허수경 시에 나타난 몸과 ‘먹다’의 의미

Abstract

Since her debut in the 1980s, Heo Soo-kyung has received considerable attention for her work. This paper aims to discuss Heo Soo-kyung’s poetry, focusing on the meanings of verb forms related to “to eat” and the distinctive characteristics of the “body” that they convey. In Heo’s poetry, “to eat” appears in diverse verb forms such as “to feed,” “to be eaten,” “to swallow,” “to enter,” “to spit out,” and “to vomit up.” Through the act of “eating” her poetry explores themes of consciousness, the relationship between subject and object, and the dynamics within these relationships. In her early poetry, “to feed” is frequently seen. The subject of the causative verb “to feed” often expands to a “female speaker” who can represent figures like mothers or grandmothers. The recipients of this act of feeding extend beyond a singular “man” to more collective beings like independence fighters, partisans, and soldiers. Moreover, what is being fed expands to encompass the female body itself. While “to eat” implies a process of transforming another’s body or nature into one’s own, “to feed” conversely suggests an ethical gesture of offering one’s body to others. Through this, Heo’s poetic narrator reveals a willingness to save others, an active desire to engage in and overturn situations, and resistance. Meanwhile, “to eat” also appears in Heo’s poetry in a more direct sense. Interestingly, even though “to eat” suggests an action by the subject, it fails to carry positive value or meaning. This “eat” often culminates in an “empty meal,” representing a cycle of civilization, war, and violence, a deliberate process of slaughtering others for consumption or dominance. Here, the poetic narrator envisions times —“the time of the potato” and “the time of the earth” beyond this violent and futile hunger. In Heo’s poetry, “to eat” further unfolds through terms like “to enter,” “to swallow,” “to spit out,” and “to vomit up.” Here, “to eat” does not aim at an object but centers on the relational dynamics between the self and others. Verbs such as “to eat,” “to be eaten,” “to enter,” and “to swallow” reflect fluid relationships, placing the subject and object within a dynamic, interdependent framework. Through this array of “＋to eat” and “－to eat” verbs, Heo’s poetic narrator expresses encounters between beings, absolute sacrifice, complete self-dissolution, and renewal. These ideas often manifest through an imaginative focus on “round things” like melons, plums, oranges, and the moon.