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Selfishness and Capitalistic Exchange In Yeum Sang-soup’s Novels

  • Korean Language & Literature
  • 2008, (64), pp.303-332
  • Publisher : Korean Language & Literature
  • Research Area : Humanities > Korean Language and Literature

JANG Su-Ik 1

1한남대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

In early Yeum Sang-soup’s novels, the most important problem that Chosen Nation had in colonial period was that they did not control their selfishness by themselves, as they did not accomplish the self-awakening of the individuality and nation. He regarded selfnishness as vice at that time. But his viewpoint for selfishness changed in 「Haebaragi(해바라기)」 and 「Cheonhwa(전화)」. In these works, he showed capitalistic exchanges which were performed by equal individuals. Selfishness was not vice any longer, it was regarded as original nature of human though it would be controlled by culture and rationality. But the equal exchange relationship was an ideal and not an actual condition because it was colonial period in Chosen. He described that intellectuals rationalized their hypocricy with a thought for free love in 「Neohideuleun Mueoseul Eodoetneunya(너희들은 무엇을 어덧느냐)」 ; actually it was not controlled selfishness. But only two characters controlled their selfishness and tried to achieve to truly life as they accomplished the self-awakening and culture. But their trial were not social level but individual level. In 「Saranggwa Choi(사랑과 죄)」, Yeum made a further step for describing selfishness and capitalistic exchange. He tried the control for selfishness with ideology, especially socialism. In other words, to solve the problem of the control for selfishness, he recognized that it needed the three solutions ; love for individual level, struggle for nation level, idea(an ideal thought) for society. He asserted that not-controlled selfishness gave rise to crimes.

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