KJCKorea
Journal Central

Behind the rise of so-called "Gyeongseong-trends" or "Gyeongseong-boom" during the mid-2000s Korean pop culture scene, there were active endeavors of the academic and publishing world that tried to examine the cultural genesis and historical agents from the perspective that viewed the Japanese Colonial Period as the time when Korean modernity originated. Like many other pop culture contents in the 2000s, that used the time and space of colonial Gyeongseong [Seoul] as their material for dramatization, the <Gyeongseong Scandal> a 2007 television drama series, offered a spectacular representation of the modern custom and landscapes of the 1930s’ Seoul. However, what was distinct about this TV series was the melancholy sentiment of the colonial people and the grieving process represented in it. <Gyeongseong Scandal> was presented as a "fusion" period drama, in its positive sense, to appeal to the public, but beneath its superficial cheerfulness, humor and lightness, there lied a deep well of loss and mourning. This series demonstrated the sense of indebtedness and guilt, the survival tactics of "disguise" that the colonial youth possessed, which, in turn, allowed them to achieve their liberation only through the national liberation, and also the life of punishment for those who had been deprived of their rights to grieve. It was mourning the historical events, deaths, and the loss of humane values and ideals during the colonial period. And the characters, through this mourning process, recognized the dearth caused by such loss. The pursuit of desires that was initiated by the dearth, then, proceeded to the performativity of grieving, which constructed the new historical agent. This paper aims to examine the manners in which the drama of grief was dramatized and the driving force behind the dramatic narrative.

Gyeongseong Scandal, Gyeongseong-trend, micro-historical approach, cultural research, fusion period drama, custom, modernity, melancholy, mourning, cheerfulness, performativity