손창섭 동화와 동물권에 대한 인식 고찰

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the perception of animal rights was in children’s literature in the 1950s, focusing on Son Chang-seop’s “A Chick and Hyun-joo,” “A Blind Dog,” and “Returned Seri” This study was able to confirm three facts. First, “A Chick and Hyeonju” raises fundamental questions about the human selfish way of thinking that treats and resources edible animals such as chickens only as instrumental beings in human life. Second, the “A Blind Dog” visualizes that vulnerable animals with disabilities are born with natural rights to life like humans. This narrative emphasizes that in order to share the sensitivity of animals to the right to life, human empathy needs to be extended to other animals. Third, the “Returned Seri” describes that humans should be recognized as beings with voices that listen to animals while interacting with them, pay emotional attention, and take the truth that animals want to express seriously. Son Chang-seop’s narrative shows that the relationship between human and non-human is expanding beyond the relationship of dominating and dominated to understanding and empathy. This can be meaningful in that it is an opportunity to expand empathy for animals and seek coexistence while opposing species discrimination in children’s literature today.