The purpose of this study is to examine the implications of detective novel in the history of Korean literature by investigating the characteristics and meanings of the popularity and modernity with Korean modern detective novel, concentrated on the p...
The purpose of this study is to examine the implications of detective novel in the history of Korean literature by investigating the characteristics and meanings of the popularity and modernity with Korean modern detective novel, concentrated on the published detective novels on the magazines and newss in 1930s. Detective novel is a genre of popular novel, and it is the most popular and modern genre with distinctive and unique narrative structure and reader appropriation method from other genres. Nevertheless, detective novels had existed like a stranger in the description of Korean literature history for a long time with indifference and neglect. Then, as the study on popular literature became active since the mid-1990s, detective novels established themselves as the subject of literature history studies. However, it is founded that studies until now has limitation to understand overall topography of Korean modern detective novels because most of them were confined to discuss certain writers or certain works. In addition, there are only few studies on the popularity and modernity of detective novels, and they stay in superficial approach because these studies are conducted without essential understanding on the concept and nature as well as careful consideration of the specific situation of those times.
The period of 1930s takes significant meaning in Korean detective novels. Unlike 1920s in which most of detective novels were translated or adapted from the west, a lot of detective novels were published in magazines or serialized in newss by domestic writers. 1930s was also the period when detective narratives of ancient novels and new novels made conjunction with western modern detective narratives, and besides 1930s was the renaissance period of detective novels due to the emergence of Kim Nae-sung who was the great leader of Korean detective novels.
Therefore, starting from the awareness of such limitations pointed out above, this study tries to establish the status of Korean modern detective novels in literature history by exploring the characteristics of the popularity and modernity of Korean modern detective novels with the approach method centered on the formations of readers’ classes, the aspects of acceptance, and the perspectives on time and society, and the narrative formats.
Firstly in the chapter 2, the meanings and components of the popularity presented on Korean modern detective novels are concretely examined through the original detective novels published in magazines and newss in 1930s. The meanings of the public and the popularity are extracted from the category of popular novel since detective novels are included as one genre of popular novels. The researcher sets the public as the class of readers who consume popular novels. The popularity is identified to add familiarity and entertaining fun to public readers and to meet their desires through fantastic utopia. Based on such understandings, the popularity of detective novels are divided into internal and external components. The internal components meet the expectation horizon of the public readers with the dramatic reversal through regular repetition of the genre and tricks, and the love narratives of the detectives and the denouement of the good triumphing over the evil. Especially, it is considered that the popularity of detective novels have important characteristics because the readers actively participate in ongoing narrative through direct intellectual game with detectives unlike other popular novels. As external components, the public readers’ interests on the detective novels were amplified because the reading types of the public readers were diversified and specified due to the education policies of the colonial modernity so the public media and publication market was expanded. Such characteristics of the popularity of detective novels are concretely examined through the works presented in magazines and newss.
Secondly, the detective novels published in magazines in 1930s were analyzed into the works created in Japanese languages and Korean languages. Kim Sam-kyu’s 「Mess standing in the stake」in 『Joseon district administration』 and 「The death of the female spy」 and 「The secret of three beads」 written by Kyung-sung detective pastime group were the works released in Japanese languages. 「Mess standing in the stake」 can be seen as the first novel which was presented in Japanese language and written by Korean people. The narrative structure analysis is conducted on 「The death of the female spy」 and 「The secret of three beads」, and it is found through the declaration of detective pastime that the purpose of novel creation was eventually for the popularity called pleasure. In addition, Ryu Bang and Choi Ryun-beom announced total 6 of detective novels created in Korean language in 『Byul-Geon-Gon』 which was the popular pastime magazine at that time. It is pointed through novel analysis that the work of Choi Ryun-beom had the basic elements of detective novels – crime, victim, and detective while the work of Ryu Bang had the weak element of detective novels even though it had the title of detective novel.
