2014, Vol., No.55

An Analysis of Nationalist Ideas in the Works of Ethic Korean Painter O Byeong-hak in Japan

JUNG MIN LEE | 2014, (55) | pp.5~44 | number of Cited : 0

This paper will examine the activities of O Byeong-hak – the nation’s first-generation ethic Korean painter in Japan – and his nationalist ideas manifested in his career. Born during Korea’s colonial period under Japan, O studied at a Japanese art school and explored the images of Korea for more than half a century in Japan. One of the notable aspects of his career is that, though he had lived in Japan since his move from Korea, he has constantly portrayed his own nation and the products of the national culture. At the same time, he has not opted for the citizenship of neither South Korea nor Japan but insisted his nationality as a people of Joseon, which can be interpreted as his refusal to the nationality of South and North Korea and of Japan. Having grappled with the two types of modern identities – the people and the nation – he finally has erased the feature of the people and called the nation on the front. Then why does he pursue only the nation? And how can we define his idea of the nation? Starting from these questions, this study will analyze O’s national consciousness. A simple conclusion of this study is that he had no other options but to have necessarily chosen the idea of the nation as the imaginary identity considering that his idea of the nation has been subjective, obscure, and abstract according to his remarks and comments as well as his works. It is because the identity of a nation embeds changeability in which he has to ceaselessly seek for the others and define himself through the process, unlike the case of the identity of the people that clearly distinguishes the subject from the others based on given conditions and guarantee his identity in the form of documents. Thus, O’s idea of nationality cannot be defined simply or clearly but takes the form of constantly being supplemented or added inside and outside of the context. In other words, his idea of the nation is quite mythical. Although the gap between the identity of the people and the imaginary identity of the nation in his works undoubtedly has a certain limitation – i.e. the cases are too partial – they nevertheless show clearly that the idea of the people and the nation are by no means the same. His idea is enough to ring a bell more loudly in the situation of South Korea that still identifies the two concepts equally even in constitution.

The 1960s and the Subject of Statement Who Cannot Make a Statement and the Pattern of “Two” －With Much Focus on Lee Chung-jun’s an Unwritten Autobiography－

Koo, Seul Ah | 2014, (55) | pp.45~72 | number of Cited : 2

A Review of Correlation between the Yi Sun-sin Syndrome and the Public Sentiments －A Comparative Analysis of “The Immortal Yi Sun-sin” and “Roaring Currents”－

Lee Hue Kyoung | 2014, (55) | pp.73~102 | number of Cited : 2

This paper will comparatively analyze and interpret the drama “TheImmortal Yi Sun-sin (Bulmyeol-ui Yi Sun-sin),” aired on KBS TV in 2004,and the 2014 movie “Roaring Currents (Myeongnyang)” and figure out thecorrelation between the Yi Sun-sin syndrome and the public sentiments. Thestudy will focus on the interpretation of the newly illuminated narratives ofAdmiral Yi Sun-sin actively enjoyed by the public in each period with theinterval of a decade. Since Sin Chae-ho (1880∼1936) first reilluminated theaccomplishment of Yi Sun-sin with a view to promote the people’senlightenment, Yi Sun-sin has been incessantly reinterpreted and edited. Especially, the Park Chung-hee regime idolized Yi as the hero of saving thenation in order to make up for its legitimacy tarnished by the military coupd’etat. The attempt to focus on the humanistic aspects of Yi started as partof the efforts to disintegrate the idolized image of Yi. The humanistic aspectsof Yi were concretely portrayed in the novels by Kim Hun and KimTak-hwan, respectively. “The Immortal Yi Sun-sin” was produced based on the novels by the two authors. This study compared the narratives of “TheImmortal Yi Sun-sin” and “Roaring Currents” – which created a Yi Sun-sinsyndrome in 2014 – and reinterpreted them from the three perspectives. First, the movie fictionally introduced Bae Seol who did not participate inthe battle of the Myeongnyang Sea in actual history. “The Immortal YiSun-sin” did not feature the desertion of Bae Seol from the army, while“Roaring Currents” portrayed him as a betrayer of Yi. This shows therelation between the governing ideology and individuals under the situation ofwar. Second, the two movies show the difference in dealing with the issueof “life” and “death.” “The Immortal Yi Sun-sin” exposes the death of theenemies while “Roaring Currents” features both “life” and “death” of theJoseon and the Japanese soldiers. “Life” in war is not so much a process ofovercoming “death” as a process of heading into “death.” Third, thecomparative analysis of the two movies shows the difference in the conceptof heroes in each period of 2004 and 2014. Yi Sun-sin in “The Immortal YiSun-sin” was represented as the people’s hero who emphasizedcommunication, while the latter Yi in “Roaring Currents” shows a semblancewith Yi Sun-sin in another movie produced in the 1970s.

