Convention and Innovation: The Lives and Cultural Legacy of the Kisaeng in Colonial Korea (1910-1945)

( Lee Insuk ) 서울대학교 규장각한국학연구원 2010 Seoul journal of Korean studies Vol.23 No.1

The women known as kisaeng or “courtesans” played a key role as entertainers for the Korean Royal Court before 1910. The political and social situation of the colonial period (1910-1945), when Japanese culture was promoted and Western culture was also gradually introduced, influenced the traditional Korean performing arts as represented by kisaeng. As a consequence, the kisaeng can be seen as pivotal in the transition between the old and the modern in the Korean performing arts. Kisaeng at the Royal Court had to broaden their roles significantly from being performing artists to acting as sex workers. Due to an exaggerated emphasis on the prostitution aspect, kisaeng received a social stigma that made it necessary for them to hide their identities in contemporary Korea. In this article, I examine how kisaengs’ lives were linked to political, economic and ideological forces. I also explore how and why kisaeng organized their training system and expanded their performing repertoire by combining old traditions with new cultural influences in order to meet the expectations of their customers and the Korean public. A wide range of data, including resources on the Japanese colonial policies, the kisaeng school system, Japanese-produced kisaeng postcards, gramophone recordings, and the journal Changhan edited by kisaeng themselves, enables us to understand how and where kisaeng inherited the traditional performing arts and incorporated new trends in culture. I argue that the kisaeng’s experience in the colonial period should be re-evaluated in the light of the overall process of modernization in Korea.

기생 서사의 표상과 수용 -근대성의 스펙터클과 트라우마

노지승 개신어문학회 2012 개신어문연구 Vol.0 No.35

This article tries to research on relation of the mutual productions with receptions of the representations of Kisaengs. The representations of kisaengs are not the one-sided representations produced, circulated, appropriated by intelligent writers but the aesthetic response which carried the trauma about modernity, especially capitalism by the more expanded subalterns including the group of kisaengs themselves. Kisaeng, the traditional artist group, had got to the altered identity under the rapidly changing conditions. In Choson dynasty, 'kisaeng' had signified not a occupation but a lowly position, therefore ruled not directly by money but by the power of nation or high class men. Unlike this premodern kisaeng's conditions, modern kisaeng existed as a physical merchandise through willing contract, providing pleasures and entertainment for any men who afforded. Their Self-denial, humiliation were formed within these social environments. It is a very crucial point that these emotions of kisaengs were able to be shared with lower class people intersecting the gender. In kisaeng-centered narrative, kisaengs are represented esthetically and ambivalently not only as the most mean monetary economy but also the subalterns sacrificed, defiled and somtimes kept silent. The empathy with kisaengs in the narratives was the phenomenon, found among lower class, women or any other groups hurt by rapid modernity or violent capitalism. In other hand, as the romantic love and sweet home had been asserted as the ideal of the modernity, the representations of kisaengs discarded by family, society, nation, had much analogy with the colonists who had no choice but to be anxious for modernity, despite of its all unattainableness. To put it other way, there were complexities in the representations of kisaengs embodied such as the jump, rupture of capitalism or the tragedy of modernity. This is why mass could lose their mind in kisaeng-centered narratives and these representations could be tools that readers and spectators including real group of kisaengs, exposed their subjectivity secretly.