Meanwhile, based on the theoretical background on the natures of the serial novels in newss, this study inquires the characteristics of narrative structure as full-length detective novels serialized in newss and the components of the popularity on Chae Man-sik’s 「Yama」, Kim Dong-in’s 「Over the horizon」, and Kim Nae-sung’s 「Evil Man」 which were serialized in 1930s. Through the narrative structure analysis, it is found that all three works had the strong characteristics of crime detective novels that reflected mystery elements. Chae Man-sik’s 「Yama」 was the first serial novels in the news, and Kim Dong-in’s 「Over the horizon」 was evaluated as the first work to have the characteristics of spy novel. Moreover, it is considered that the first long-length detective novel was Kim Nae-sung’s 「Evil Man」 that generally overcomed the detective novel components which were pointed as the shortcomings of the former two works. In addition, the meaning of the popularity which these works had as the serial novels in news was to provide everyday entertaining function with actively using the method such as direct narrative of narrator or the disconnection per each volume for the attention of the public readers and the formation of sympathy bond as well as making the public readers participate in the narrative process actively.
In the chapter 3, the meanings and components of the popularity presented on Korean modern detective novels are concretely examined through the original detective novels published in magazines and newss in 1930s. The meaning of the modernity and the components of the modernity on detective novels is understood in advance. Referring the nature of the modern society, the modernity is defined as scientific rationalism based on new way of thinking and life style, and individualism as science, and the accompanying individual’s subjective consciousness of reason and reality-centered orientation. Moreover, it is considered that the modernity of detective novels is scientific characteristic because scientific thought is precisely rational thinking, and it makes logical reasoning possible. The enlightened spirit which is formed with scientific reason corresponds with the essence of the modernity which matures the cognitional perceptions on human life and the world into one rational frame. It can be seen that detective novels are the most appropriate novel to implement such spirit.
In the next stage, Korean modern society in 1930s and the nature of the modernity is examined based on the theories on modernity, and the components of the modernity were inquired through specific works. Korean modernization in 1930s was the period when the modernization was progressed depending on the capitalist modernization plan by the Japanese empire which was the colonial ruler state. It can be called ‘the modernization which was not real modernization’ because it was enforced and distorted, so the incompletely and deficiently layered modernity was internalized due to the accompanying conflict and confusion. Based on such background, it is examined how Korean modern society and the aspect of modernity is expressed on the novels, concentrated on the manner of Korean-style detectives and the scientific characters of detective method which the detectives were performing, and the relationship between city space and crime. The appearance of Korean-style detectives who made romance from reason to emotion show the aspects of problem-solving with six sense and incidental elements and confessions through tricks rather than the problem-solving with rational logic. In addition, crimes had close relationship with city space. The urban streets or alleys were settled as the space where the detectives traced or monitored the criminal, and the crimes usually took place in a modern space so called urban culture house.
Meanwhile, Kim Nae-sung who was the great leader in the field of Korean detective novels affected by the trend of collateral detective novels of Edogawa Ranpo during his studying overseas in Japan. He returned to Korea after starting his literary career as detective novel writer, and published detective novels for about 10 years, taking the pivotal role in Korean detective novel area prior to the emancipation from the Japanese Empire. During this period, Kim Nae-sung showed a variety of novel trend which changed from the traditional detective novel to bizarre detective novel and spy novels again. However, under the tainted title of Pro-Japan, he said goodbye to the field of detective novels leaving 「The Traitor」 unfinished, and he turned his orientation toward public romance novels after the emancipation. Kim Nae-sung who tried to conjure the artistic characteristics between detective novels and fine literature spoiled his consciousness as a writer by compromising with severe colonial times. However, his ability as a detective novel writer did not spoiled. As looking at the works published during this periods, he showed the aspect of equivocal modernity which formed anxious and vague layers, wandering from pre-modern to modern, that is neither completed modern nor pre-modern.
In final conclusion, it is revealed what are the implications and possibilities which Korean modern detective novels occupy in Korean literature history, based on the comprehensive exploration from the discussions so far. Detective novels reflected the public’s taste and preference as the popular novels in 1930s. It was the representative genre that meets their desires as well as makes the readers actively participate in ongoing narrative through direct intellectual game with detectives. In addition, detective novels also took significant position at the dimension of the continuity of Korean literature. It is obvious that the detective novel genre succeeds to crime narratives from lawsuit novels and new novels. Regarding that detective narratives influence novels, films, and dramas a lot, detective novels is the genre that should not be treated lightly. In such reasons, detective novels should be evaluated properly in the research on Korean literature, and they should be included grandly as one axis of the literature history. It is expected that Korean literature history in 1930s will be richer when correct positioning of detective novels is conducted at the level of diversity.
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