혁명과 문장

Abstract

This paper newly reconstructs the works of Cho Myunghee and Yi Tae Jun, based on the writing style displayed in Choi In-hun’s novel Hwadoo (1994), through which Choi explored the relation between great writings and revolutions (or revolutionaries). The intellectual odyssey in Hwadoo is not of an intellectual who suffers from the gap between beautiful prose and the grim reality. Rather, the text reflects the thoughts of an artist who has infinite trust and appreciation towards great writings, which serve as the “fatal prophecy” on history and destiny. In the protagonist’s trip to Russia, which is the main theme of the latter part of Hwadoo, what motivated “I” to write again was none other than the late Lenin; it is revealed in the passage that to “I,” Lenin was a great writer and an outstanding revolutionary who “reached the level of Lenin” (Chapter 2). “I’s” aesthetic impression and belief in great writings is in fact based on Cho Myung-hee’s (pen named Poseok) short story “Nakdong River” (1927). It is important to remember that a rereading of “Nakdong River” should be focused on the protagonist Park Seong-un’s comment that “A joke can become reality.” Jokes (words) become true (real) indeed as Park Seong-un’s lover “Rosa” takes the northbound train and the novelist Cho Myung-hee, bewitched by his own sentences, defects to Russia (Chapter 3). The aesthetic taste of Hwadoo’s protagonist on great writings can also be found in his heartfelt appreciation of the short story by Yi Tae Jun. Yi’s Accounts of the Visit to the USSR, however, was only mentioned once in Hwadoo, in spite of its significance. The important issue is how Yi’s alibi of “searching for Cho Myung-hee” could be interpreted. What can be sensed in the passage where Yi asks for Cho’s whereabouts is not the urge for knowledge but actually the fear of knowing. In conclusion, if “Nakdong River” represented the world of great writings where “a joke (words) become true (real),” the Accounts of the Visit to the USSR portrays a world of dreary writings where reality devours writings (Chapter 4).