Kim, Tai-woong | 2014, (55) | pp.103~126 | number of Cited : 2

Railroad Gasa and the Representation of Railroads in The Korea Daily News －Attraction and Negativity of Railroads as the Emblem of Modern Colonial Period－

KIM AYUN | 2014, (55) | pp.127~158 | number of Cited : 10

Having approached the genre of “Railroad Literature” in Korea from theperspective of genealogy, this paper has found that the comments on currenttopics in the form of Gasa are one form of railroad literature. Based on that,this paper has examined Railroad Gasa dealt with at The Korea Daily News(Daehan Maeil Sinbo; founded in 1904), which reported the two faces ofrailroads and featured both the attraction and the negative aspects ofrailroads. First, this paper has figured out that Railroad Gasa, as the productof modern civilization, represented the voices of the people calling forawakening of modernist experiences, enlightenment, self-cultivation, andreform on one hand, and idealized the establishment of the Utopia whereenlightenment, self-cultivation, and reform are realized on the other. ThoseGasa said that, by making use of their fascinating features, railroadssymbolize a trail-blazer that could lead the Korean people to the Utopia inthe early 20th century. Next, the Gasa also suggested that railroads –having been built at the sacrifice of the joys and sorrows of the Koreanpeople – symbolize a negative representation including Japanese colonialism,plunderers, violation, fear, and the Dystopia built by the Japanese aggressors. Based on the debates, this paper has concluded that the editorial writers ofThe Korea Daily News attempted to produce the public effect of making thegeneral readers understand the reality of the period, seeking for the futurewith the public readers, and finally, disclosing the aggression of the Japanesecolonialists by making use of the two faces of railroads. This paper,therefore, has found that Railroad Gasa helped cultivate and expand thepolitical realms during the enlightenment period and that the writers of TheKorea Daily News played a role of establishing a course through which theycould communicate with the general readers.

“Chastity” and the History of the Unavoidable Term －With Emphasis on the Appropriation and Legislation of Discourses－

HAN BONG SEOK | 2014, (55) | pp.159~210 | number of Cited : 8

Even though the term “chastity” that we use today is usually accepted asa tradition-bound word, it is a new sign system that has been reproducedfrom the historical and cultural perspective. Since the ancient times of China,the discourses of “chastity” had been established through various channelsincluding the publication of Biographies of Exemplary Women (列女傳) andwere later spread to East Asia in general after the Ming and Qing dynasty. Right after its foundation, the Joseon dynasty chose the three cardinalprinciples in human relations (三綱; or the three bonds) as the symbol ofstate management under the principle of Neo-Confucianism as state ideology. “Chastity” was a major element of the three cardinal principles. During theJapanese colonial period, the discourses of “chastity” were reorganizedthrough the influence of the West and Japan. First of all, the term “chastity”was used in Japan during the Meiji Restoration (明治維新, Meiji Ishin)period in the same meaning as used in China and Joseon. In the 1910s,however, the term was confined to the space of “home” amidst a mixture ofa variety of concepts such as cultivation of mind and body, the study ofsexual desires, the idea of monogamy, and the discourses of free love. Thus,the discourses of “chastity” not only became the criterion of judgment in the “virgin vs. harlot” frame but also functioned as the major discourses of“good wife and wise mother” under the system of monogamy. Meanwhile, the colonized Joseon has to witness the reorganization of the“chastity” discourses because its time-honored discourses of “chastity” –prohibition of remarriage – was influenced by free love, monogamy, thestudy of sexual desires, cultivation of mind and body imported from Japan. In the 1930s, the discourses of “chastity” in the colonized Joseon developedinto the discourses that combined the discourses of “chastity” and the ideasof fidelity imported from Japan. Meanwhile, the newly formed discourses of“chastity” became the object of the benefit and protection in both civil andcriminal laws, thereby acquiring its concrete qualities free from the abstractdiscourses. In terms of civil law, “chastity” functioned as both the right andthe duty of citizens and as a major pillar of maintaining the patriarchalfamily system. In terms of criminal law, losing one’s “chastity” functioned asa major crime along with extramarital relations, rape, and adultery. In theprocess, “chastity” was inclined to stick to the part of the female subject’sbody rather than helping protect the personality of the female subject whocould receive the benefit and protection of the law. Besides, such discoursesof “chastity” that had been legalized in terms of discourses was concernedwith a crime related to “chastity” in the new criminal law in 1953 afterKorea’s liberation from Japan. It continued to retain its historicity as thediscourses of “chastity” after Korea’s liberation.

