북한의 ‘우리문학사’서술의 향방-근대문학 이전의 문학사 서술을 대상으로

Abstract

This paper aims at examining the writings on the history of Korean Literature in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea after the publication of The Understanding on the History of Korean Literature in DPRK in 1991. Main concerns are to grasp the perspective of writing and the direction of research. The Literary History of Chosun published at Academy of Social Sciences in six volumes from 1991 to 1994, enlarges the writings with democratic and progressive perspectives, while it also includes lots of writings with conservative and reactionary perspectives. That leads to the flexibility of writing perspectives in the volumes, which is the result of fortifying ‘the directivity on the National Spirit’ in which ‘the Nation values’ are centralized and absolutized. The Literary History of Chosun published at Kim Il-sung University in 2006 gives an impression that the description goes back to that of The Literary History of Chosun-Old and Middle Ages (1977), but ‘the directivity on the National Spirit’ which centralizes and absolutizes the ‘Nation values’ remains and is bequeathed the same. Therefore, the narration on ‘the literary history of Korean Literature’ in North Korea after the publication of The Understanding on the History of Korean Literature in DPRK(1991), is directed to the enforcement of the ‘Nationality’, which is widening the gap of perspectives between South and North Koreas. This paper suggests, however, that the South and North Korean scholars have more meetings and cultural exchanges that the stress on the ‘Nation values’ should be critically questioned and the mutual understanding on the value of ‘people’s democraric and progressive literary tradition’ might be enlarged. That could result in the desirable creation of the integral depiction on the ‘history of Korean Literature’ on both sides of Korea.