Boarding-crossing and Coolie Struggle ：A Study on Kim Yeong-geun’s Novel Coolie Translated

Basing on a coolie struggle event erupted in Tianjin, a Korean writer Kim Yeong-geun in Shanghai wrote a novel titled Coolie in August 1928. Later, it was translated to Japanese by a Korean proletarian activist Lee Buk-man and published in Senki in December 1928.Focusing on Coolie, this paper examines the border-crossing process of the text, analyzes the effect of addition in translation and clarifies the reasons for Chinese labour struggle incident being favoured by proletarians in Japan and Korea.Lee’s translation provided an actual text about Chinese proletarian movement to the “Senki faction”, who showed great interest in it. Meanwhile, he emphasized the significance of commemorating the event for proletarians worldwide, clarified the reason for the event outbreak, and laid a groundwork for climax previously making the plot more cohesive via addition in translation. Through these artistic practices, Lee was endeavouring to rectify his previous mistake of overemphasizing theoretical problems.Likewise, Lee’s choice to translate the novel indicates his approval of its gist. Especially, the contradictions between imperialist aggressors/capitalists and Chinese labours existing in the “semi-colonial and semi-feudal” Chinese society, carried a greater sense of reality for people living in colonial Korea where ethnic issues and class conflicts coexist.