조선조 서사물에 나타난 기생 섹슈얼리티의 함정

김진희 ( Jin Hee Kim ) 한국고전여성문학회 2011 한국고전여성문학연구 Vol.0 No.23

이 글에서는 조선조에 패설·야담·소설 등의 서사장르를 통해 담론화된 기생의 섹슈얼리티를 ``나쁜 기생``의 경우와 ``열녀 기생``의 경우로 나누어 살펴보았다. 이 두 유형은 기생의 신분적 한계를 탈피하여 민중의 저항 정신과 풍자 정신을 구현한 형상으로 일찍부터 주목받아 왔으나, 근래에 들어서는 그 의미가 섹슈얼리티의 관점에서 의문시되고 있다. ``나쁜 기생``과 ``열녀 기생``은 도구적으로 규정된 기생의 섹슈얼리티를 역이용함으로써 또는 그것을 정면으로 거부함으로써 기생에게 제도적으로 부과된 섹슈얼리티의 영역 밖으로 탈주한다. 그러나 담론 속에서 ``나쁜기생``은 남성의 쾌락을 확장하기 위해, ``열녀 기생``은 남성의 성공에 헌신하기 위해 존재할 뿐임을 이 글에서는 살펴보았다. 한 쪽에는 관능의 화신이, 다른 한 쪽에는 無性的인 지고지순한 열녀가 있다. 이 야누스적이분법으로 기생 서사는 포섭된다. ``나쁜 기생``과 ``열녀 기생``에 대한 서사는 시대와 장르의 요구에 따라 달라졌다. ``나쁜 기생``에 대한 조선 전·중기의 서사는 패설이라는 양반의 장르를 토대로, 양반 남성의 적절한 쾌락의 활용법을 시사하기 위해형성되었다. 그런가 하면 조선 후기의 야담과 소설에서 ``나쁜 기생``에 대한 서사는 욕망을 광범위하게 긍정하는 시정문화를 토대로 남성 일반의 쾌락을 증진시키기는 방향으로 변화되었으며, 한편으로는 계급적 욕망을 표현하는 일환으로 ``열녀 기생``의 이야기가 형성되었다. 각 시대와 장르별로 담론 주체들의 욕망은 상이했으며, 이에 따라 기생의 형상도 여러 가지로 나타났다. 하지만 담론 주체들의 욕망을 표현하기 위해 기생의 섹슈얼리티가 이용되었다는 점은 동일하다. 조선조 서사담론에서 기생 섹슈얼리티는 양반 남성 또는 남성 일반의 쾌락을 증진하기 위해, 또는 신분 극복의 계급적 욕망을 표현하기 위해 동원되었던 것이다. 그 과정에서 창녀/열녀로의 기생 섹슈얼리티의 분열상은 더욱 심화되었다. This paper investigated the kisaeng`s sexuality embedded in the narratives of the Joseon dynasty by categorizing the kisaeng images into two types: femme fatales and virtuous housewives. These two types have drown attention in that they expressed commoners` resistant and satiric spirit transgressing class limits, but recently they have been reinvestigated in different perspectives on female sexuality. The two types of kisaengs have been interpreted as escaping from the territory of the objectified kisaeng sexuality through taking advantage of their sexuality conversely or resisting it stoutly. However, this paper argued that both types of kisaengs in the narratives of the Joseon dynasty were only used for male protagonists` benefits; the femme fatale kisaengs functioned as tools of increasing male protagonists` sexual pleasure, while virtuous kisaengs existed to devote themselves to male protagonists` social success. We can find the carnal incarnate on the one hand and the woman of virtue on the other hand; the narratives of the kisaeng in the Joseon era connote such a dichotomy. The focus of the kisaeng narratives moved depending on the needs of the times and genres. In the paseol genre of the early Joseon period the narratives of the femme fatale kisaengs were created to imply the male literati`s appropriate way of pursuing sexual pleasure. However, in the yadam genre of the late Joseon period, based on urban culture, the same kind of narratives underwent transformation to express the male commoners` sexual desire and class feeling, while the narratives of virtuous kisaengs were formed in the same purpose. The desires in the narratives differed depending on the times and genres, so did the kisaengs` images. However, the fact that the kisaeng`s sexuality was exploited to express others` desires was not changed. The kisaeng`s sexuality in the narratives of the Joseoun dynasty was represented to increase sexual pleasure of the male literati and commoners, or expressing the commoners` desire of overcoming class limits. In this process, the kisaeng sexuality split into the dichotomous female stereotypes: prostitutes and virtuous housewives.

