CHRISTIANITY AND MODERN KOREAN LITERATURE: YI SŬNGU’S NOVEL SAENGŬI I MYŎN [THE REVERSE SIDE OF LIFE]

This study examines the themes and motifs of Christianity in modern Korean literature, as well as their representation and relevance. The first part of the text discusses the phenomenon of Christianity and its evaluation in intellectual circles during the Japanese annexation. In literature, the depiction of this imported but still alien religion tends towards formulaic but also sporadic images of Christianity, except for in certain novels such as Han Sŏrya’s (1961) Sǔngnyangi and Kim Tongni’s (1995) Ŭlhwa, which are briefly mentioned. The second part of the study concentrates on Yi Sǔngu’s (2013) Saengǔi i myŏn (The Reverse Side of Life). In this novel, Christianity underlies the hero’s life and influences his thoughts. It enables the reader to imagine the details of the ‘Christianities’ during Pak Chŏnghǔi’s presidency. Besides the theme of the roles of Christianity, the novel touches on 1960s Korea and its ideologies, political trends, and tendencies in an era in which values were reassessed. The main narrative also examines the reality of the idea of Christian love, its oscillation between agape and eros, and ideas of God associated with the early stage of modernisation during Pak Chŏnghǔi’s era.