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The Migration Theory in <Square> and <Naked Earth>
Chunwon Research journal
Abbr :
Chunwon Research journal
2018, (13), pp.263-292
Publisher : Chunwon Research Society
Research Area : Korean Literature
2018, (13), pp.263-292
Publisher : Chunwon Research Society
Research Area : Korean Literature
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Korea and China had experienced a great change after the liberation. This change has been reflected in politics, economic, society and culture. The wounds after the war, the collapse of moral and ethical, the chaos of politics Ideological and social are fully integrated into literature and changed the literature. Choi Inhun and Zhang Ailing are the representative writers of Korea and China during this period. Zhang Ailing's <Naked Earth> was published in 1950s which is earlier than the publication of Choi Inhun's <Square>. Choi Inhun published <Square> until 1960s, after the 4.19 revolution and the collapsing of Syngman Rhee’s regime. This is because under Syngman Rhee’s dictatorship, people in South Korea could not publish novels that depicting sensitive material. In addition, mainland China is ruled by the Communist Party and Taiwan is ruled by the Kuomintang, the literary and artistic activities both in mainland China and Taiwan cannot be free. Especially Zhang Ailing's <Naked Earth> has Chinese and English versions. Because the Chinese version was created with the support of the Hong Kong office of the United States Gazette while she stayed in Hong Kong for 3 years. Therefore, some scholars suspect whether the plot of the novel is true. But in 1956, when she revised the unreasonable content of the Chinese version and published the English version, Zhang Ailing was not assisted by the United States ,so she had free speech. She not only deleted the propaganda materials but also diluted the political color in the English version. In addition, She paid more attention to the rational development of the storyline and the contradictions and struggles of the protagonist. So that the horizon of the novel was broadened. Therefore, the author combines the Chinese version and the English version to analyze. Migration has been highly regarded by scholars as a new perspective in recent years. When it comes to migration, people often associate migration with the Western recognition of "space movement." In fact, migration includes not only the "space movement" but also the changes on thoughts and feelings. Migration is generally aimed at getting rid of oppression and pursuing a better life. After migration, it is possible to start a new life, on the other hand, they might be alienated or not be able to integrate into a new life. Most of the literary works contain migration. Choi Inhun and Zhang Ailing have gone through wars and both of them migrated because of the war. The war and migration have become the inevitable materials in their literary creation. Because they have experienced the fear and the pain during the war and they understand the cruelty and scars of war more than anyone, so they are able to describe the pain of life of contemporary people vividly. These two novels reflected the social phenomenon in Korea and China. There are many similarities between these two novels. Particularly, <Naked Earth> contains the content of the Korean War, which triggered the author's desire to explore the relationship between Zhang Ailing and South Korea. It is an opportunity to understand the current situation of communication between South Korea and China in the modern period and seek sits historical experience. In <Square>, Li Mingjun is disappointment with South Korea’s life and moved to North Korea, hoping that the people’s country can make him feel peaceful. However, North Korea is also disappointing. In <Naked Earth>, Liu Quan moved to the countryside and city at the request of the state. After suffering a painful life, he decided to participate in the Korean War to seek inner peace. Due to the painful life and the oppression of the external society, both Li Mingjun and Liu Quan tried to find a spiritual sustenance in love. However, with the death of EunHye and the unfortunate fate of Huang Juan, they were disheartened. In the repatriation of prisoners of war, Li Mingjun chose to go to the neutral country and jumped into the sea on the ship to the neutral country and found the real square finally. Liu Quan did not chose Taiwan nor neutral country. He chose to go back to China. But what he chose was not China under socialism, nor China under capitalism but the people in China. He chose to go back to a new China with the love of people. Choi Inhun and Zhang Ailing combined their own migration experiences to create these two characters, Li Mingjun and Liu Quan. Li Mingjun chose the "real square" and Liu Quan chose the new China. Through their choices we can see that the ideal society of Choi Inhun and Zhang Ailing are the same. It is the society that overcome nationalism and political ideas.
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