인텔리 여성의 반동-임옥인의 자기서사와 보수주의

Abstract

In this article, I analyze the self-narrative of Lim, Ok-in, who secured her identity as a writer by publishing the autobiographical novel Before and After Moving from North Korea to South Korea in 1956. I will focus on the perception of reality of female intellectuals who put meaning in the classics and the conservative experience of tradition. Lim, Ok-in, who founded and ran a girls’ school in North Korea after liberation, fled to South Korea in 1946 amid conflict with the Soviet military and communists. In her autobiographical novel and in her autobiography, My Resume(1985), she sheds light on the motivations and processes of leaving North Korea and characterized the communists as ignorant, violent, and ruthless. The confiscation of her books by the Soviets shortly after liberation led her to perceive the Communist Party as a group that sought to eradicate literature and education. She became even more distrustful when she learned that Soviet officers did not recognize the names of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky and considered Pushkin’s collection of realm poems to be conservative and reactionary because they were written in English. Despite her conflicted relationship with the Communist Party members, who treated her as a bourgeois woman because of her studies in Japan, Lim, Ok-in temporarily joined the Socialist Women’s Union of Korea to promote literacy and enlightenment. However, her adherence to education as a priority puts her at odds with the female socialists. In her autobiographical novels and autobiography, she made clear her reactionary views, criticizing Communist Party members for disregarding rituals and procedures, and defending traditional heritage, including calligraphy, books and antiques. However, while she believes in the authority of the classics and tradition, she is never able to explain why the values of the old culture should be restored. Deciding that she could no longer defend the values of conservatism and traditionalism that she espoused, Lim Ok-in eventually came to the conclusion that she had no choice but to leave North Korea.