This thesis's main purpose is to explain the character of re-discovering traditional facts through the progress of movement for Korean Studies. We tried to explain this point by connecting two problems; Shilhak in the mid 1930 with Jeong In-bo and An ...
This thesis's main purpose is to explain the character of re-discovering traditional facts through the progress of movement for Korean Studies. We tried to explain this point by connecting two problems; Shilhak in the mid 1930 with Jeong In-bo and An Chae-hong as a leader, and the peculiarity and world-historical universality of Choseon by researching Jeong Yak-yong. By this research, we tried to verify our ultimate points which are emphasizing our nation and enhancing historical persons, culture throughout the reality of Choseon as a colony during the 1930's.Korean Studies consisted of the event for death of Dasan's commemoration(茶山逝世記念事業) and the Publication of Yeoyoudangjunseo(與猶堂全書). During this progress, the media like Shinchoseonsa(新朝鮮社), Choseon-Ilbo, Donga-Ilbo, etc, opened commemorative lectures, scientific lectures, and commemorative meetings, publication parties were opened by peoples from societies of education and media.A controversy about the concept of Korean Studies occurred between the peoples who participated during the term. The argument of Korean Studies in 1934 was about the origin of Korean Studies’s concept, and methodology. As a Marxist Baek Nam-woon complained that Korean Studies was an unscientific method that Choi Nam-sseon uncritically accepted study of things Chinese(支那學)’s examples, and it is a idealogical, nationalistic methodology that mystifies Choseon’s originality by emphasizing the national consciousness.An Chae-hong, who is a unyielding nationalist, tried to make an academic system by making the characteristic of tradition and culture clear from researching history. The method that he used was to separate the essential concept of Korean Studies from the common concept of Korean Studies. An Chae-hong’s Korean Studieswas deepen from the researches of the 1920s'. But not as the Marxists said, he didn't succeeded to Choi Nam-seon who emphasized the superiority of Choseon’s culture at that time. In the Korean literature's point of view, we can find the origin of An Chae-hong’s Korean Studies from Jeong In-bo who established the nation's independent studies. The main stream of Korean's unique culture and tradition that he wanted to find was the late Choseon’s Shilhak that Jeong In-bo systemized. So as there was an intention that Jeong In-bo’s Korean Studies was trying to form a independent national study by Shilhak, An Chae-hong was processing a research on Shilhak and Jheong Yak-yong based on the recognition of Choseon in the world. These two study were getting into a progress by having a relationship with each other.The research by Jeong In-bo and An Chae-hong started from systemizing Shilhak and studying Jeong Yak-yong. By this progress, Jeong In-bo, who emphasized the establishment of a independent national study, confirmed Choseon’s spirits by analyzing the academic origin of Jeong Yak-yong studies. So he tried to use spirits as a overcome method against the colony situation in the 1930s'. And they participated the Publication of Yeoyoudangjunseo with this sense of purpose. An Chae-hong prescribed Jeong Yak-yong as 'the pioneer of modern nationalism' by analyzing Jeong Yak-yong’s ideas and reform especially by his acceptance of Western learning. And he also compared Jeong Yak-yong‘s view of economy, the concept of social system, the theory on reforming politics with the Western capitalism and modern social policies, the ideal system of social democracy. He also emphasized that Jeong Yak-yong had a similar point with his movements by calling Jeong Yak-yong as a national socialist.Jeong In-bo and An Chae-hong both emphasized the fact that Jeong Yak-yong was the leading person of Choseon’s public thoughts and one of the greatest individual in the world. This fact made a progress that let Choseon have a world-historical universality while they had a unique history and tradition, and also emphasized that they had the ability to contribute to the world's culture even by being compared to other countries. In other words the rediscovery of tradition in Koreanology-movement had a ultimate purpose which was to show the nation's ability from Choseon’s culture by locating the development that was verified from the world-historical universality. The concept, that was trying to show the pride of the nation and culture based on the universal level of the world's culture, has a difference with ethnocentrcity, national chauvinism which is derived from a imperialistic nation's fascism.But this movement didn't develop into a social movement because of the lack of specific methodology and unpreparedness of action. And the loss of concreteness continued to the failure of popularization. So while Japan's wartime fascism was gaining more strength after the Sino-Japanese war, the movement, in a situation that made any national culture movements impossible, had to make a promise to restore it's action during the building process of the national culture after liberation.