동승은 한국 불교영화에 자주 등장하는 고아 소년으로서 이 인물의 가장 중요한 속성은 어머니에 대한 그리움이다. 본 논문은 윤용규의 『마음의 고향』과 주경중의 『동승』을 주요 텍스트로 삼아, 동승을 통해 표출되는 그리움이라는 정서의 구조와 의미를 분석한다. 본문에서는 먼저 동승의 정의와 유형을 살펴본다. 그리고 동승의 형상화에서 핵심적인 요소인 '향수'와 '잃어버린 어머니' 모티브에 대한 이론적인 고찰을 시도한다. 향수에 대한 다양한 설명 가운데 동승의 특징을 가장 효과적으로 밝혀 줄 수 있는 것은 여성주의적 시각에서 논의된 프로이드의 정신분석학적 개념들이다. 향수가 이상화된 과거를 추구하듯, 동승이 동경하는 어머니는 추억이 아닌 상상의 산물이다. 윤용규는 어머니라는 기호가 상징하는 부재, 분열, 불일치를 생모와 서울 아씨의 대조를 통해 극화하고, 동승의 그리움을 자아형성 및 세계 인식의 근본적인 문제점으로 제시한다. 반면 주경중은 동승의 그리움을 모성보다는 여성의 섹슈얼리티와 연결시키며 그의 갈등을 프로이드식 가족 역학의 관점에서 접근한다. 동승의 그리움은 궁극적으로 근대화된 한국 사회의 집단적인 향수이며 이런 시각에서 불교영화의 향수산업적 요소는 앞으로 심도 있게 연구되어야 할 과제이다.

In recent Korean Buddhist films, a young orphaned boy makes extensive appearances as a little monk. This essay investigates the characteristics of the little monk, focusing on his most salient trait: longing for his mother. This paper consists of five parts. The first part defines the term “tongsŭng” (little monk) and identifies the three main sources of his characteristics: sutras, Buddhist arts, and real-life children living in Buddhist temples. In the second section, I examine theories of nostalgia as a way of establishing an analytical framework for the little monk. Among them Lynne Huffer’s feminist-psychoanalytic explanation of one’s longing for the maternal link proves to be most useful. Along with Huffer’s, various ideas on the relationship between nostalgia and identity formation are also adopted from literary, cultural, and sociological studies; these help to elucidate the boy monk’s persistent quest for his lost mother. The third and fourth parts are devoted respectively to a close reading of the two representative films on the little monk: Yun Yonggyu’s Hometown in My Heart (Maŭm ŭi kohyang, 1949) and Chu Kyŏngjung’s A Little Monk (Tongsŭng, 2003). Adapted commonly from Ham Sedŏk’s 1935 play entitled “A Little Monk,” these two films are contrasted in several important respects. The two directors’ interpretations of the mother figure in particular, differ considerably from each other. While Yun tends to focus on the epistemological and ontological implications of the absent mother for the boy, Chu concentrates on the Freudian psycho-sexual aspects of the mother-son relationship. The last section of my article attempts to contextualize Yun’s and Chu’s films in the Korean collective nostalgia for their past at critical moments of social upheaval in their modern history: the late 1940s and 1990s. The essay closes with a brief survey of major issues in Korean Buddhist cinema which invite scrutiny in light of the nostalgia industry and cross-cultural spectatorship.

In recent Korean Buddhist films, a young orphaned boy makes extensive appearances as a little monk. This essay investigates the characteristics of the little monk, focusing on his most salient trait: longing for his mother. This paper consists of five parts. The first part defines the term “tongsŭng” (little monk) and identifies the three main sources of his characteristics: sutras, Buddhist arts, and real-life children living in Buddhist temples. In the second section, I examine theories of nostalgia as a way of establishing an analytical framework for the little monk. Among them Lynne Huffer’s feminist-psychoanalytic explanation of one’s longing for the maternal link proves to be most useful. Along with Huffer’s, various ideas on the relationship between nostalgia and identity formation are also adopted from literary, cultural, and sociological studies; these help to elucidate the boy monk’s persistent quest for his lost mother. The third and fourth parts are devoted respectively to a close reading of the two representative films on the little monk: Yun Yonggyu’s Hometown in My Heart (Maŭm ŭi kohyang, 1949) and Chu Kyŏngjung’s A Little Monk (Tongsŭng, 2003). Adapted commonly from Ham Sedŏk’s 1935 play entitled “A Little Monk,” these two films are contrasted in several important respects. The two directors’ interpretations of the mother figure in particular, differ considerably from each other. While Yun tends to focus on the epistemological and ontological implications of the absent mother for the boy, Chu concentrates on the Freudian psycho-sexual aspects of the mother-son relationship. The last section of my article attempts to contextualize Yun’s and Chu’s films in the Korean collective nostalgia for their past at critical moments of social upheaval in their modern history: the late 1940s and 1990s. The essay closes with a brief survey of major issues in Korean Buddhist cinema which invite scrutiny in light of the nostalgia industry and cross-cultural spectatorship.

little monk, nostalgia, lost mother, Hometown in My Heart, A Little Monk