김소월 자살설과 후기 시 고찰

Abstract

There is still little material that could serve as a foundation for a comprehensive approach to the poetry and the life of Kim So-Wol. His later years were somewhat embellished in the context of remembrance and condolences by Kim Uk following his death. In the process, the death of Kim So-Wol went through a sort of "sanctification" process. Kim So-Wol is known to have suffered a sickness of beriberi or cerebral hemorrhage in his later years and to have fallen in pessimism after living every day in drunkenness. In particular, the rumor of suicide by poisoning is dominant regarding his cause of death. This study examines the later-life biography of Kim So-Wol with more clarity, and simultaneously, leaves open all the possible causes of his death that are the rumors of suicide, rumors of death from disease, and rumors of homicide. The first person to spread the rumor of Kim So-Wol's suicide by poisoning was his wife, Hong Sil-Dan. But not only is her testimony inconsistent, suspicions are also found in the testimonies of the bereaved family members. Moreover, the reflective signifiers portrayed in "A Song About Money," "J.M.S," "Life and Money and Death," and other poems composed in his later years could not be dismissed from consideration. In "Anguish and Pleasure," he even displays the attitude of reproaching a woman who chose to commit suicide. As Kim So-Wol resumed his poetry writing in his later years once again, he showed a firm will to reflect on his past days and rebuild his damaged life. Therefore, at least the rumors of his suicide must be reconsidered, and the possibilities of rumors of death from disease and of homicide should be left open as well when studying the life and the later poems of Kim So-Wol.