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Writer

Hong Myunghee(홍명희)

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Title
Hong Myunghee
Family Name
Hong
First Name
Myunghee
Middle Name
-
Preferred Name
-
Pen Name
Hong Myŏng-hui, 洪明熙, Hong Myŏng-hui
ISNI
0000000364564334
Birth
1888
Death
1968
Occupation
Novelist
Period
Classical
Representative Works
-
  • Descriptions
  • English(English)
  • Korean(한국어)

Hong Myung-hee (1880-1968) was a Korean writer, media proprietor, social activist, and politician.


Life 

    Hong Myung-hee was born in Goesan, North Chungcheong Province. He spent time studying in Tokyo around the same time as Choe Nam-seon and Yi Kwang-su.

    In 1910, Hong’s father Hong Beom-sik committed suicide when Korea was annexed to Japan. His father’s death was a critical turning point in Hong’s life. Hong stopped his studies in Japan and left for China in 1912, where he founded the Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai and campaigned for Korean independence in Singapore and other countries before returning to Korea in 1918. 

    Hong was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for leading the March 1st Movement in 1919. After his release he taught at Osan School and Hwimun School, and also served as the editor in chief at the Dong-A Ilbo and president of the Sidae Ilbo. He helped found the nationalist organization Singanhoe in 1927 and became a main target of surveillance by Japan. In 1929 he was arrested and imprisoned on the charge of violating the National Security Law. He served his time and was released in 1932. 

    From 1928 to 1939, Hong serialized the novel Imkkeokjeong (임꺽정 Im Kkeokjeong) in the Chosun Ilbo, suspending the series a few times due to his imprisonment and health issues. Toward the end of the colonial period, he stopped writing Imkkeokjeong and lived like a recluse to avoid being coerced to participate in pro-Japanese activities. 

   After Korea’s liberation from Japanese rule, the Korean Peninsula was embroiled in political upheaval. Concerned about the division of the country, Hong set out to unite people with a moderate political view. In October 1947, he founded the right-leaning centralist Democratic Independence Party and was instrumental in having politicians such as Kim Gu and Kim Kyung-sik attend the North-South Joint Conference in April 1948. 

   After the conference, Hong remained in North Korea and was appointed a vice premier when the government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was established. Until his death in 1968, he served as the vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly, as well as the head of the Science Committee, and the chairman of the Olympic Committee of the DPRK. 


Writing

   Although there are only a few literary works written by Hong Myung-hee, the epic novel Imkkeokjeong is a representative historical novel from colonial Korea and a monument to the history of modern Korean fiction. Imkkeokjeong began to be serialized in 1928 and ran until 1939, but it was never finished. It was published even when Hong was in prison, as an act of defiance through writing. The nationalist movement had slowed down at the time, and Hong aimed to contribute to the preservation of the national spirit by richly reproducing the language and customs unique to Korea through Imkkeokjeong. 

   Imkkeokjeong centers on a real historical figure of the same name, who was a bandit during the mid-Joseon Dynasty recorded in the Joseonwangjosillok (조선왕조실록 Annals of the Joseon Dynasty.) Hong fictionalized the story of Im Kkeokjeong as a man who led the common people as they defied the ruling class. Most historical novels from Korea’s colonial period focused on the power struggle and love affairs of the royal and aristocratic classes. Imkkeokjeong, however, painted a realistic portrayal of the daily lives and struggles of the lower classes who suffered from the injustice of feudalism.

   The novel contains a rich collection of folk languages and vivid illustrations that paint a well-rounded picture of the society and customs of the Joseon Dynasty. It was possible for Hong to achieve such a literary feat due to his background as a son of a prestigious family whose household consisted of several dozens of people, including servants from whom he was personally able to learn the customs and linguistic behavior of different social classes, as well as his interest in the works of Russia’s naturalist writers during his study abroad. 

   Hong’s Imkkeokjeong became an important predecessor for epic Korean novels that were written from the people’s perspectives, including Hwang Sok-yong’s Jang Gilsan (장길산 Jang Gilsan) and Jo Jung-Rae’s Taebaeksanmaek (태백산맥 Taebaek Mountain Range).


홍명희(1888~1968)는 한국의 소설가, 언론가, 사회운동가, 정치인이다.