A Comparative Study of Yi-Sang & Abe Kobo's Literature －Focusing on the Space of Experiment and the Space of Fantasy－

KIM HYUN HEE | 2014, (55) | pp.211~252 | number of Cited : 0

PDF

A Study on the Romance Mode and Psychoanalytic Narrative Structures in Choi In-hoon's Novels －Centering around The Square and Reflections on a Mask－

Kim Jung Kwan | 2014, (55) | pp.253~292 | number of Cited : 3

This paper is aimed at examining the archetypal ideas and the narrativepatterns in Choi In-hoon's novels, thereby figuring out their aesthetic functionand values. For this purpose, this study has identified the psychoanalyticnarrative metamorphosed from the romance mode as the basic pattern ofChoi’s novels and compared and analyzed the function and the meanings ofthe psychoanalytic narratives commonly structured in The Square (Gwangjang)and Reflections on a Mask (Gamyeongo) with much focus on the plot of thenovels based on the three stages of romantic adventures: agon, pathos, andanagnorisis. The first stage of the romantic adventures – agon – corresponds to“the recurrence of the oppressed unconscious” – the main motive ofpsychoanalytic therapy – which in Choi’s novels are represented in theanguishes and worries of the main characters in the form of déjà vu. Withthis phenomenon as the start, the protagonists of The Square and Reflectionson a Mask are caught up in intellectual controversies and get into adventures. The second stage of the romantic adventures – pathos – includes thestruggles and the death of the main characters, which usually are manifestedin the process of actual adventures. This stage corresponds to the difficulttherapeutic process of psychoanalysis aimed at figuring out the source of theoppressed unconscious based on the analysis and the investigation of thedistorted ideological representation resulting from symptoms. In Choi’s twonovels, these are manifested in the form of the agonies of the maincharacters who are wandering at the risk of their life in order to fulfill theirunfulfilled desires. The major narrative scenes in The Square and Reflectionson a Mask internalize the psychoanalytic process through which the authorchases the oppressed images and searches for the truth of the unconscious. The third stage of the romantic adventures – anagnorisis – is a phasewhere the reality of things become manifest through the function ofperception. This stage corresponds to the psychological therapeutic phasebased on the discovery of the truth of the unconscious and the liberationfrom complexes. In the two novels by Choi, these are manifested in theform of the imaginary visions of the main characters who attainenlightenment at the crossroads of life and death. Individuals’ search for the self in Choi’s novels – based on psychologicalinvestigation – attain epochal meanings and universalism in the history ofman, being boosted by the narratives of the collective search for hopeincluded in the romantic narratives. In the meantime, main characters’ searchfor the self reflects the collective mental structure with which they examinethe archetype of history and culture. Especially, the message of salvationthrough the recovery and liberation of Eros – commonly appearing at theend of the narratives – criticizes the reality of the oppressed rule imposedby civilization on human sensitivity and conveys the utopian prospect for the recovery of individual self and cultural totality.

