헝가리 한국학자 OSVÁTH Gábor의 생애와 저술

A study on the Hungarian Korean Studies scholar, Osváth Gábor

OSVÁTH Gábor는 헝가리 한국학을 대표하는 1세대 학자이다. 그는 1970년부터 1972년까지 2년동안 북한 김일성종합대학교에서 어학연수과정을 이수하였다. 귀국 후 헝가리에서 한국어를 가르치기 시작하여 부다페스트 경제대학의 극동언어학과 전임교수, 부다페스트 ELTE 대학교 시간 강사를 역임하였다. 한국어, 한국 문학사, 한국학 입문 강의 등을 하거나 한국문학 번역, 교재 저술 등 지금도 왕성한 활동을 하고 있다. 또한 후진 양성을 통한 한국학 전문가들이 현재 2세대 한국학교수로 활동하거나 한국 관련 외교활동이나 기업 등에서 활약하고 있다. 헝가리 1세대 한국학자들이 북한을 통해 한국을 배웠다면 현재 2세대 한국학자들은 1989년 이후 대한민국과 수교하여 남한의 언어와 문화를 수용한 것이 특징이다. 그 가교 역할을 한 것이 OSVÁTH Gábor교수라고 할 수 있다. 따라서 OSVÁTH Gábor는 북한과 남한을 함께 경험하고 양쪽 분단 상태의 국가 체재에서 활동한 명실상부한 헝가리인 한국학자라고 할 수 있다. 뿐만 아니라 우리는 이제 양쪽을 경험한 이러한 한국학 연구자를 통해 우리가 알 수 없었던 19070년대 전후의 북한 사회의 공백을 메우는 데도 중요한 단서를 얻을 수 있을 것이다. 그의 한국관련 교육과 저술, 당시 사진자료 등을 통해 분단으로 단절된 남북한의 missing chain을 찾는 데도 의미있는 역할을 할 것이라 기대한다.

This paper is a second study of Chung, Jinwon( 2013) that inculdes an introduction about Nagy Ildikó (1938~), a Hungarian scholar and curator of Korean Studies, Osváth Gábor is a scholar who represents the first generation of Korean Studies in Hungary. He studied Korean for two years, from 1970 to 1972 at Kim Il Sung University in North Korea. He stopped his studies because he couldn't endure Kim Il Sung's dictatorship any longer. It was only a two year study program, nevertheless the Hungarian Embassy offered him to stay longer but he rejected the proposal because of the monotony of life there. Later he confessed it was a bad decision. He returned to Budapest, and continued to study, achieving a perfect score on the Korean language proficiency test. He started to teach Hungarian to foreign students in the International Prepararatory Institute. North Korean Students appeared there only around 1975 because after the 1956 Hungarian Revolution the North Korean leaders considered the Hungarian form of socialism different from their way and labeled it revisionism. In 1989 he became a professor of the Far East Linguistics Department at Budapest Business School in Budapest, while also lecturing part time from 1997at ELTE University in Budapest. He taught Korean language, Korean literature translation, Korean studies introduction and other related courses. He also wrote many books on Korean studies. He translated several Korean short stories and poems. At present his students have become active diplomats, professors in the Korean studies department at ELTE, and employees of many Korean companies. Osváth Gábor received South Korean education in style, for 6 months, along with learning South Korean language and culture. Therefore he is a unique Hungarian scholar on both South and North Korea. He has become a bridge between South and North Korea as he has experienced both, through living, studying and interacting in both societies. Osváth Gábor is the best Korean Studies scholar in Hungary. He knew 1970's to 1980's North Korea, a time that even we did not know their actual situation. We now have found a treasure of Korean studies and must re-evaluate him and his achievements. Through his experience and studies, we are able to link the broken chain that was once disconnected. His teaching, writing and many photographic materials will be invaluable in understanding the gap between the two countries. It is our sincere hope that he will contribute to the unification of South and North Korean Studies. (Korea University)