아동문학가 최병화의 학교소설 연구

Abstract

Choi Byeong-hwa, known as a children’s literature writer who had been vigorously active focusing on fairy tales and juvenile novels during the Japanese colonial era and the liberation period, concentrated on presenting a new genre of work called a school novel in the 1930s. Choi Byeong-hwa’s school stories include 42 pieces given being classified under the title of the work and 71 times when it comes to the work publications covering serials, and are those that were rolled out intensively in the 1930s given excluding 1 piece that was released in the liberation period in 1946. Despite of having been published a lot of works, a research on school novels by Choi Byeong-hwa is not being conducted, thereby being added the indispensability of the research. The genre terminology in children’s literature can be considered to be the fruit of the complex literary action of the time that involved the literary attempt and orientation of the author. There is a need to arrange a literary historical meaning based on the social and cultural background and on the atmosphere of the literary circles in which the new genre terminology dubbed school story came to appear. The purpose of this writing is to arrange and evaluate a genre of school novels that children’s literatue writer Choi Byeong-hwa pioneered. It empirically collected, analyzed and examined the original text materials of school stories that Choi Byeong-hwa published, figured out the present status of the works, and inquired into a literary historical meaning. The school novels by Choi Byeong-hwa may be mentioned to be rooted on a working student novel (student novel) that SoPa Bang Jeong-hwan rolled out beforehand and on 『School of Love (Cuore)』 by MiSo Lee Jeong-ho. In terms of content, it mainly dealt with old school tale, friendship & fellowship, good deeds, and affection between master and pupil. As for a form, a letter format was used frequently. The admonition using the reception time with a teacher often appears. The works with sports elements are also noticeable. A few works among school stories by Choi Byeong-hwa have been adapted and then were re-released. Choi Byeong-hwa’s school novels expressed the contemporary enthusiasm for modern institutional education dubbed ‘school.’ There is a significance with regard to having set the stage for youth novel after this by including students in the target readers. Still, there is the limitation of being seen as a stereotype because of mostly containing the instructive and edifying themes and of having many similar works in light of a form.