기독교 소설의 빛과 어둠: 신앙성과 대중성의 사이에서-이청준의 《낮은 데로 임하소서》(1981)를 중심으로 (The Light and Darkness of Korean Christian Literature in the 1980s: Spirituality and Popularity; with a Focus on the Christian Novel 《Come Low unto Us》.)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국언어문화학회
· 수록지 정보 : 한국언어문화 / 51호 / 105 ~ 129페이지
· 저자명 : 유정숙

초록

The 1980s were the glory days of “religious fiction” in modern Korean literature. This unexpected phenomenon was in line with the religious books “boom” in the publishing world, despite Korea’s prolonged economic recession. A wide range of religious books, especially Christian fictions, were sold and attracted the public's attention and interest. This popularity was attributable to the huge success of the Christian novel《Come Low unto Us》, published in November, 1981, by Yi Cheong-jun, a Korean representative novelist. This novel was a big hit and was made into a movie, which also achieved huge commercial success. In this paper, I examined the religious meaning of《Come Low unto Us》and related it to the historical and cultural contexts of Korean society around the time of its publication. I also explored the question of the relationship between Christianity and popularity in Korean society and culture.
The novel《Come Low unto Us》was based on the real story of the blind pastor An Yo-han, who had opened his “soul eye” after he had lost the sight of his “physical” eyes. He practiced his Christian faith in interaction with poor people, sharing their sufferings and ordeals and opening his warm heart to them. This novel demonstrates a proper Christian life.
An Yo-han’s life called into question whether Korean churches practiced God's love, especially toward the poor and the lower classes in Korean society. In the story, An Yo-han maintains that a church should not be a place in which parishioners petition for God's blessing and pastors, but it should be a place of unity and compromise. The story suggests that Korean churches should open their eyes to the plight of the poor and marginalized and practice God’s love and care for them. In short, it criticizes the materialism and secularization in the Korean churches at that time. On the other hand, the novel《Come Low unto Us》earned popularity. It was a “steady-seller” and “super best-seller” in the 1980s in the Korean publishing world. It was also made into a movie and played everywhere in theaters and churches. The movie drew audiences totaling 110, 500 people. It was a huge success. The reason behind this success was that Korean people had become more and more interested in true religious belief and living a spiritual life, which were in contrast to the empty and materialistic ideology of the day, an ideology and had produced distrustful people in a capitalist and competitive society. The media and those who read the book paid much attention to this blind Christian's spiritual experience and victory through faith. The popularity of Christianity was developed and characterized by its spirituality and mysticism. The success of the movie《Come Low unto Us》ushered in the trend of Christian-themed movies in the 1980s. The general theme of these movies was the spiritual victory of a Christian over hardship and suffering through his Christianity.
《Come Low unto Us》exemplifies the light and darkness of Korean Christian literature in the 1980s. Its spirituality and popularity expose the characteristics and limitations of Korean Christianity. More importantly, its popularity reflects aspects of Korean people's ‘general’ understanding of Christianity and aspects of Christian popular culture in Korean society at that time.

영어초록

The 1980s were the glory days of “religious fiction” in modern Korean literature. This unexpected phenomenon was in line with the religious books “boom” in the publishing world, despite Korea’s prolonged economic recession. A wide range of religious books, especially Christian fictions, were sold and attracted the public's attention and interest. This popularity was attributable to the huge success of the Christian novel《Come Low unto Us》, published in November, 1981, by Yi Cheong-jun, a Korean representative novelist. This novel was a big hit and was made into a movie, which also achieved huge commercial success. In this paper, I examined the religious meaning of《Come Low unto Us》and related it to the historical and cultural contexts of Korean society around the time of its publication. I also explored the question of the relationship between Christianity and popularity in Korean society and culture.
The novel《Come Low unto Us》was based on the real story of the blind pastor An Yo-han, who had opened his “soul eye” after he had lost the sight of his “physical” eyes. He practiced his Christian faith in interaction with poor people, sharing their sufferings and ordeals and opening his warm heart to them. This novel demonstrates a proper Christian life.
An Yo-han’s life called into question whether Korean churches practiced God's love, especially toward the poor and the lower classes in Korean society. In the story, An Yo-han maintains that a church should not be a place in which parishioners petition for God's blessing and pastors, but it should be a place of unity and compromise. The story suggests that Korean churches should open their eyes to the plight of the poor and marginalized and practice God’s love and care for them. In short, it criticizes the materialism and secularization in the Korean churches at that time. On the other hand, the novel《Come Low unto Us》earned popularity. It was a “steady-seller” and “super best-seller” in the 1980s in the Korean publishing world. It was also made into a movie and played everywhere in theaters and churches. The movie drew audiences totaling 110, 500 people. It was a huge success. The reason behind this success was that Korean people had become more and more interested in true religious belief and living a spiritual life, which were in contrast to the empty and materialistic ideology of the day, an ideology and had produced distrustful people in a capitalist and competitive society. The media and those who read the book paid much attention to this blind Christian's spiritual experience and victory through faith. The popularity of Christianity was developed and characterized by its spirituality and mysticism. The success of the movie《Come Low unto Us》ushered in the trend of Christian-themed movies in the 1980s. The general theme of these movies was the spiritual victory of a Christian over hardship and suffering through his Christianity.
《Come Low unto Us》exemplifies the light and darkness of Korean Christian literature in the 1980s. Its spirituality and popularity expose the characteristics and limitations of Korean Christianity. More importantly, its popularity reflects aspects of Korean people's ‘general’ understanding of Christianity and aspects of Christian popular culture in Korean society at that time.

참고자료

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