시화의 기생한시 담론과 심미의식

박영민 한국한문교육학회 2003 한문교육논집 Vol.20 No.-

본고는 시화집(詩話集)을 대상으로 기생의 한시를 둘러싼 담론의 제 양상을 고찰하여 사대부의 심미 의식과 그 담론이 어떠한 관계망 속에서 형성되었는지를 살펴보았다. 사대부는 조선시대의 여성의 규범을 제시한 교과서를 통해 자신들의 주요 문학양식인 한시를 같은 신분의 여성에게는 금기하고 기생에게는 개방하였다. 그런데 시화집은 공식적으로 창작을 허용 받은 기생들의 작품보다 사대부가 여성의 한시를 많이 인용하고 있다. 기생의 작품의 수준이 낮았기 때문은 아닌 듯하다. 왜 기생의 한시는 허용을 받았음에도 불구하고 다양하게 전해지지 못하였을까? 당대 사대부 사회에는 기생이라는 특정 집단의 한시에 대한 담론의 방향이 규정되어 있었고, 시화집은 주로 이 규격에 맞는 작품에 대해서만 담론화하였기 때문이다. 기생의 한시를 둘러싼 사대부의 심미 의식은 다음과 같이 정리할 수 있다. 사대부는 술자리 또는 술자리와 관계되는 상황을 즉흥적으로 대구(對句)를 맞추어 표현하거나, 매우 희화적(戱話的)인 어조로 형상화하는 기생을 능시자(能詩者)라고 한다. 이는 사대부가 기생의 즉흥적이고 희화적인 어조의 한시에서 자신들의 쾌락적 욕망의 출구를 기대하고 있기 때문이다. 한편, 사대부가 기생의 한시에 대해 淸麗(맑고 깨끗하다)라는 풍격(風格)을 부여하는 것은 기생이 상대 남성과의 관계를 기다림이나 그에서 오는 슬픔으로 표현해낼 때이다. 그러나 시화가 淸麗라는 풍격을 부여하는 작품들은 실제 남성과의 이별을 슬픔으로 구사하는 기생의 수사(修辭)에 그치는 것이 대부분이다. 기생의 한시에는 역사회고시가 다수 보인다. 기생의 역사회고시의 기원은 그들의 신분적 모순이나 가부장제의 외부에 던져진 소외에 있다. 기생이 이러한 모순과 소외를 직접적으로 드러내는 작품은 대개 시화집의 담론에서 제외된다. 중세의 질서에 대한 위협으로 인식되기 때문이다. 그래서 기생은 현실의 허무와 무기력을 지나가 버린 역사의 허무와 무기력에 가탁하여 은유를 한다. 이러한 사대부의 심미 의식은 기생의 한시의 존재기반에 큰 영향을 미쳤을 것이다. 본고의 문제제기는 기생한시의 창작 실제와 존재론적 기반을 해명하는 데에 유효하리라 생각한다. In this paper I examined the diverse discourses about kisaengs' poetry in Sihwajip and illuminated on which web of relationships the discourses and the esthetic point of view of Sadaebu, the noble classin Chosun soceity, had formed. Sadaebu allowed the Kisaeng class to write Hansi, the traditional poetry in Chinese style, which was an important literary form of themselves they prohibited women of their own class from reading and writing poetry on account of the textbooks about the regulation of women in Chosun society. However, in Sihwajip, we can find more works of noble class women than of kisaengs who were officially allowed to write poetry. It was not because Kisaengs' works were inferior. Why wasn't Kiseangs' poetry well preserved in spite of the official allowance for the class to write? It was because the direction of the discourse of kidaengs' poetry was fixed by the Sadaebu society, thus only works meeting specific standards were accepted in the discourse of Sihwajip. The standards related with Sadaebu's esthetic point of view on Kisaengs' poetry, can be summarized like below. Sakaebu called such a Kidaeng who could improvise poetry "caricaturing" their banquet or party Nngsija, a Kisaeng who could write poetry. It was because Sadaebu expected to dissolve their sexual desire and sensual pleasure out by enjoying Kisaeng impromptu and "caricaturing" poetry. Sadaebu valued a poem of a Kisaeng only why the poem described the longing for one's lover or the sorrow out of the longing. Moreover, the works highly valued by Sihwasip were usually restricted within the only exposing Kisaeng's sorrow of parting from her lover. Among actual Kisaengs' poet there were ones reflecting on history. Kisaengs' poetry reflecting on history was usually based on the discrepancy of their class status and the feeling of alienation from patriarchal system of family. The works directly revealing those kinds of feeling we usually cut out of the discourses of Sihwasip because those works were considered to be an opposition against the order of the medieval ages. Thus, Kisaeng expressed the sense of nihility and languorby describing nihility and languor of history passed. Sadaebu's esthetic point of view seems to have affected greatly to the basis of writing poetry for kisaengs. The assertion of this paper would be effective to explain the basis and environment of Kisaengs' writing in that period.

