鄭芝溶におけるホイットマン

――有島武郎を媒ちにして――

抄録

　It was in 1920 that Walt Whitman's poems were first translated and introduced to Japan-occupied Korea. Korean intellectuals soon began to show strong interest in Whitman's poems, and his poems were extensively translated during the decade of the 20s.

　Famous Korean lyric poet, Chong Ji-yong (1902-1950(?)) translated three of Whitman's poems during the colonial period and ten more, after the independence of the country. Although Chong seemed to have had great interest in Whitman's poems, producing thirteen translations of Whitman's work, Chong's intentions of the translations remained unclear and did not attract critical attention.

　This paper verifies a connection between Arishima Takeo's interpretation of Whitman which is indicated in his essay, “About Whitman” (1921) and the poems Chong translated during the colonial period. The poems Chong chose to translate were exactly the same as those which Arishima studied as examples of Whitman's power of expression. Arishima's analysis of Whitman's power of expression was considered important because up until his published findings, this aspect of Whitman's poems was overlooked by readers in Japan and Korea. Through the comparison and the specific analysis of Chong's translation, this paper shows that Chong focused on the expression and the lyrics of Whitman's poems during the colonial period.　

　The intriguing fact is evident in the shift in Chong's translation of Whitman's work from the colonial period to the post-colonial era. After Korea's independence from Japan, Chong chose to translate exclusively Whitman's poems which reflected the country's social conditions.

　Although the shift in focus of Chong's translation of Whitman's poems is dramatic, it does not reflect a sudden change in Chong's point of view and what he wished to accomplish. During the colonial period, Chong fought for Korea's literary independence by translating English texts into beautifully versed Korean. After the independence, having difficulty in creating his own poems, Chong tried to realize a new kind of Korean literature by translating Whitman's poems reflecting the social issues of the country.