한국 홍수설화의 신화적 성격과 홍수 모티프의 서사적 계승 연구

Abstract

Flood narrative has spread world-wide as myths, legends, and folk tales in the world since ancient times and has maintained its vein to modern epic literature. Through specificity of flood narrative and its various styles and symbolism, it achieved the distinctive orbit of ideology. Many researchers studied the Flood of Noa and universality of flood narratives through data collection and research, but there are only a few research on symbolism and value system flood has as an archetypal motif in epic literature. Therefore, this study is to speculate symbols of flood narratives, mythological properties and principles, and its succession in contemporary epic literature, focusing on Korean flood narratives for comprehensive and muli-angled research on values and living power of flood as a motif. Flood narrative as a story with mythological nature involved in creation of human beings, shows world-wide production and distribution. Korean flood narratives have various aspects of variance. Its origins are categorized into as follows: man's origin, names of places, and punishment to evil persons according to causes and effects of flood. There are several other sub-categories. Inryukiwondam indicates that flood narrative is involved in the origin of human beings. It suggested that the people who survived from the flood created the world again. It, as a flood narrative focusing on effects, pays attention to birth of new creatures. Second, Jimyongyuraedam develops the story using mountains or names of places that show vestiges of the past great flood as evidence. It is also suggested that the descendants of the people who survived along with a beginning of new generation created and have maintained family names. It is a mythological aspect of flood narratives as regression to primitive age and the creation of the world. Third, Akinjingchidam is that houses or villages are submerged as punishment to evil persons. It has many similar things with world flood narratives as a cause-oriented narrative. People are opposite and the God punishes evil persons with water. This study analyses mythological properties of flood narratives based on the analysis on symbolic systems of Korean flood narratives as follows: First, every flood narrative reinforces orders from disasters and recreates new generation and creatures, which is a principle of space recreation. Second, the world changed from corruption to purification through flood and human beings have kept continuous longing for the world of the God, which is a principle and property of divinity and secularity. Third, male and female characters in the flood narrative completed their coming-of-age ceremony through the flood and committed incest for breeding A variety of flood motifs have great meanings in that they have been continuously maintained in Korean modern epic literature. Of the three types of the stories, Inryukiwondam as a motive has kept its mythological property in modern epic literature. Jimyongyuraedam and Akinjingchidam as flood motives have kept their meanings as two epic aspects modern people recognized the flood. In the works involved in Jimyongyuraedam, people recognize flood as a natural disaster, not an intended action of a subject. So, they show the process of growth through survival will to overcome hardship caused by the flood. The story ends, giving positive meanings of awakening, cooperation and harmony. Modern epic literature which proposes punishment to evil persons describes flood as caused by intended action of a subject. A story describes class awakening of poor and innocent people and their struggles against evil landowners and pressure and extortion under Japanese imperialism. It tragically ends with sacrifice of the person who are just. Flood motive in modern novels works as an important momentum for awakening from unreasonableness of society such as serious level difference between the poor and the rich, and plunder, and revolution of personality. This study speculates flood motif which gives society and people in the age of transition new creation possible followed by the past death. As it is an eternal mother's womb of life and death, water flows deeper than blood in reality of human life, and flood motive is alive in Korean epic literature as a positive message that new world appears, followed by serious destruction.