서울의 소비문화와 신여성 : 1920-1930년대를 중심으로 = Urban Consumption Culture and the New Women in Seoul during the 1920-1930s

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper focuses on the urban consumption culture initiated by the New Women in Seoul city during the colonial period. The consumption pattern of the New Women was not fixed, rather it had changed over time. It was limited and effected by the colonial power and male dominance. It also was response to, and reaction against them. New Women's costumes, cosmetics, and decorations were rapidly westernized during this period. Department stores, cafes, and theaters became major arenas for these modern girls to show off their conspicuous consumption. The consuming acts of these women led the male-dominated colonial society to the opinion that extravagance and vanity were germane to the women in general, which, however, was one of the continual disputes throughout the colonial period. Discourses on women's extravagance and vanity were a kind of stigma labeled by colonial men to legitimate their voyeuristic gaze to the women. These men were victims of the imperialistic thought, which usually understood the women and the colony at the same level of sexual desire. Lastly this paper examines the role of the tradition in understanding women's urban consumption culture in this period. The gender prejudices loomed large in the nationalistic motives of colonial men in the background of the growing influence of western and Japanese cultures, though there had been sporadic attempts to reconcile the tradition and modernity.