동아시아 공(公)개념의 전통과 근대 공동체의식 = The Tradition of Public Concept and Modern Community Consiousness in East Asia

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper explores the origins and evolvement of the concept of traditional public(公) in East Asia(China, Japan, and Korea). In particular, the paper pays attention to the uniqueness of the Japanese concept and hence the divergence from that of China and Korea. The traditional concept of public(公) in China, Japan and Korea has developed to originality according to their historical background. The Chinese concept of public(公) has multiple meanings-fairness, impartiality and universality. On the other hand, the Japanese concept is characterized by the supreme authority of the state. While the concept in question here has transfigured over time with national variances, there is a similarity in that each country has seen it combine with powerful nationalism, especially in the process of modern state-building. The East Asian concept of traditional public(公) left not only negative but also positive legacy in today`s society. It is necessary to revive the positive spirit of public(公) in our society. This article anticipates that the present exploration of traditional public(公) will be useful to the development of a new community built on the positive spirit of public.