1920년대 ‘과학’ 담론과 아동문학에 나타난 ‘과학’ 이미지 - 오인 동무 를 중심으로-

초록

The purpose of this paper is to examine the aspects and meanings of ‘Science’ that appeared in children’s–related writings during the 1920s and to confirm the image of ‘Science’ in children’s literature of the time, focusing on Oin Dongmu. The study finds that ‘Science’ in the 1920s was primarily used in three distinct senses. First, Science was understood as a new mode of thought. Second, it was used to signify knowledge and technology enabling the survival and development of the nation. Third, ‘Science’ was also used to denote the ideology of socialism. As such, Science was recognized as a modern way of life that needed to be adopted by Korean children and educational authorities. Simultaneously, however, it was linked to the necessity of arts education amid criticism that mechanical thinking threatened children’s emotions and creativity. This recognition led to the editorial logic of the time, which mandated that children’s magazines—a medium of science and technology—should include both scientific knowledge and artistic works. This paper analyzes Oin Dongmu to identify the conscious and unconscious images of ‘Science’ manifested in the children's literature of the 1920s. Oin Dongmu, a collaboratively written work centered on the formation of ‘us’ (the national community) and the reconstruction of the ‘Father (Nation),’ clearly illustrates the unconscious discourses shared by the participating writers. In Oin Dongmu, sympathy plays a vital role in forming the national community; it is depicted as the power that enables the immediate imagination of ‘us’ and the execution of practices for ‘us’. The practice of sympathy is concretely realized through science and technology. However, the writers’ anxieties about science and technology are also evident: Science was both a facilitator and a simultaneous retardant of the formation of ‘us’ and the reconstruction of the ‘Father.’ This study leaves a future task to examine ‘Science’ more precisely by analyzing it according to different media and individual writers.

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