: the one who succeeded to escape from the Japanese military camp vs. the other who stayed in the camp. Lee was a member of the 'un-escape student soldier' group and his novels dealt with both the political desire and self-consciousness of the student-soldier generation. In particular, he was excluded from the social career due to the serious slip of the pen after the May 16 military coup. This event prevented him from realizing his political desires. The ressentiment from the experience as a student-soldier, combined with the oppression by the military power in the 1960s and 70s, led to creation of his novels.