초록 열기/닫기 버튼
The purpose of this study is to investigate how the image of general Choi Young has been functioned, stored and represented in our cultural memories. The study was carried out on the basis of Aleida Assmann’s “Theory of Memory”. Findings of the study can be summarized as follows. First, historic records about Choi Young contain memories of him as a ‘loyal general’(das bewohnte Gedachtnis). Those records make quite remarkable the image of Choi Young as a loyal general who risked his life for his country, but fundamentally ignores that the general was politically betrayed and killed with no guiltiness. This suggests that social memories are considerably political because they are likely to be reconstructed and distributed by particular political groups. Second, transmitted narrative writings about Choi Young contain memories of him as ‘a betrayed man’(das unbewohnte Gedachtnis). Those writings show that Choi Young became worshiped in regions where he repelled Japanese pirates, especially in the middle of Korea. But the transmissions also describe that his collapse and death were caused by the betrayal of his daughter, not by that of Lee Seong-Gye, which is historically true. By mentioning the inevitable, father-mother relationship, the writings meant to say that Choi Young was destined to be frustrated and betrayed. As far as such transmitted works are concerned, anyhow, they have made general people keep in mind that general Choi Young is a man who was betrayed to death. Third, folk beliefs make memorized the very representation of Choi Young as a ‘hero’. General people accept as a hero a figure who corresponds to their sentiments. Such figure is a person who was frustrated in reality. Memorized by the people as a hero who is alternative or resistant to such frustrating reality, as shown in the folk beliefs, Choi Young seems to have been a sort of fantasy. In deifying a real historical figure, the masses attempt to draw out what is deemed most essential from attributes of the figure and then manipulate it. Given the image of an extraordinary hero, general Choi Young became associated with another image like a big catch of fish or fecundity, though the two were actually little or no related. So far the study has found that general Choi Young, who repelled Japanese pirates in the period of Goryeo Dynasty, is defined by transmitted narrative writings and folk beliefs about him. Memories that Choi Young was a loyal general who risked his life for the public has strongly positive effects on deifying the real historical figure. Transmitted in form of narrative writing, next, such historical truth became substituted by the motif of 'compassion and betrayal that Choi Young was betrayed to death. In folk beliefs, finally, the general was represented as another hero who resolves grudges and helps a big catch of fish and fecundity. Literature has the power to manipulate a hidden history. It can intervene in history and further create a new tradition and customs. This suggests that it is important to carefully investigate fro cultural perspectives how such tradition and customs have been transmitted and developed.
키워드열기/닫기 버튼
Goryeo Dynasty, Narrative Writings, Oral Transmissions, folk beliefs, Cultural Memory, function memory, store memory, represent memory, General Choi Young, loyal general, betrayal, hero