생애

홍명희(호는 가인(假人), 가인(可人), 벽초(碧初))는 1888년 충청북도 괴산에서 태어났다. 일본에 유학하여 다이세이중학(大成中學)을 졸업했다. 최남선, 이광수와 함께 동경 유학 시절을 보냈는데 ‘조선의 3재(三才)’로 불리기도 했다. 합일합방 조약을 계기로 부친이 자결한 후 학업을 중단하고 중국으로 건너갔다. 상해 임시정부의 조직과 운영을 후원하고 싱가포르 등지를 떠돌며 독립운동을 하다가 1918년 귀국했다. 

1919년 3.1운동 당시 괴산에서 시위를 주도하여 징역 2년 6개월을 선고받고 1920년 출옥했다. 이후 동아일보 편집국장, 시대일보사 사장으로 재직했다. 1927년에 신간회가 결성될 때 핵심적인 역할을 맡았으며 1929년 광주학생사건 진상 보고를 위한 민중대회 개최 혐의로 구속되었다가 1932년 출감했다. 

1945년 광복 이후 홍명희는 한반도 분단을 우려하며 중도정치 세력의 결집에 나섰다. 1947년 10월 중도우파 정당 민주독립당을 창당, 대표를 맡았고 민족자주연맹의 정치위원회 위원장으로 활동을 했다. 1948년 4월 평양에서 남북연석회의가 열릴 때 김구와 김규식 등 정치인들이 참여하는 데 큰 역할을 했다. 김규식, 김구와 함께 귀환하지 않고 북에 남았던 홍명희는 그 해 9월 조선민주주의인민공화국 정부가 수립되자 부수상에 임명되었다. 1968년 3월, 사망하기 전까지 조선 최고인민회의 상임위원회 부위원장, 과학원장, 조선올림픽위원회 위원장 등을 역임했다.  


작품 세계

홍명희가 창작한 문학 작품이 많지는 않지만, 장편소설 《임꺽정》은 식민지 시대 대표적인 역사소설이자 한국근대소설사의 기념비적 작품이다. 《임꺽정》은 1928년 연재를 시작하여, 세 차례 중단되며 1939년까지 이어졌으나 결국 완결을 보지 못했다. 감옥에 갇혀 있을 때에도 계속된 《임꺽정》연재는 홍명희에게는 문학을 통한 독립운동과도 같았다. 신간회는 해체되었고, 민족운동이 주춤한 상황에서 홍명희는 《임꺽정》을 통해 고유의 언어와 풍속을 풍부하게 재현함으로써 민족의식의 보존에 기여하고자 노력했다. 《임꺽정》은 풍부한 토속어를 담아내고, 삽화 식의 생생한 서술로 조선 시대의 사회상과 풍속을 입체적으로 그렸는데, 이는 작가의 유학 시절 신지식으로서 러시아 자연주의 작가들의 소설을 탐독했던 것에서 영향을 받았다고 할 수 있다.  

연재 당시에 《임꺽정》의 대중적 인기는 대단했다. 그가 신간회 주최 민중대회 사건으로 수감되어 연재가 중단되자 총독부로 독자들의 탄원 편지가 계속되었고, 홍명희는 감옥에서 연재를 이어갈 수 있었다. 《임꺽정》은 민중적 관점으로 씌어진 사실주의적 역사소설로서 식민지시기 역사소설의 최고봉이자 한국 근대소설의 고전으로 평가받는다. 황석영의 《장길산》(1995), 조정래의 《태백산맥》(1986) 등 민중적 관점에 입각한 한국의 대표적인 대하 역사소설들은 모두 홍명희의 《임꺽정》을 중요한 전사(前史)이자 창작의 지침으로 삼았었다. 


주요 작품

1) 장편소설

《임꺽정》, 을유문화사, 1948(개정판, 사계절, 2008/2014).


2) 수필집 

《학창산화(學窓散話)》, 조선도서, 1926.

Original Works2

  • DLKL
    Korean(한국어) Printed/Published Work
    은세계 외

    Eunsegye oe

    Lee Injik et al / 이인직 et al / 1908
  • DLKL
    Korean(한국어) Printed/Published Work
    임꺽정

    Imkkeokjeong

    Hong Myunghee / 홍명희 / -

Translated Books3