일제강점기 대종교인 成世英의 백두산 여행과 영토의식 - 「遊白頭山紀行錄」을 중심으로 -

Abstract

This article reviews 「Yubaekdusangihaengrok(遊白頭山紀行錄)」 written by a Daejonggyonite Seong Se-young(成世英(1885~1953)), and reviews his conception about Baekdusan(白頭山) and national territory. The time between late 19th and 20th century is one of the most turbulent times in Korean history. Loss of nation awakened national awareness, and on the basis of this awareness, intelligentsia of the era ‘rediscovered’ uniqueness of the Korean culture and history, and made them into the symbols that formed national identity. One of those symbols were the Baekdusan(白頭山). From then on, meaning of the Baekdusan(白頭山) changed from the mere origin of Korean land, into the origin of Korean people, the place Dangun(檀君) found a country. With this new concept of Dangun(檀君)’s foundation, the symbol of Baekdusan(白頭山) was reformed in the context of modern nationalism. The journal, 「Yubaekdusangihaengrok(遊白頭山紀行錄)」 is the record written by Sung Se-young(成世英), during his 14 day trip to Baekdusan, from June 22nd of 1922 to July 3rd. This journal contains its writter’s concepts about Korean people, Baekdusan(白頭山) and Gando(間島). As a Daejonggyonite, he recorded natural environment and geographical characteristics of Baekdusan(白頭山), and what he saw and heard about the mountain, through nationalistic point of view. He recognized the Baekdusan(白頭山) as the origin of Korean people and culture, where the prime ancestor Dangun(檀君) found the country. Therefore in his point of view, Gando(間島) should be part of Korean territory, since the region is near the Baekdusan(白頭山). He also claimed that, with historical appropriateness, Gando(間島) is part of Korean territory, but lost by Japanese imperialists. In conclusion, the journal 「Yubaekdusangihaengrok(遊白頭山紀行錄)」 lets us review concepts of nationalism and territory the intelligentsia of late 19th century.