김원일의 『노을』 연구

Abstract

Exiting studies on Won-il Kim heavily rely on the notion of the Division Novel. This thesis, on the other hand, adopts a more integrative approach for an in-depth study of 『An Evening Glow』 utilizing the perspectives of division, family and growing-up. First of all, chapter II, dealing with the life and works of Won-il Kim, points out his father and the experience of the national division as the most critical influence on his literary works. In addition, a comparison with Mun-yeol Lee, another writer with the experience of the national division, is brought in for a deeper understanding of characteristics of Won-il Kim’s works, and Kim’s works are organized and explained according to three different temporal phases. Chapter III, passage 1 designates the childhood experience of starvation, family separation, discovery of evil, and death of other characters as a critical factor in forming the protagonist Gapsu’s identity-formation. Passage 2 draws the attention to the protagonist’s sense of primogeniture to take the place of his father and take on family matters in the face of the absence of father and of the crisis of family dissolution. Passage 3 illustrates the violent nature of ideology through: people ignorant of ideology being instigated to violence, people having nothing to do with ideology being swept by circumstances into death, only the lower class people, among followers of ideology, facing death. Passage 4 explores the protagonist’s change of perception and asserts that the causes of the change are: the protagonist’s understanding of the background of his father violence, enabled by the temporal distance of twenty-nine years; and stimulation from Chimo’s positive view on reality despite having had the similar experiences to those of the protagonist’s. Chapter IV discusses the significance of 『An Evening Glow』 in literary history. First, 『An Evening Glow』 overcomes the limitations of 1950∼60 novels of war themes. Second, it seeks to reveal the realities of the Korean War through personal experiences. Third, it follows the tradition of the North Korean Partisan novels. Four, it explores the causes of wounds concretely. Five, it doesn’t limit the meaning of the Korean War to the past.