민속학과 역사학의 통섭을 위한 비판적 성찰

Abstract

What is history and what is folklore? What is the difference between history and folklore? Although immature, answers to these questions can be made as followings. History is to study history, and folklore is to study folk. Common factors in both of the fields are 'human' and 'culture.' Who are human entities and how they conducted their culture, the fact that both consider these two proves that they are among liberal arts and humanities studies in common. However, discriminative separations between the two fields has consistently existed. One originates from concepts of written history and unwritten history. Although the concept can be understood in a relative context, it has been taking a role as an authoritative standard distinguishing one from the other. Objectives of study in folklore and history can largely be classified into two categories which are historical materials and folk materials, and a stereotype that prioritize historical materials to folk materials implying that the former conforms more to 'the fact.' Will that be really true? Reconsidering on the general thought to believe that facts are reflected on historical materials, cognitive understanding of folk-related facts and folk materials. Folk materials indeed are oral sources collected after being corroboratively evidenced on the field. Therefore, those are the materials of 'now and here,' produced, conducted and acknowledged 'corroboratively.'History and folklore can also be distinctive from each other through the concepts of recorded history and remembered history. However, to record or to remember are put on a stage to be chosen as format. Priority of recording to remembering something has been asserted, but it does not determine any value of format itself. Remembered materials in folklore is as important as recorded materials in history. Especially, memory is emphasized in folklore for its influence in contemporary lives and strengthening of the contemporaries through its modernized form. Revelation of such like discriminative recognition is for the fact that the perspective of history toward folklore is not positively constructed, and bigotry developed widespread throughout methods and subjects of the research. Preliminary objective of studying history and folklore is in purpose of cultural investigation, and in the center of the culture is humankind, which leads the ultimate goal of the studies to understanding of humankind. It comes to be of very important standard when discussing consilience between history and folklore. Conclusively folklore should complement history, and history should do so for folklore. This will conform to Confusion concept 'Hwayibudong(和而不同)' which means to get along well with others but with kin caress not to make a false step as well as a concept 'Jultakdongsi(啐啄同時)', a main subject of dialogues in Zen Buddhism, meaning a hen helps hatching of a chick through poking an eggshell to accomplish a new birth of life.