『해동염사(海東艶史)』의 내용과 특성

Abstract

Cha Sangchan, a pioneer of journalism during the Japanese colonization of Korea, published Haedong-yomsa in 1937. 1937 was the time when Japan was losing battles in the Second Sino-Japanese War, thus, as a means of strengthening its suppression on Korea, it banned the use of Korean language in daily life. Haedong-yomsa, which sorted out books about women, referring to official and unofficial histories, anthology, and legends of Joseon dynasty, adopted a defiant writing style. Accordingly, The content of Haedong-yomsa was quite different from that of other books for female readers during the Japanese colonization, which mostly dealt with what was expected of good wives and wise mothers, discussions regarding virtuous women, and wives helping behind those carrying guns during the war. This is because, Haedong-yomsa, by including anecdotes of women—from idealized ones to shunned ones—in Korean history, emphasized the importance of women’s independence. Haedong-yomsa featured especially certain types of women, women who lived as virtuous women or gisaeng, or for love according to their own will. In this regard, Haedong-yomsa is a work that offered a new point of view, a point of view that looked at something different, rather than what was expected and demanded of women, which were prevalent topics at the time.