2000년대 이후 ‘스포츠 극일’ 언설의 전개와 한계 = The Development and Limitations of the Discourse on ‘Overcoming Japan’ in Sports Since the 2000s

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The concept of ‘Overcoming Japan’ (Geuk-il) originated in the early 1980s, advocating for surpassing Japan through capability development rather than anti-Japanese sentiment. However, in the sports sphere, a simplified interpretation of ‘Overcoming Japan in Sports’—merely achieving victory against Japan—proliferated later, in the 1990s. Following the year 2000, Korea entered a new environment marked by the opening of Japanese popular culture, a narrowing economic gap, and changes in domestic sports culture.
This article analyzes the quantitative trends and qualitative content changes in the ‘Overcoming Japan in Sports’ discourse post-2000 in order to determine if it became stronger or adopted new characteristics.
Quantitatively, the discourse weakened. The average annual frequency, based on five newspaper media, decreased to 2.72 cases, representing approximately 56.7% of the 4.8 cases observed before 2000.
Qualitatively, the discourse was categorized into six types. The simplified discourse focused on immediate Korea-Japan match victories remained quantitatively dominant, however the most significant shift was the emergence of a discourse critical of overcoming Japan in the sporting arena. Further observations indicate that younger generations are less accepting of discourse about overcoming Japan, and instead demand for fair competition, suggesting that the existing narrative faces logical and realistic limitations.
The study concludes that while nationalism and the ‘Overcoming Japan in Sports’ discourse will not disappear, in the future the landscape will be fluid. Unlike the period before 2000, when the simplified discourse held a monopolistic position, the future will be characterized by competition between, and the mixing of, various types of discourse, including the newly emerging critical perspective.