Based on novels that were published Baekmin, which represents for the right-wing literary circle, this paper tries to show detailed modality of both the right-wing political structure and literary’s discourse of nation that were occurred during the ...
Based on novels that were published Baekmin, which represents for the right-wing literary circle, this paper tries to show detailed modality of both the right-wing political structure and literary’s discourse of nation that were occurred during the period of emancipation.
During the phase of finding solutions to pending questions such as eradicating the remnant of colonization, founding the nation, and establishing national culture, the discourse of nation established national identity and filled the role in racial unification by authorizing a central role and a duty to national members. A novel, at the same time, created the discourse of nation, distributed it, and functioned as a field of the discourse by re-creating it.
The most urgent issue was the eradication of remnant of colonization, representing the postcolonial project for independence as the main body of national free will. A lot of novels at the period of emancipation strengthened the racial unification among Korean people and in addition expressed national superiority by treating Japanese imperialism as the Other thoroughly.
The other side of remnant of colonization was evaluating and punishing treacherous activities in the view of the standards between nation and anti-nation. Some literary men assumed self criticism or spoke for themselves for the evaluation and the punishment.
As the desire for independence among Korean people was getting stronger, the occupational armies, which were from the U.S and the Soviet and once acted as the liberation armies, were blamed because the armies were regarded as foreign influences after problems of a trusteeship were issued.
One of purposes for eradicating the remnant of colonization was revising the contradicted frame of society, which was intensified by Japanese trusteeship. The public broke out an exploited and illogical social system and made the conception of social structures based on the equal relationship among members of Korean society.
A desire for establishing national identity returned for a fervent hope for founding a country based on Korean people. Hegemonic power called the nation as the public and managed to unify nation members with moralization of purposes for the foundation of a country.
When the only one government was established in South Korea, right-wing politicians gaining power fobbed the formula of nation and anti-nation with that of a conflict between anti-communists and leftists, so that the public in South Korea was referred to anti-communists.
In addition to the foundation of a country, the movement of settling national culture was also occurred. For example of the side of the right-wing circle, the circle made an effort to find out the direction for settling national culture from Chosun’s tradition, bringing increased interest in Korea’s history and language. The main matter, for settling national culture, of concern was the direction of national literature. Kim Dong Lee, who was a main member of the right-wing literature circle, provided pure literature as opposed to proletarian literature of the left-wing literature circle. Pure literature indicated the removal of political and hierarchical features; however, the literature couldn’t get out of political features because it protected the right-wing political system and exposed anti-communist identity.