“The Man of Noon” and the Potential Anxiety of Writing as a Woman Writer in the 19th Century －Centering on Emily Dickinson's Master Poems－

Myungok Yoon | 2014, (55) | pp.293~340 | number of Cited : 0

“The man of noon” who often appeared in Emily Dickinson's poems andletters has raised questions about his identity. Such a debate has beenintensified because she didn't portray or mention about him in concrete ways. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to figure out this mysterious being,centering on Dickinson's master poems where he appears. First of all, “theman of noon” can be figured out as her lover. Based on the typicalrelationships of a man and a woman in the 19th century – as shown clearlyin the metaphors of the sun, daisies, and sun-flowers in her works – he isa man/lover whom a woman poet depends on with fervently romanticfantasy. He is also a savior who rescues her physically and mentally, and herlife, too. He is god-like with light and power, reminding us of Apollo, thegod of light and the primordial man of noon. However, with irresistibleattractiveness and luminosity, he has the destructive power of a masculinefigure and danger. Furthermore, although he is a lover-like being, on thebasis of the male-centered, patriarchal society in the 19th century, he is alsoa patriarchal figure who plays a master role at home and in society duringthe period, or God the father as a religious presence who suppresses the whole society of the age with patriarchal authority. In that point, he is afigure whom Dickinson resists and breaks with. “The man of noon” is atwo-faced figure who makes the poet have ambivalent and oxymoronicemotions and attitudes. By the way, this being who is to Dickens anattractive master as a lover/husband/father/God and a suppressor of a womanis a muse incorporating the consensus of Love and Poetry; to Dickinson thewriter; he is also a stranger who absorbs a writer's self at the same time. Furthermore, on the basis of the relationships between a male writer and afemale writer in the 19th century, he is, ultimately, Dickinson's another self,resulting from a woman writer's anxious writing. In conclusion, “the man ofnoon” can be the others around her and another self or the double images ofthe subconscious desire inside her. He is another substitute or projectile ofher self which she gives birth to in her works. He is the most intensive andactive persona which expresses the potential anxiety of writing Dickinson hasas a woman writer of her age.

Play and Cultural Policies Seen from the Perspective of Johan Huizinga’s Concept of “Play”

Kim, Hwa Im | 2014, (55) | pp.341~370 | number of Cited : 4

Although it was published nearly eight decades ago in 1938, HomoLudens by Dutch historian and cultural theorist Johan Huizinga is morespotlighted today than ever. Huizinga reilluminated the cultural history of theWest from the perspective of play, while emphasizing his main idea: “Play isolder than culture and is the foundation and the element of culture.” One ofhis main concerns is what play is dynamic and what culture constitutes andgenerates culture.” For Huizinga, play is highly crucial in creating genuineculture. As a matter of fact, Huizinga neither emphasized the importance of playin consideration of today’s leisure society nor mentioned the direct relationbetween cultural policies and play. His emphasis on the importance of play,however, has shed a new light on the contemporary times that require theparadigm shifts from labor to leisure. Besides, we are living in an era when the importance of play is morecherished than ever in terms of the creation of economic value. Economy inthe post-industrial society relies on “new discoveries” rather and“reproduction.” Therefore, with the promotion of men’s “creative power” and with the rising value of voluntary labor, the relation between “work” and“play” is newly reilluminated. Meanwhile, the cultural policies of South Korea are increasinglyconcerned about play. Nevertheless, the concept of play maintained byHuizinga has not fully developed into the policy goals in earnest. This studywill figure out whether Huizinga’s concept of play would possibly be appliedto the nation’s cultural policies based on careful examination of the conceptin terms of forms and contents. This paper will suggest “nature amenity” and“play” as a criterion of policy evaluation. One of the top priority concerns ofthis paper, however, will be the analysis of Huizinga’s concept of play interms of forms and contents with much focus on arousing concerns ofcultural policies on play.

KJCKorea
Journal Central

Journal of Humanities 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 0.6

2014, Vol., No.55