한국 서사민요 디지털 아카이빙을 위한 시집살이 서사의 분석과 의미

Meaning and Analysis of Korean Narrative Folk Songs about Women’s Married Lives for Digital Archiving

이 글에서는 한국 서사민요 중 가장 큰 비중을 차지하고 있는 ‘시집살이’ 서사민요 435편을 대상으로 인물 관계와 핵심 사건에 의해 유형을 분류한 뒤, 각 유형에 속한 각편들에서 총 1,430개의 서사단락과 109개의 주제어를 추출해 서사민요의 디지털 아카이빙을 위한 기초 데이터를 구축하였다. 나아가 이를 바탕으로 서사단락의 순차적 결합 양상과 주제어 분포 양상에 대한 분석을 통해, 시집살이 서사민요의 특징과 의미를 고찰하였다. 우선, 서사단락의 순차적 결합 양상 분석을 바탕으로 시집살이 서사민요의 구조적 특징을 분석한 결과, 시집살이 서사민요는 거의 대부분 고난으로 시작하고, 해결의 시도와 좌절이 한번 정도 교체되거나 해결의 시도 없이 좌절만 거듭해 단순하게 진행되며, 결말이 해결에 이르지 못하고 좌절에 그치는, 고난시작형, 단순진행형, 좌절결말형의 구조로 이루어져 있음을 밝혔다. 이는 시집살이 서사민요가 유흥이나 여유가 아니라 노동과 긴장 속에서 불린 노래로서, 고난과 좌절로 점철되는 여성의 비극적 삶 자체를 사실적으로 그려내는 문학임을 드러내 준다. 다음, 각 서사단락에 나타나는 주제어의 분포 양상을 분석한 결과, 시집살이 서사민요는 다음과 같은 향유의식과 의미를 지니고 있음을 밝혔다. 첫째, ‘기대’ 단락의 주제어는 드물기는 하지만, ‘혼인’, ‘옷 만듦’, ‘음식 장만’ 등을 통해 시집 생활에 대한 소망을 보여준다. 둘째, ‘고난’ 단락의 주제어가 가장 큰 비중을 차지하고 있으며, ‘시집식구 구박’이 전형적 형태로 거듭 나타나는 것이 일반적이다. 셋째, ‘해결의 시도’ 단락에는 ‘대접’, ‘원조’와 같은 긍정적 행동보다는 ‘출가’, ‘항의’와 같은 부정적 행동이 많이 나타난다. 넷째, ‘좌절’ 단락은 ‘고난’ 단락 다음으로 많이 나타나며, 그중에서도 ‘죽음’ 관련 주제어가 가장 큰 비중을 차지한다. 다섯째, ‘해결’ 단락에서는 ‘시집 패망’이나 ‘저승 결합’과 같이 현실에서 이루어지기 어려운 역설적 해결이 큰 비중을 차지한다. 이처럼 시집살이 서사민요는 향유층의 현실에 대한 강한 부정 의식을 바탕으로 하고 있으면서도, 그 현실을 넘어서 시집살이의 고난을 극복하고자 했던 여성 창자들의 소망이 표출된 것이라 할 수 있다.

This study categorized the types by character, relationships, and core events targeting Korean narrative folk songs about women’s married lives, which account for the largest proportion of Korean narrative folk songs (435 out of 1,008 narrative folk songs, 43.2% of narrative folk songs extracted from The Comprehensive Collection of Korean Oral Literature). In addition, each version was analysed by type into 1,430 narrative paragraphs, and a total of 109 theme words were extracted from these paragraphs to construct basic data into a digital archive of narrative folk songs. Based on this, the characteristics and meaning of narrative folk songs about women’s married lives were examined by analysing the structural characteristics and distribution patterns of theme words appearing in sequential combinations of narrative paragraphs. The structural features found within the narrative folk songs about women’s married lives extracted through the analysis of sequential combinations of narrative paragraphs were as follows: 1. Almost all narrative folk songs about women’s married lives started with the idea of “hardship.” 2. Most narrative folk songs about women’s married lives presented a simple progression. 3. Most endings of these narrative folk songs about women’s married lives did not reach a “solution,” leading to “frustration.” The following results were found regarding the lives and consciousness of lower social class women through the analysis of the distribution patterns of theme words contained in each of the narrative paragraphs: 1. Although theme words were rarely found in the “expectation” section of narrative folk songs about women’s married lives, results revealed the hopes and desires that women had regarding marriage and in-law relationships. 2. The section related to the theme words “hardship” occupied the greatest proportion of the narratives, reappearing several times in a characteristic form. 3. In the section related to “trying a solution,” there were many theme words associated with negative behaviors such as “becoming a monk” or “protesting” rather than engaging in positive behaviors such as “hospitality” and “aid.” This indicates that even “trying a solution” was attempted as a method difficult to achieve. 4. The section related to “frustration” in narrative folk songs appeared more often after the “hardship” section in all narrative paragraphs. In this regard, the theme word “death·funeral” was found most frequently. 5. Finally, the “solution” section of these narrative folk songs contained a paradoxical solution difficult to achieve in real life, such as the “failure of women’s married lives” or “the couple’s unification in the underworld.” This is based on a strong sense of negativity about the reality of the lower social class women, which assumes that amicable union and love between married couples can never The narrative paragraph system found within narrative folk songs about women’s married lives needs to be expanded not only to the entire narrative folk songs but also to the overall Korean oral narrative literature. Additionally, research on the digital archiving of Korean oral literature is necessary. Collaboration with the IT industry is also required to develop a digital archive based on the actual search system, capable of managing research results through the Internet. This initiative is difficult to accomplish through the effort of a single researcher, and continuous cooperation and support with institutions related to oral literature and folk song archives are needed to further expand the research in this field.