러시아의 일본 · 한국학자 올가 페트로바(Ольга Петровна Петрова, 1900-1993)와 『한국기록문화유산 해제』의 성격 및 의의

Abstract

Russia was one of the first countries to research the Korean peninsula and collect related materials. Russian libraries and institutions have not only published materials related to Korea, but have also collected a large number of old Korean books. The Institute of Oriental Manuscripts in St. Petersburg holds the largest collection of old Korean books in Russia. This collection was catalogued and arranged in the 1950s and 1960s by Russian Japanologist and Koreanist Olga Petrova (1900-1993) and published in two books in 1956 and 1963. Olga Petrova was a scholar and educator who worked both at Leningrad State University as a professor of Japan Studies, and in the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts as a researcher. She compiled several textbooks of the Japanese language for undergraduates, created a Russian-Japanese and Japanese‐Russian dictionary of naval terms, and conducted research on Japanese lexicology, the Russia-Japan relationship, and the Korean language. With other colleagues she also catalogued old Japanese books held in the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts. In 1950, Olga Petrova became a specialist in the newly established Mongolian- Korean Studies division of the Institute and began to study old Korean books held there. She catalogued great numbers of books from the collections of P.A. Dmitrevsky (1851-1899), a Russian diplomat who worked in China and Korea over two decades, and W.G. Aston (1841-1911), a British diplomat who spent a twenty‐five years in Japan and Korea; in addition, some of books came from the Asiatic Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as other individuals and organizations. In order to provide information about the books, Petrova referred to several catalogues in Japanese and various European languages, as well as materials in Korean. Petrova based the Descriptions introduction on previously published materials, explaining book culture in Korea, features of manuscripts, xylographs, and movable type‐printed books, the characteristics of Korean names and names of places and eras(reigns), and the Russian transliteration of Korean. Petrova included in the Description some Japanese and Chinese books related to Korea. She grouped the books into 15 sections: General History of Korea, History of Japanese Invasion (1592-98), History of 19th Century Korea, History of Korean Foreign Relations, Korean Books on Chinese History, History of Confucianism in Korea, Geography, Ethnography, Law, Ideology, Language, Literature, Reference Books, Medicine, and Archive; in addition, the Ideology, Language, and Literature sections comprise several subsections. Petrova catalogued 236 items; she mentioned, however, some collections of literary works, munjip, in several sections depending on the subjects of their sections, so the total number of the catalogued works adds up to less than 236. For each item, the author follows the descriptive scheme and provide information about the author or complier, the language in which the work is written, its contents, its external features, references, and translations into other languages, if any. The Description is the first work in Russian concerned with old Korean books, and it provided detailed information about the collection of old Korean books at the Institute. Petrovas Description is not only a catalogue of the collection, but also a significant contribution to Russian and Overseas Korean studies.