이주자의 꿈과 삶 -송상옥 작품을 중심으로-

Dream and Life of the Migrants Emigration -with Song, Sang-Ok's work as the Central Figure

This thesis tries to analyze the various aspects of migration through the characters who seem to be the alter-egos of novelist himself. While migration to foreign countries in the 19th and the first half of the 20th century was forced by the tragic situation of Korea, it became a matter of individual choice after 1950. No matter what the cause of the choice is, it inflicted an unendurable pain upon the person who made it. Lieutenant colonel Yoon and Kim, Hyun-Woong had to pass the ordeal and Lee, Young-Kyu, or 'He' as he was called in the novel, was also one of such migrants. Lee made up his mind to escape from the violent political reality and disgusting daily routine. He wanted to change his selfhood altogether by the migration. But after the migration he had to face the cruel reality of it, that is, just living from hand to mouth in the desolate foreign country. Migrants were harassed by the speedy life style of Freeway, and annoyed by the inhuman individualism surrounding them. But they could not go back to their homeland easily because it would be the total negation of their changed selfhood. Lee finally decided to migrate back, thinking his life in America was, after all, just another trap. In Korea he tortured himself by walking endlessly under the hot summer sun. He wanted to express his remorse about his wrong decision in that way. After seeing the changed reality of the native town, he began to write his family history.