A Study on the Imagery of Koryoin Characters in Korean Novels

‘Koryoin’ is the name given refers to Koreans and their descendants living in Central Asia. The reason they lived there was due to Stalin’s policy of the deportation of Soviet Koreans in 1937. Since the 2000s, many Koryoin people have remigrated to Korea. Consequently, Korean novelists are creating works in which Koryoin are the main characters. The goal of this article is to analyze the imagery of Koryoin in Korean novels. Almost all Korean novelists write stories about Koryoin in regard to the deportation of Soviet Koreans in 1937. The novels focused on the historical fact of forced displacement or reconstruction after deportation. In these stories, Koryoin are victims of constant suffering, and they are just people of the past. In the short stories, the focus is on contemporary Koryoin. However, they mainly live in Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan. In other words, contemporary Koryoin in the short stories are strangers from far away. ‘Interview’ is almost the only work that delineates Koryoin living in Korea. When studying the literature of overseas Koreans or the Korean diaspora, we discuss acceptance and hospitality. These discussions contributed to improving the conditions for Koryoin migrants, enable them to settle in Korea. However Koryoin are still perceived as strangers in Korean society. Literary hospitality can be achieved by portraying them as they are in the present time, rather than tying them to past events. Korean novels should embody Koryoin as people living with us here and now, not as victims of the past.