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The Historical Trauma of Korean and The Challenges of Korean Unification (코리언의 역사적 트라우마와 통일의 과제)

Park, Young-kyun
- Journal of Korean Philosophical Society
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- v.143
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- pp.119-140
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- 2017
After the collapse of the Cold War, there was a shift in perception at two points in discussions on Korean unification. The real core issue of unification is first, that it is a shift in perception that the real problem of unification is not the integration of systems, but the integration of people. Second, there is a shift in perception that there are many Koreans in the four major powers related to the Korean division and their distribution is associated with the tragic history of the Korean Peninsula. The historical trauma of Korean people resulted from the oppression of the collective libido of Koreans, stemming from the pain of modern history of the Korean Peninsula. In addition, the trauma of colonization, diaspora, and division all share the structure of suppression as the '$nation{\neq}states$'. Thus, unification aims to overcome the notion that '$nation{\neq}state$' can not be separated from the process of healing the historical trauma of Koreans. First of all, this article argues that in order to achieve unification on the Korean peninsula, it requires the process of healing the traumas of colonization, diaspora, and division. Second, this paper claims that Korean unification is not only a matter of two countries, but also of making peace by healing historical trauma in Northeast Asia. Third, this paper argues that the healing of Korean's historical trauma should begin with 'sympathy' for pain and proceed to the production of a 'national commonality' through 'communication of difference', which will create a unified peninsula.
https://doi.org/10.20293/jokps.2017.143.119 인용

Aimé Césaire's postcolonial thought as a 'Non-Western resistance discourse': In terms of speaker, language and counter-discourse ('비서구 저항담론'으로서의 세제르(A. Césaire)의 탈식민주의 비평, 그 가능성과 한계: 화자(話者), 언어(言語), 대항담론(對抗談論)의 측면에서)

Choi, Il-Sung
- Cross-Cultural Studies
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- v.51
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- pp.161-191
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- 2018
In the beginning of the 20th century, post-colonialism has directly raised questions about western-centered universalism. One of its main achievements is that the political liberation of a colonial society does not guarantee the social, economic and cultural liberation of a society. Therefore, the discourse of liberation in the Western society, in particular, Marxism, nationalism, feminism and postmodernism, cannot be directly applied to the non-Western society. As a result, Western and non-Western societies are unfortunately dreaming of different futures and liberation; therefore, a'geopolitical dialogue' is needed between them. However, the theorists' efforts for postcolonial liberation failed to distinguish themselves from the western-centric traditions. It is also true that they have, in conjunction with these traditions, established their own power. As we know, many of the postcolonial criticisms somehow had relations with the West. This study will re-read the postcolonial thought of $Aim{\acute{e}}$ $C{\acute{e}}saire$, the father of the so-called $N{\acute{e}}gritude$, as a 'non-western resistance discourse'. Through this process, we have a chance to reflect on $C{\acute{e}}saire$ and his postcolonial thoughts.

Aboriginal Community Archives in Australia and Current Meaning of "Parallel Provenance" (호주 원주민 공동체 아카이브와 '평행출처주의'의 현재적 의미)

Lee, Kyong Rae
- The Korean Journal of Archival Studies
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- no.40
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- pp.29-60
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- 2014
The purpose of this study is to trace the formation process of "parallel provenance" concept in the context of Australia's aboriginal community archives development and draw its implications for contemporary rebuilding of domestic "past affairs-related committee archives". Focused on historical development of aboriginal community archives in Australia, this writing divides its development into three periods: colonial archives, post-colonial archives, and contemporary archives and investigates each period's distinct features in managing and building of aboriginal community archives. First of all, for colonial archives, it pays attention to Australia's archival tradition, which focused on current record-keeping and then development of multiple provenance resulted from this tradition. Second, for post-colonial archives, it examines the appearance of aboriginal people as the subject of documentation category and name indexing on them. Finally, for contemporary archives, it analyzes current activities of Australia's academic world of archival science for overcoming "the otherness" of aboriginal people through conceptualization of "parallel provenance". Conclusively, through current meaning of parallel provenance, this study draws implications for democratic contemporary rebuilding of domestic past affairs-related committee archives, in which historical victims become the subject of archives.
https://doi.org/10.20923/kjas.2014.40.029 인용 PDF