이태준 문학에 나타난 기생의 의미와 재현 양상

최정아(Jung A Choi) 한국현대소설학회 2013 현대소설연구 Vol.- No.53

This paper focuses on kisaeng among various female descriptions in Yi Taejun`s fiction works and investigates the significance of kisaeng and its representation. I attempt to examine the significance of kisaeng as a floating symbol between classical and traditional beauty of pre-modern Korea and a labor worker as a prostitute in the colonial Korean market. Since the abolition of official kisaeng system in 1908, the status of kisaeng has been drastically degraded to the lower class. Kisaeng underwent the transition from enjoying arts and elegances with noblemen inside chamber to a prostitute in a capitalized society. They need to make money for their own survival and have to learn how to play Jazz music and how to dance foxtrot in accordance with the need of ‘modern’ customers. The Korean male characters in Yi`s fiction gaze at such kisaeng women either as an object of sympathy or in their reminiscent hearts. The male intellectuals may feel pity towards kisaeng`s struggle to the survival in the capitalistic society. Intellectuals` sorrow indeed reflects on their enslaving position as colonial subjects under the Japanese rule. They show sympathy and compassion towards modern kisaeng; however, they are also reminded of the classical and graceful beautyof pre-modern kisaeng. Through male intellectuals` mixed emotion towards kisaeng, the readers of Yi`s fiction are able to realize the changed social status of kisaeng and the ambivalent desire of male characters towards kisaeng.

암행어사 일기 <서수일기西繡日記>를 통해 살펴본 기생의 지인지감知人之感의 실체와 의미

조수미 영남대학교 민족문화연구소 2017 민족문화논총 Vol.66 No.-

The secret royal inspectors’ journals are the records of people and various events they would encounter during their secret inspection. While the formal inspection details of public servants were separately written and reported to a king in the form of official documents, the writings in journals would mostly be the less important stories of common people. The same is true for <Seosuilgi>, Park Rae-kyeom’s secret royal inspector, journal. Conversations among landlords in the lodge, common people meeting on the way, many rumors spread by them and the troubles from identity disguises were interestingly recorded in it. The comments about kisaengs and their Jiinjigam were by far the most intriguing. This research aimed to show about what kisaengs’ Jiinjigam in <Seosuilgi> are telling to us. It was shown that kisaengs had an insight into human nature only by observation and empirical wisdom based on the writings in the journal. This is compared to the aspect that people of different social classes and jobs reasoned with several clues and tried to find out the facts by using the information and grilling a secret royal inspector. Whereas most of kisaengs with Jiinjigam in historical romances (Yadam) and novels were depicted as the characters with a special ability, those in journals were just normal kisaengs like ‘an old kisaeng, a kisaeng and a young kisaeng’. Compared to kisaengs in Yadam or novels who perceived people with Jiinjigam, even developing them, a number of normal kisaengs in journals, who had somewhat outstanding talents, haven’t become special kisaengs in spite of possessing Jiinjigam. In short, Jiinjigam for kisaengs actually meant not a very extraordinary ability but a skill kisaengs created as a survival strategy under the conditions of their lives. If further investigated with more interest, it will be noticed that kisaengs have developed more survival strategies than that. They maybe became a master of life in a current sense. Without considering their Jiinjigam covered with romantic and fantastic colors, it should be followed by more comprehensive studies of their realities of life, an accurate and deeper understanding of inequality in the medieval rank society and ultimately which way human society needs to go to. The records of kisaengs in <Seosuilgi> help us presume their crude life they didn’t tell for themselves by showing the reality of their Jiinjigam presented as literary and mysterious in Yadam, novels and so on. 박래겸의 암행어사 일기 <서수일기>에는 신분을 위장하는 데서 겪는 곤란함이 흥미롭게 기록되어 있다. 그 중 시선을 사로잡는 것은 기생들이 어사들을 알아보는 지인지감에 대한 언급들이다. 본고는 <서수일기>에 기록된 기생들의 지인지감이 우리에게 무엇에 대해 말해주고 있는지 고찰하였다. 일기에 기록된 것을 토대로 살펴본 결과 기생들은 오로지 관찰과 경험적 지혜로 어사들의 위장을 꿰뚫어 보고 있었으며, 어사들이 무슨 변명을 하여도 그것에 개의치 않고 자신의 지인지감에 대해 확신하였다는 것을 알 수 있었다. 이는 다른 계층이나 직업군의 사람들이 여러 가지 정보를 활용해서 어사의 정체를 추리하거나 자신들의 그러한 의심을 확인하기 위해 어사를 추궁하곤 했던 것과 비교되는 점이다. 그리고 야담 등의 이야기 속에는 지인지감을 발휘하는 기생들이 대부분 특별한 능력의 소유자로 그려졌지만, 실은 지인지감이 보통의 기생들에게도 발견되는 일상적 능력이었음을 알 수 있었다. 요컨대 지인지감이란 기생에게 있어서 매우 특별하고 예외적인 능력이었다기보다는 그녀들이 자신이 처한 삶의 조건 속에서 나름의 생존전략으로 터득한 재주였던 것이다. <서수일기>의 기생 관련 기록은 그녀들의 지인지감의 실체를 보여줌으로써, 그녀들이 스스로 말하지 못한 삶의 생살을 짐작할 수 있도록 돕고 있다. 우리는 이러한 기록들을 통해 기생들이 가진 지인지감에 낭만적, 환상적 색채를 덧씌워 바라보는 관점에 의문을 제기하고 그녀들이 처한 삶의 현장, 더 나아가 중세 신분사회의 불평등에 대한 정확한 이해로 나아갈 수 있을 것이다.

