식민지기 이혼 관련 최근 연구동향과 전망 －소현숙, 『이혼 법정에 선 식민지 조선 여성들』(역사비평사, 2017)을 중심으로－

Examined in this article are some of the recent Korean studies on marital relationships from the Japanese occupation period, including So Hyeon-suk’s Joseon Females of the Colonial period, involved in Divorce Lawsuits (published by Yeoksa Bipyeong-sa last July) as well as other studies. Previous studies tended to focus upon marital issues from the perspective of viewing them as part of a social institution. Although such perspective is valid, we shall endeavor to approach the people’s lives through examining individual aspects of such institution, as divorces were indeed part of the people’s lives in the past. By mixing macroscopic examination with microscopic approach, we shall be able to determine what kind of lives the Koreans in this period actually led, and how they dealt with divorces. However, in examining divorce cases it should be remembered that divorces mostly involved legal processes, so documents of legal nature should be studied carefully if we are to do justice to divorce case studies. And for that end, precise understanding of legal terms is crucial. Yet prior studies somewhat lacked that sort of consideration. So’s book utilized new materials such as newspapers of the time, which have never been fully used in prior studies. In that regard it can be considered as a fresh and new attempt. Yet the book also leaves some things to be desired, as collection of basic materials (sentences or statistics) and most of all detailed analysis of such data is less than sufficient. This article is a critical review of So’s accomplishment.