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Universal knowledge of the Public and the Human Emancipation
Chunwon Research journal
Abbr :
Chunwon Research journal
2018, (13), pp.413-455
Publisher : Chunwon Research Society
Research Area : Korean Literature
2018, (13), pp.413-455
Publisher : Chunwon Research Society
Research Area : Korean Literature
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In the late 1970s, the issue of 'public' was one of the main concerns of the intellectuals at the time. For the intellectuals, the masses were generally understood as the nonstandard of the 'people', and the intellectuals were doing their duty to convert the masses into people. The purpose of this article is to identify the new aspect of popular discourse in later 1970’s through Oh Saeng-keun and Kim Jong-cheol. Kim is not suspicious of the cultural and speculative functions of the public who can enjoy art actively. The reason for this is that his literary theory focuses on the audience, not the producers, but the reading masses. As a result of civilization, Kim says that language can not contain specific experiences and that the cause of losing appeal is the absence of the reader. The idea that who is to read affects the works, shows that the reading public is accepted as the new subject of literature that can lead the tendency and movement of the literary field. Furthermore, the possibility of new art can be found in the attitude of listening to the experience of the other. Kim's claim to read poetry and poetry accessible to readers was essential to a better life and reading for civilization. By setting the "public" to the "everyone," Oh leads to a positive perception of the public, ignoring the boundaries between elite, public, intellectuals and non- intellectuals. Why he sees the public positively is that it has the potential to achieve "democratization of art". However, the problem is that the popular art restores the subjective consciousness of human beings in order that the enjoyment of "human emancipation" can be attained, and presents a true humanistic education as the answer. There is a possibility of mutual self-knowledge of teacher and student, and possibility to advance to better knowing through each other. The manifestation of the subjective will that can realize the knowledge of oneself is the maximum value of the education that Oh speaks, and this active knowledge becomes universal knowledge that is possible for everybody.
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