16세기 양반관료의 외정 -유희춘의 『미암일기』를 중심으로-

이성임 ( Lee Seong Im ) 한국고문서학회 2003 古文書硏究 Vol.23 No.-

There are lots of events that the noblemen in Choson dynasty keep women below the common people as secret mistresses because of the idea of their position or class consciousness prevalent in their whole life. That is, they classify women into the noblewomen and the remaining women, differently recognizing and treating women. The diary of the 16th century shows that the noblemen seemed to make sport of female slaves or official dancing girls easily and without hesitation, but it is difficult to draw a conculsion that such phenomenon is caused by reckless greed of an indlvidual. Especially, not only social conditions in which, indifferently from one`s own intent, the noblemen can easily enjoy the sex instinct were formed, but institutional support was provided. This paper, centering around Yu Huichun, a nobel bureaucrat in the 16th century, examines why he kept a female slave and Kisaeng(a singing and dancing girl), how the real aspect was and what kind of problems was caused by that. In view of Yu Huichun`s case, it seems difficult to owe the whoring of a husband to only problems between husband and wife. Because the couple of Yu Huichun lived in conjugal harmony, having one son and one daughter. It seems that the whoring of a husband resulted from living type. The couple of Yu Huichun had lived for 40 years after marriage, but the period during which they actially lived together was not more than half the 40 years. That was partly because that Yu Huichun had been condemned to exile for a long time due to Eulsasahwa(乙巳士禍). Besides that, it was a general living type that in case of religious service bureaucrat, a wife lived in her husband`s home town supervising and managing the whole household affairs while her husband was up in the capital. Accordingly, the husband needed a woman to take care of him resulting in keeping a mistress and Kisaeng. Kisaeng was another sexual subject of a nobleman. These Kisaeng were divided into 京?(Capital Kisaeng) and 官?(official Kisaeng) and it was official Kisaeng whom a nobleman easily contact. Official Kisaeng participated in various festivals to pour wine into a glass, dance, paly music and sleep with a nobleman, and a local official was institutionally permitted to sleep with official Kisaeng, which was intended to soothe the discomforts of a local official who was away from home. Yu Huichun was also provided with 房?(Room Kisaeng) while he was on duty as a Jolla-do governor. Among many Kisaeng, he especially had a close relation to Gwangju Kisaeng namd Yeon and Jeonju Kisaeng named Okgyeonga. However, the relation to these official Kisaeng was broke off upon replacement of a local official. Because the Kisaeng belonged to the relevant local government office, they basically could not free from the area within the jurisdiction of the government office. Yu Huichun kept a girl named GuJildeok 15 years younger than he as a concubine during the days of his banishment and got to have four children. A female slave, like Kisaeng, was a subject whom a nobleman could easily violate, and relatively easy to keep her as a concubine though she was not superior to Kisaeng in terms of beauty and talent. The process of Yu Huichun keeping a concubine was not confiied, but the girl named GuJildeok was considered to become Yu Huichun`s concubine as she takes care of Yu Huichun during the period of his banishment. The reckless sex life was not only individual problem, but also elements which caused various social problems. Immoderate sexual intercourse led to suffering from a venereal disease and also caused a short life. Besides that, it became major element which broing about discord between husband and wife. In the event a nobleman took a female of humble birth, their children was forced to live a hard life due to their positional restrictions, and the relation between master and servant used to be formed between the domestic children in case when children were born from a concu

