본문 바로가기
  • Home

The trend of research on the March 1st Movement and the direction of nationalism

Lee Yongki 1

1한국교원대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This article examines the changes in the perceptional terrain of the study of Korean modern history by reviewing the flow of the March 1st Movement study, but approaches the process of settlement, refraction, and implosion of the nationalist view. The research on the March 1st Movement began in earnest from 1969, the 50th anniversary of the movement, and while based on the nationalism that prevailed in Korean history academic circles at that time, it was constrained by the anti-communism of the Park Chung-hee regime, and thus tended to be a “conservative nationalism.” In 1989, which celebrated the 70th anniversary of the March 1st Movement, a divergence of research perspectives emerged clearly reflecting the political and ideological spectrum of the 1980s. The mainstream academia was divided into a tendency to adhere to the existing conservative position and a tendency toward a moderate national unity. The junior researchers holding a progressive position showed a tendency to “popular nationalism”, which aimed for a unified perception of national and class contradictions, and emphasized the people with class implications. In the 21st century, research on the trend of “post-nationalism” was prominent. These studies focused on the multi-layered behavior of multiple subjects, moving away from the dichotomy of domination and resistance, and raised values such as democracy, peace, and human rights apart from nationalism. As such, the change in the perspective of the March 1 Movement study from conservative nationalism to popular nationalism and recently post-nationalism shows a shift in the epistemological topography of the study of Korean modern history.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.