한국 근대 작가의 이순신 서사 연구

Abstract

Various writers of the Modern Period expressed their interests in Lee Sunshin. Furthermore, several biographies of Lee Sunshin were published during the period of Patriotic Enlightenment and the Japanese colonial rule. In this study, I examined the biographies of Lee Sunshin written by Shin Chaeho, Park Eunsik, Choi Chanshik, and Lee Gwangsu. Until date, no study has compared these four pieces. Danjae regarded Lee Sunshin as “the number one man in the navy” and a national hero who saved the country. According to Baekam, Lee Sunshin was “the best man in the naval forces” and “the true hero of Eastern Confucianism”; in addition, he suggested that Chinese readers should learn from Lee Sunshin. Although Choi Chansik wrote Lee Sunshin’s biography based on practical records, he also talked about a few literary figures of the time. Moreover, he defined the the Turtle Ship Geobukseon as a submersible that submerged into the sea and carried out operations, similar to the Baekam. Lee Gwangsu described the Turtle Ship as an armored ship while referring to Danjae’s Chosun History; but in the actual content, he depicted it as an ironclad ship. Moreover, although Lee Sunshin’s arrest and imprisonment resulted from partisan fighting, there are slight differences among writers’ versions of this event. Choi Chanshik portrayed Wongyun in a very negative way, while Lee Gwangsu portrayed him as a pervert who manipulated civilian girls and married women. Furthermore, Shin Chaeho and Park Eunsik portrayed the activities of the soldiers of the Myeong Dynasty more objectively while exposing the Japanese army’s crimes more realistically. Baekam and Choi Chanshik also detailed the activities of the alliance between the Myeong Dynasty and the Joseon Dynasty. Lee Gwangsu described the soldiers of the Myeong Dynasty as occupying forces, plundering, assaulting, and raping the women of the Joseon Dynasty. However, he did not describe the atrocities of the Japanese army and the attitude of the Joseon people toward the Japanese army appropriately. As such, Lee Sunshin was portrayed in different lights by writers.