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- P-ISSN 2671-8197
- E-ISSN 2733-936X
- KOREAN
- P-ISSN2671-8197
- E-ISSN2733-936X
- KCI
Article Detail
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A Study on the Novel Trying to Catch the Clouds by Joo Yo-seop
Korean Studies Quarterly / Korean Studies Quarterly, (P)2671-8197; (E)2733-936X
2025, v.48 no.4, pp.311-346
Kim,
M.
Y.
(2025). A Study on the Novel Trying to Catch the Clouds by Joo Yo-seop. , 48(4), 311-346.
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Abstract
This text analyzes the reality of early Korean immigrant life in the United States and the author’s philosophy in Trying to Catch the Clouds by Joo Yo-seop. The protagonist, Jun-sik, chose to go to America in hopes of becoming wealthy, but subjected to slave labor on a cotton farm in Mexico, he moves to the U.S. mainland after four years. Over the course of 30 years in the American West, he comes close to realizing his dreams three times, but ultimately fails. His personal misfortune, the economic depression in the U.S., and shifts in European political dynamics are to blame. This work highlights a reality where, in the early 20th century, during America’s economic boom, foreign migrant workers still had a chance at financial success. However, the success of early Korean immigrants was deeply connected not only to personal diligence but also to international economic fluctuations and political changes. Joo Yo-seop’s philosophy, expressed through this work, critiques the reality that, when the U.S. entered the Great Depression in 1929 and European political tensions worsened, foreign migrant workers from smaller nations were increasingly unwelcome, becoming targets of exclusion and marginalization. Joo Yoseop thus denounces the unethical nature of Social Darwinism and issues a warning to early Korean immigrants who, without preparation and by blindly trusting rosy advertisements of wealth, recklessly pursued migration to the Americas.
- keywords
- Joo Yo-seop, Trying to Catch the Clouds, foreign migrant worker, American dream, social darwinism, 주요섭, 『구름을 잡으려고』, 외국인 이주노동자, 아메리칸 드림, 사회진화론
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