해방 이후 백남운의 한국사 인식과 역사교육

Baek Nam-Woon s Perceptions of Korean History and History Education after the Nation s Liberation

식민지시대 마르크스주의 경제학자였던 백남운은 해방 이후 조선학술원을 설립하고 경성대학 법문학부 교수, 민족문화연구소 소장, 조선교육심의회 위원 등을 역임하면서 학술과 교육계에서 적극적으로 활동했다. 이와 함께 좌익계열 정당(신민당‧사회노동당‧근로인민당)에서정치 활동을 벌이다가 월북하여 1948년 9월 북한의 교육상(교육성의 장관)이 되었다. 1956년1월 교육상을 물러난 백남운은 과학원의 원장으로 취임하여 북한 학술계의 지도적인 활동을이어간다. 『조선사회경제사』(1933)에서는 아시아적 생산양식 문제를 다루지 못했지만, 해방직후 「조선 역사학의 과학적 방법론」(1946)에서는 노예제사회(삼국) 이전에 ‘아시아적 단계(부여와 삼한)’를 설정하여 시대구분을 시도하였다. 이후 『조선력사』(1951)에서는 구체적으로‘아시아적 단계’를 언급하지 않았지만, 자신의 고대 노예제사회설에 기반한 고대사 인식을확장시켰다. 백남운의 한국사 체계와 인식은 한국전쟁 이후 간행된 역사교과서에 대부분 반영되어 서술되었지만, 고대와 중세의 시대구분 논쟁이 정리되는 1960년대 이후에는 삼국시대봉건사회설에 입각한 교과서 서술이 이루어진다.

Baek Nam-woon, a Marxian economist during the colonial days in Korea, set up Chosun Academy after the nation s liberation and held office as a Law and Literature professor at Kyungsung University, head of National Culture Research Institute, and member of Joseon Council of Education, playing active roles in the academy and education fields. Engaging in active political activities in left wing parties(New People s Party, Socialist Labor Party, and Laboring People s Party), he defected to North Korea and was appointed as Ministry of Education there in September, 1948. After resigning from the position in January, 1956, he took office as Head of Institute of Science and continued his leading roles in the academic circles of North Korea. In his Socioeconomic History of Joseon, he failed to deal with the Asian production style issues. In his Scientific Methodology for Historical Studies in Joseon published right after the nation s liberation, however, he made an attempt at distinguishing the periods by setting an Asian stage(Buyeo and Three Hans) before the slavery society(Three Kingdoms). In his following History of Joseon(1951), he did not mention the Asian stage specifically but expanded the perception of ancient history based on his theory of ancient slavery society. His perceptions of Korean History were mostly reflected and described in history textbooks published after the Korean War, but history textbooks based their descriptions on the feudal society theory for the Three Kingdoms period since the 1960s when the controversy over the distinction between ancient and medieval times was resolved.