김정한의 미완성 장편소설 <農村歲時記> 연구

Study on Kim Jeong-Han's Unfinished Novel, Nongchonsesigi

Nongchonsesigi is Yosan Kim Jeong-Han's unfinished novel. This novel was serialized in the bulletin of Gyeongsangnamdochung, Gyeongnamgongron 6 times(vol.26~vol.32) from 1955 until 1956, which period Kim Jeong-Han himself called that of putting down his pen. It is possible that Kim Jeong-Han took part in Gyeongnamgongron with the encouragement of Lee Joo-Hong, and it is considered that he tried to find new directions of the creative writing through Nongchonsesigi. First, Nongchonsesigi has features of autobiographical bildungsroman, which sets up Kim Jeong-Han's actual family members as its major characters. Hon-am, the wife of Han-sil, Nam-pa, and Young-sun shape his father, mother, grand father, and himself respectively. We can find such possibility of bildungsroman in bringing the focus of the leitmotif of Yuchungryeoljeon on Young-sun. Yuchungryeoljeon is a repeated theme and motif which makes Young-sun develop the awareness and the sense of resistance of a present reality. Furthermore, it suggests that Young-sun's sufferings and subjugation in his growth process will be viewed completely by bringing the focus of the narrative direction into him. Second, the six series of Nongchonsesigi are the beginning of the novel. The beginning of a novel means the suggestion about a premonitory sign or direction of conflict because the beginning shows suppositions as the base of development of a novel. This novel structuralizes Kim Jeong-Han's characteristic dual confrontation in the middle story. "A ruler of Japanese imperialism and a person from colonial Choson" shows the opposing structure which presents the situations in Japanese colonial ages. But the foreboding of the superficial conflict is presented between Hon-am and Nam-pa who are both from colonial Choson. The confrontation between "the modern-ages-oriented and the tradition-oriented attitudes" toward the colonial modernization is revealed with the conflict of production relations concerning lands. It suggests that such aspect of confrontation will be structuralized in the middle story with the periodic situations in Japanese colonial ages. Third, Kim Jeong-Han shows the insight and critical attitudes toward the periodic situations in the colonial ages using the potent point of view. The writer is controlling the degree of intimacy that readers feel by keeping the distance with characters. In addition, Hon-am's intimacy is outstanding, but the writer is criticizing the limit of his behavior directly. It can be said that such features of Kim's writing is his peculiar writing style that presents his own viewpoint of the world. Fourth, in respect that most of Kim's novels deal with real problems of those days, Nongchonsesigi is a very original novel which pays attention to the past world although this novel has just the beginning. This novel shows signs of a conflict about lands which the writer always pays attention to, but it keeps its distance with his peculiar realism. Nongchonsesigi has important meanings in Kim's world of novel although the novel is unfinished. First, this novel is related with a sensible discourse or putting down his pen. Second, this novel is the first one that Kim tried who created short stories mainly. Third, it shows his autobiographical elements prominently in contrast with his other works. Furthermore, in respect that he commands his peculiar language by using a Gyeongnam dialect, we can regard the novel as an apparent result of the regional literature in Gyeongnam and Busan.