Convention and Innovation: The Lives and Cultural Legacy of the Kisaeng in Colonial Korea (1910-1945)

이인숙 서울대학교 규장각한국학연구원 2010 Seoul journal of Korean studies Vol.23 No.1

The women known as kisaeng or “courtesans” played a key role as entertainers for the Korean Royal Court before 1910. The political and social situation of the colonial period (1910-1945), when Japanese culture was promoted and Western culture was also gradually introduced, influenced the traditional Korean performing arts as represented by kisaeng. As a consequence, the kisaeng can be seen as pivotal in the transition between the old and the modern in the Korean performing arts. Kisaeng at the Royal Court had to broaden their roles significantly from being performing artists to acting as sex workers. Due to an exaggerated emphasis on the prostitution aspect, kisaeng received a social stigma that made it necessary for them to hide their identities in contemporary Korea. In this article, I examine how kisaengs’ lives were linked to political, economic and ideological forces. I also explore how and why kisaeng organized their training system and expanded their performing repertoire by combining old traditions with new cultural influences in order to meet the expectations of their customers and the Korean public. A wide range of data, including resources on the Japanese colonial policies, the kisaeng school system, Japanese-produced kisaeng postcards, gramophone recordings, and the journal Changhan edited by kisaeng themselves, enables us to understand how and where kisaeng inherited the traditional performing arts and incorporated new trends in culture. I argue that the kisaeng’s experience in the colonial period should be re-evaluated in the light of the overall process of modernization in Korea.

1910~20년대 기생의 서화(書畵)교육과 활동 연구 ‒기생 합작도와 오귀숙의 글씨에 기하여‒

김수현 단국대학교 동양학연구원 2019 東洋學 Vol.0 No.75

This study for the first time excavated and scrutinized important two artworks (seohwa) by kisaeng (courtesans) who were belonged to gwonbeon (an institution for training and oversight of kisaeng) in the Japanese colonial period. This article based on the artworks described education programs for kisaeng and their outstanding art activities in the 1910~40s. One of the artworks is a collaborative work, hap-jak-do, by nine kisaengs under the instructions of Yutak Kim(1875~1936) who taught seohwa in Pyeongyang Kisaeng School. Yutak Kim, an art master and instructor, and Gyujin Kim (1868~1933) set up Gyoyuk-seohwa-gwan in July 1907. It was an institution of seohwa education where ordinary people could learn the arts. The other one is a calligraphy by Gwisuk Oh who was a famous and outstanding seohwa artist as well as kisaeng of Daejeong-gwonbeon. She was also called Sanhong Oh and earned a reputation for her mukran-hwa (calligraphic paintings) that were awarded several times at Joseon Arts Exhibition in the 1920s. The study of her works is expected as a ground breaking research to open up the future studies about the significant roles of kisaeng on the art activities and artistry in the Japanese colonial period. Her works are crutial and precious, especially in the current condition that the works of the early modern female seohwa artists are rarely introduced. During the Japanese colonial period, the kisaeng schools that provided traditional arts education had a significant role not only for training music and dance performances but also in the aspect of supporting female seohwa education and the artistic activities. Through this study that looked over Yutak Kim’s contribution as an extraordinary instructor and the nine kisaengs’ collaborative work, Hap-jak-do we can learn the process of the seohwa education for kisaeng and the transmission of the art skills from Gwisuk Oh’s artistic calligraphys. 이 연구는 일제강점기 권번 소속의 기생들의 서화 작품 두 점을 처음으로 발굴·소개하면서 이 두 작품을단서로 해서, 그동안 잘 조명되지 않았던 1910~1920년대 기생조합인 권번의 서화교육과 기생의 서화 활동을조명하고자 한다. 하나는 평양 기생학교에서 서화교육을 담당한 수암(守巖) 김유탁(金有鐸)의 지도로 9명의 기생이 만든 합작도이다. 김유탁은 1907년 7월 해강(海岡) 김규진(金圭鎭, 1868~1933)과 함께 발의하여 서우학회(西友學會) 내에 민중의 예술교육을 담당할 교육서화관(敎育書畵館)을 개설하고 평양기생학교에서 기생들을 대상으로 서화를 가르쳤던 미술교육자이다. 또 하나는 오산홍(吳山紅)이라는 이름으로 대정권번(大正券番)에 소속되어 있으면서 1920년대 조선미술전람회에서 묵란화(墨蘭畵)로 수차례 입선하여 대중에게 이름을 알렸던 유명 서화기(書畵妓) 오귀숙(吳貴淑)의글씨이다. 일제강점기 전통적인 예기교육을 하는 기생학교는 가무뿐만 아니라 여성 서화교육과 작품활동이라는 측면에서도 중요한 역할을 수행하였다. 이 논문에서는 김유탁의 활동과 평양기생학교 학생들의 합작도를 통해서기생의 서화교육의 과정을 짐작할 수 있으며 오귀숙의 글씨를 통해 근대 여성 서화가로 주목을 받았던 오귀숙의 서화 활동, 그리고 그를 가르쳤던 스승들의 맥을 파악할 수 있다. 일제강점기 서화교육을 받고 배출된 뛰어난 기생들이 화단에 뿌리를 내리지 못하였으나 전통시대에서 근대로 이행하는 과정에서 전통화단의 ‘연결자’로서의 역할을 한 기생의 서화 작품활동에 대한 관심과 연구는 여전히 의미를 지닌다.

