Abstract

A research on the representation of the young generation through the 1960s narrative must be made on the role, image and choice of the youth produced and demanded by the 1960s and on the narrative evaluation on their choice. Films by Kang Dae-jin outwardly presented a devoted father, but behind it showed an ideal view of a shift in generations achieved by the post-war nation-led modernization and the new world seen through the low class youth. In the film "The Barefooted Young," the image of rebellious youths wrapped in the American modern culture might have stimulated the sentiment among the new generation, but their tragic ending cast a powerful lesson that their choice was nothing but a deviation thus was not desirable. But, criticism on pariah capitalism hidden behind and the unconditional inflow of Western cultures should not be overlooked. The representation of the young, who were university student and belonged to the low class or to the marginal (regionally and culturally) and neglected class, was complex and multilateral. They were aware of the existence of contradicting and conflicting choice alternatives, and experienced inner conflicts about their choices. The confessional and realistic representation of such a university student was the character, and the author himself, appearing in the 1960s novel by Kim Seung-ok. The young generation that newly emerged in the 1960s knew they had to pioneer their own new ways. And, they had various choice alternatives, and their choices led to completely different paths, all becoming the principal agent of Korea society in the later era, the 1970s and 1980s. That's why the young generation of the 1960s is problematic.