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Soo-kil Ahn's 1960s Literary Thoughts and Writing Colonial, Postcolonial and Decolonial History - Focusing on Thinking Reed, Whitenight and Bukgando's part 4 & 5

  • 탈경계인문학Trans-Humanities
  • 2023, 16(2), pp.161-197
  • DOI : 10.22901/trans.2023.16.2.161
  • Publisher : Ewha Institute for the Humanities: EIH
  • Research Area : Humanities > Other Humanities
  • Received : September 17, 2023
  • Accepted : October 22, 2023
  • Published : October 30, 2023

Young Shil Yoon 1

1숭실대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

By analyzing Soo-kil Ahn's literary thought, this study attempts to present an integrated interpretation for his novels of the 1960s. He raised a critical voice against the dictatorship of the Liberal Party before 4.19. However, Thinking Reed shows that the author was also hesitating between freedom and anti-communism, criticism of dictatorial power and fear of anarchic state. However, Soo-kil Ahn deepened his critical liberalism by witnessing and resisting the suppression of the press and freedom of artistic creativity. Especially, through his defense of “Bunji,” whose author was indited on aiding the enemy, North Korea, he could establish his own perspective of resistance literature. The historical context of the 1960s was reflected on his two representative novels in 1960s, Whitenight and Bukgando's parts 4 and 5. Two novels share common symbols (day and night) and critical theme of sovereign violence, and resistant characters who refused sovereign power's order to 'kill the enemy'. These novels, connecting the colonial and the post-colonial period, led to the prospect that true decolonization and democracy could be achieved through the political subjectivation of the people.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.