기생의 정체성 확보와 주체적 태도

이화형(Lee, Hwa-Hyung) 우리문학회 2018 우리文學硏究 Vol.0 No.60

기생에 대한 연구가 적지 않았음에도 불구하고 기생의 정체성을 밝혀줄 총체적인 고찰이 아직 이루어지지 않았다고 본다. 즉 기생의 여성사적 위상과 존재의의를 부각시키기 위해 기생을 역사적 흐름 속의 전통여성과의 관련성, 그리고 근대 이후의 신여성, 나아가 요즘의 연예인과의 관련성을 찾는 데는 미흡했다고 할 수 있다. 따라서 이 논문에서는 여성이자 천민에 해당되지만 남성이자 양반계급과 교류했던 이중구조를 지닌, 기생들의 정체성 확보와 주체적인 태도를 분석해 보고자 했다. 이를 위해 기생 대다수가 스스로 보여준 섹슈얼리티로서의 성(사랑)과 정절, 그리고 젠더로서의 여악과 사회에 관한 것들이 고스란히 들어 있는, 기생에 관한 시가, 야담, 비평, 기사 등의 자료들을 소중히 다루고자 노력했다. 우리의 전통여성과 신여성과 마찬가지로 기생 또한 주체적인 삶에서 만만치 않았음을 확인할 수 있었다. 기생들은 전통여성과 달리 성행위의 주체가 되었고, 신여성들이 신정조론을 주장하기 전에 많은 기생들이 육체보다 정신적 순결이 중요함을 강조했다. 여악을 중심으로 교양까지 철저히 익혀 엔터테이너로서 활약했던 기생들이야말로 오늘날의 연예인보다 고품격의 예술인이었다. 신여성들이 일제강점기 독립운동에의 결기를 보이기 이전에 기생들은 임병 양란에서부터 해방시기까지 국난극복과 사회봉사를 위해 헌신하였다. A holistic approach to the identity of the kisaeng does not exist despite numerous studies on the kisaeng community. To study kisaeng purely in a historical context in order to highlight the historical status of women and the significance of kisaeng’s existence is insufficient. In this thesis, I have examined the identity formation and independent attitudes of kisaeng. The kisaengs interacted with noblemen, although they were women who belonged to the I analyzed a historical romance, articles, and the data on kisaeng as well as women musicians. I discovered that kisaengs were independent women just as. Unlike traditional women, kisaeng. Moreover, they emphasized the importance of spiritual rather than physical purity before women began to assert the new rights of virtue. The kisaengs, as women musicians and cultural persons, were high-class artists They were dedicated to the community service and involved in overcoming the national crisis until the independence of the country, before new women began the independence movement.