白岳春史 張膺震論

Paek-ak-chtm-sa (白岳春史) published his short stories in Tae-geuk-hak-Po (太極學報), the monthly magazine of Korean students studying in Japan in 1907. This treatise intends to investigate his thought and its meaning at that time through his works. We have no materials about him except his works. So we have to draw his thought from his works. By the way, Paek-ak (白岳), Paek-ak-ja (白岳子), the pen name of that magazine s editor and pub! isher, Chang-eung-jin (張膺震) is very similar to the writer s pen name Paek-ak-chtm-sa. So we supposed the two were the same. If the common structure of short stories and the thought structure of Paek-ak are identical, we come to prove that the two are the same. If so, then, we could under-stand Paek-ak-chun-sa s thought more clearly, for that editor published many. essays at that magazine. The common structure of those short stories is that the self, hero overcomes the difficulties caused by the world s evil challenges after all, while the Paek-ak s essays assert that the world is ruled over by power and that Korea can and must overcome the tragic realities by improving the education system and advancing the national ability. So we can find that the two are identical structurally : realistic negativity is overcomed through the optimistic future. That fact can be the indirect evidence that the two are the same. Then how can be estimated that thought in the light of that time which was falling into the colonial situation by Japan. The bright aspect of Paek-ak s thought can be understood as powerful Utopia, never yielding to negative reality. Nevertheless, it must be pointed out that the blind optimism cannot insight into the essence of that time and cannot be sufficient to overcome the urgent situation.