아동문학가 최병화의 탐정소설 연구

Abstract

Children’s literature writer Choi Byeong-hwa published several detective fictions and adventure novels including fairy tales and boys novels in the 1930s and 1940s. Choi Byeong-hwa’s detective novels approximately reach 21 episodes as for the title of the work and 48 episodes as to the number of the confirmed publications. Thus, all those are the works that were unveiled during the Japanese colonial era, excluding 1 episode that was released in the years of 1949~1950. The considerable progress was shown in a research on other authors who had gained popularity with detective fictions in the 1930s and 1940s. But very little research has been done on Choi Byeong-hwa’s detective novels despite having released a lot of works. Even what was discussed at least corresponds to the translation and adaptation of foreign detective stories. Accordingly, it is the real situation that a full- fledged research is urgently needed. What a discussion about Choi Byeong-hwa’s detective novels failed to be made in earnest may be taken the possibility of being left out of the research subject for a reason of being a detective novel written by children’s literature author and of being a detective story targeting boys. Above all things, it is accredited largely to the failure to establish the subject and scope of the study because of having been unable to determine Choi Byeong-hwa’s pen name. ‘Choi Yu-beom(Choi Ryu-beom),’ who had published several detective fictions in the 1930s, was recently clarified to be the pseudonym of Choi Byeong-hwa. Hence, a research on Choi Byeong-hwa’s detective novels came to face a new phase. As this writing is a study in order to arrange and evaluate detective novels by children’s literature writer Choi Byeong-hwa, it empirically analyzed and figured out Choi Byeong-hwa’s detective stories including Choi Yu-beom’s works, and then considered the current status of the work, the characteristics of the world of work, and the historical significance of literature. Choi Byeong-hwa rolled out the first detective novel 「Hyeolyeombong(血染俸)」 in 『Student』, which was issued by Bang Jeong-hwan, concentrated on publishing detective stories in 『Byeolgeongon(別乾坤)』 of Gaebyeoksa(開闢社), translated and adapted the foreign works in the early days of his work in detective fictions, and created juvenile detective stories and adventure novels after this, thereby having shown the career of the work activity similar to Bang Jeong-hwan. There is a significance in terms of having enriched the subject matter of detective stories by bringing the forensic trial process, a psychological criminal investigation, and a ghost story & a curious case to the detective novels and of having broadened the width of readers by publishing the detective and adventure novels targeting boys and providing the interesting reading material to students(children).