구원자 혹은 폭군: 남북한 『실낙원』 번역서의 God 비교 연구

Abstract

This study aims to compare the translated versions of John Milton’s Paradise Lost published in South Korea and North Korea, specifically examining representations of God in both versions. Using Mona Baker’s narrative reframing theory, this study analyzes varying presentations of God’s identity, power, and intention. The analysis shows that the South and the North Korean translated versions have been reframed drastically differently through selective appropriation and labelling. On the one hand, the South Korean translation reframes the text as a religious poem and the author as a devout Christian poet. In the preface of this version of Milton’s text, God is reframed as a merciful and generous savior. The main body of the text positively reframes narratives about God. In comparison, the North Korean version reframes Milton’s poem as a political text, and the author as an anti-feudalist revolutionary. In the preface of the North Korean version, God is reframed as a merciless tyrant and an absolute autocrat. In the main body, the North Korean version bypasses positive narratives about God and removes the Christian narrative this paper argues is found within the source text. This paper reads such translating processes as an ideological reflection of the political imperatives of a North Korean government rejecting and suppressing the Christian belief system.