갑신정변과 김옥균 서사의 변용에 대한 연구 ― 류주현의 『대치선생』(1973)을 중심으로

초록

This paper analyzes Ryu Ju-hyeon's historical novel, Daechiseonsaeng(1973), within its metaphorical connection to the contemporary political reality of the Yushin (Reformation) of October 1972, and examines how the author recreated and popularized the contemporary aspirations for "modernization" and "reform" through the Gapsin Coup. Instead of Kim Ok-gyun, the actual protagonist of the Gapsin Coup, Ryu Ju-hyeon presents Yoo Dae-chi, his mentor, as the protagonist. He portrays Yoo Dae-chi as an idealized reformer who criticizes isolationism and promotes reform and openness, while also embodying the decisiveness of Daewongun. This fictional product reflects the author's experience chronicling the humiliations and upheavals of modern Korean history in the 1950s and 1960s, and the image of a reformer longed for by the public under military dictatorship. In Daechiseonsaeng, the author actively sought to address the issues of the lack of popular consciousness and dependence on foreign powers (Japan), which were pointed out as the causes of the failure of the Gapsin Coup. By emphasizing persistent distrust of Japan and anti-Japanese sentiment, he sought to break free from the "pro-Japanese" frame that had long oppressed the "Kim Ok-gyun narrative." Furthermore, Yoo Dae-chi's ideological system, which combines Silhak philosophy with Buddhist principles of compassion and action, embodies the author's aspiration to present a model for subjective and ethical reform beyond mere modernization. In this way, Ryu Ju-hyeon's historical narrative, as a "metaphorical utterance of contemporary reality," garnered widespread popularity by addressing the popular sentiment of comforting and confronting the suffering and resentment experienced by the masses amidst the oppressive reality of the 1970s. This study holds literary significance in that Ryu Ju-hyeon's historical novels go beyond mere "representation of facts" or popular appeal. Rather, they invoke historical events within the oppressive context of the Yushin dictatorship of the time, utilizing them as metaphors for political resistance. In particular, Ryu Ju-hyeon's reenactment of the Gapsin Coup, which ended in a "three-day reign" within the context of Park Chung-hee's Yushin regime, which championed the "Meiji Restoration," can be interpreted as a partial acceptance of the inevitability of modernization through force, while also revealing a subtle cautionary tale about the tragedy of failed revolutions and the inherent violence of power. Through the failed coup, the author reveals the futility of power struggles. Through the protagonist, Yoo Dae-chi, becoming a monk and disappearing, the author sought to console this tragic history with the Buddhist worldview of harmony (the Avatamsaka Sutra) that embraces conflict. Daechiseonsaeng is a significant text that literary embodies the ideal of independent reform longed for by the public in a Korean society in the 1970s, a time when dictatorship and aspirations for modernization intersected. Its significance must be continually reassessed within the delicate context of contemporary political realities. In short, Daechiseonsaeng can be seen as a literary response to the Gapsin Coup, reflecting on the violence of the Yushin regime and the light and dark sides of modernization.

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