초록 열기/닫기 버튼
R. 타고르는 “동방의 등불(The Lamp of the East)” (1929)이라는 메시지 형태의 짧은 송시로 우리 민족의 마음을 완전히 사로잡아 우리나라에서 매우 독특한 위상을 누리고 있는 외국 시인이다. “동방의 등불”, 그리고 우리 민족과 관련된 타고르의 또 다른 시 “패자(敗者)의 노래(The Song of the Defeated)” (1916)에 관한 논의가 큰 반향을 불러일으키는 것을 목격하게 된다. 또한 이런 종류의 논의에서 종종 극단적인 결론에 도달하는 경우를 접하게 된다. 그것은 타고르의 사상과 문학에 대한 기본적인 배경지식이 결여되어 있기 때문인 것 같다. 이에 글쓴이는 이 글에서 인도문학 전공자의 입장에서 먼저 우리 민족과 관련된 타고르의 시 2편에 나타난 타고르의 조선에 대한 인식을 분석한 후, 조선에서 타고르의 도입과 우리 문학에 미친 타고르의 영향, 그리고 한용운의 “타골의 시(Gardenisto)를 읽고”(1926)를 중심으로 우리 민족의 타고르 수용에서 나타나는 특성을 밝혀, 조선에 대한 인식에서 보여준 타고르의 시각과 우리 민족의 타고르와 그의 시의 수용과 반응에서 중요하게 작용한 시각 사이에 상위한 점을 구명하고자 한다. 이를 통해 우리 민족과 관련된 타고르의 시에 대한 실체적인 이해와 함께 대안적인 관점을 제시할 수 있으리라 기대한다.
In Korea, Rabindranath Tagore’s compactly worded poem of praise, “The Lamp of the East”, is well known. In this poem, he relayed a message of ray of hope to Korean people who passed through aggressive colonial period, and it stroke a strong chord among Korean people owing to the common ideology of nationalism. In spite of his significant position in Korea as a foreign poet, it is also true that there are controversial debates on his “The Lamp of the East” and another Korea-related poem, “The Song of the Defeated”. Without sufficient study on Tagore’s thought and literature, some scholars even bring up serious misgivings about Tagore’s sincerity towards colonial Korea. Given this background, the present article suggests another perspective on Tagore’s poems in two ways. Firstly, Tagore identified Korea with India as ‘the defeated’ and sympathized deeply with Korean people. Secondly, his attitude was resolute and consistent in encouraging Korean people who suffered severely under the Japanese colonialism. In addition, his perception and attitude were firmly based on the love for mankind, namely universal brotherhood. In the early 1920s, many of Tagore’s works were translated into Korean and he was the most famous foreign poet in Korea. Nevertheless, in relation to Korean literature, his influence seemed to be limited. However, it should be noted that his poems contributed to the birth of colonial Korea’s great poet, Han Yong-un who prompted a qualitative change in Korean literature. On the whole, Tagore's limited influence on colonial Korean literature and Han Yong-un’s critiques found in “After Reading Tagore’s Poem (Gardenisto)” were both related to the view that his poems were lacking in combative spirit against aggressive colonialism. In this connection, the most important factor in the initial stage of reception of Tagore in Korea was a non-literary one, i. e. nationalism. In sum, there existed an apparent gap between Korean people’s desire for freedom and Tagore’s view on nationalism. Ironically, in spite of this difference in nationalistic orientations between Tagore and colonial Korean intelligentsia, Tagore has remained the most loved foreign poet in Korea till today because of that very nationalistic desire of Korean people in colonial times.
키워드열기/닫기 버튼
Rabindranath Tagore, “The Lamp of the East”, “The Song of the Defeated”, Jin Hak-moon, Han Yong-un, Nationalism, “After Reading Tagore’s Poem (Gardenisto)”
