一九一〇年代の朝鮮における新文館の兒童雜誌 --日本の兒童文學界と崔南善--

Abstract

Shinmungwan 新文館, the publishing company established in 1908 by Choi Nam-seon 崔南善(1890-1956), who is well-known thanks to his role in drafting the March First Declaration of Independence, is the most researched area in the field of historical studies of print culture in modern Korea. Shinmungwan, in particular, is famous for the magazines Sonyun 少年, which was published in 1908 and which is referred to as 'the first modern magazine in Korea, ' as well as the general education magazine Cheongchun 靑春, which gained popularity in the 1910s. However, Shinmungwan also published children's magazines such as Bulgeun Jeogory 붉은 져고리, Aideulboi 아이들보이 and Saebeol 새별 between editions of Sonyun and Cheongchun. Although these magazines are currently regarded as the historical starting point of Korean children's literature, constraints on accessing historical sources has meant that little work has been done on them until recent years; many mysteries about Korean children's literature remain unresolved. This study examines the process of the publication of these magazines with reference to contributing factors such as domestic circumstances in Korea at that time and the influence of foreign countries. The situation in Korea at the time included censorship by the Japanese military rule in the 1910s and a slump in the publishing business, which meant that the production of children's reading material was very rare. An analysis of these magazines shows that their content was created with reference to several Japanese publications. It is possible to say that these children's magazines were a product of the combination of internal factors related to the circumstances in Korea at that time and the external factor from the world of Japanese children's literature. As can be seen by the comparatively large percentage of the content that was allotted to articles about Korean tradition in addition to translated articles, Choi Nam-seon tried to preserve Korean traditions and culture, which he was concerned would be lost due to the annexation of Korea, and he simultaneously tried to instill pride about Korea in children. These attempts are visible in the magazine, which is characterized by the use of Hangul and the creation of new Korean words. Due to the fact that Shinmungwan changed its objectives and raised the target age for the magazines, it is thought that Shinmungwan's magazines for children had fulfilled their role with the publication of volume 13, the last volume of the children's magazine Aideulboi. However, Choi Nam-seon's endeavors to try to publish Korean articles and instill national pride in his readers continued.