An Hwak's Study on Joseon and the Discovery of Civilization (안확의 '조선' 연구와 문명의 발견)

Lee, Haeng-hoon
- The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
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- no.52
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- pp.213-241
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- 2017
The systematic research on the Joseon history under Japanese imperialism in the 1920s, including that of the Joseon History Compilation Committee, was one of the stratagems that Japan employed to perpetuate the colonization of Joseon. The 'renovation of national traits', one of the three cultural measures taken by Japanese imperialism after the 1919 Independence Movement, was an attempt to degrade Joseon's nationality as extraneous, dependent, factional, and uncivilized. Against this, Koreans tried to create their own tradition that could prove Joseon's uniqueness and independence. The purpose of their study on ancient history, which became animated in the 1920s, was not to escape from the reality of Joseon into the idealized past, but to construct the history of Korean people anew. In this context, Dangun could refer to cultural identity as the communal origin of the nation, and this invented identity could lead to the healing of the injured subject. An Hwak's attempt was part of this efforts to call out myth as history. He suggests that Joseon's national traits are superior even to the Western civilization in several ways, and his vast plan to set up Joseon's cultural uniqueness and identity as history of universal civilization bore fruit in the History of Joseon Civilization. With cultural research for figuring out Joseon's national peculiarity and identity and historiography for revealing Joseon's national potential, he makes it possible for people to imagine various agents in the Joseon's past as belonging to a single nation with an identical history. Through his study on Joseon, he fought back the Japanese colonial view of history and tried to exalt national consciousness. Asserting independent and rational individuals as agency of civilization and culture though firm in the national perspective, he eventually went a way quite different from that of Japanese history of culture.

A Comparison of the Metanarrative and East Timor's Local Narrative in Indonesia under the Suharto's Regime (인도네시아의 메타내러티브와 동티모르의 로칼내러티브의 서술구조 비교)

Song, Seung-Won
- Journal of International Area Studies (JIAS)
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- v.15 no.1
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- pp.155-180
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- 2011
This paper aims at comparing the metanarrative and East Timor's local narrative in Indonesia during the Suharto's regime. Although these history writings have different political goals, the patterns of writings are ironically similar. Both of the history writings show strong nationalistic history writing patterns. Yet, in the writings, these histories place different interpretations on the historical events. In the metanarrative, local dynamics are seen through the diagrams of the nation and nationhood. This narrative finds the roots of the "ethnie" from some kingdoms in Java and Sumatra. These kingdoms, which throve based on the Hindu-Buddhist culture, achieved a territorial unity to a degree, covering some parts of Java and Sumatra. The glorious past disappeared with the advent of the colonial rule. The metanarrative then emphasizes the unity of the ethnic groups in the archipelago, which fiercely resisted against the colonial exploitation and oppression. By this, these ethnic groups were defined as "the masses," the collective identity, which had a same goal to achieve the national independence. In addition, some local histories, which took positive attitudes toward the European forces, were simply left out from the metanarrative. All the separatist movements taking place in the republic were also described as the anti-unifying forces. On the other hand, the goal of the history-writing in East Timor was to enhance the sense of nationalism and create the perception of the "East Timorese." The fundamental aim was the separation from Indonesia. In the narrative, the nationalist politicians overcame the problem of the non-existence of any memories of the glorious past with the awakening of the idea of "the imagined gloriousness of the past if there was no colonial rule." In addition, the narrative overemphasizes the memory of the colonial rule for 450 years under the Portuguese rule in order to stress the fact that it was the colony of Portugal, not of the Netherlands. Finally, the narrative shows how the East Timorese collectively fell to the status of slaves. By this, the political leaders of East Timor evoked the notion that it was recolonized by Indonesia, under which the East Timorese were demoted to the status of slaves. This notion of "slave-master" relationship then became the motives for the independence struggles in East Timor.