한독관계 초기 독일인의 한국 인식에 나타나 근대의 시선

Abstract

This paper examines the issues on modernity and prejudice in german texts on Korea before 1910. The existence of the relative few texts on this theme, which appeared just since 1880 with Chosun: A Forbidden Land of E. Oppert, shows this country's so-called “delayed” modernization as compared with the other World Powers. Nevertheless, the books, papers and articles of the German politicians, travelers and scientists like Moellendorf, Mayet, Hesse-Wartegg, Genthe, Wunsch, Gottsche, Knochenhauer etc. demonstrate the typical imperialistic attitude whose expansionist ends was justified as a mission of the civilized nation. Although the German writers tried to get nearer to the Forbidden Land, Korea was still far to them. This was on the one hand because their knowledge on this land was distorted by uncorrect japanese and other western texts. But on the other hand the german prejudice itself played a key role by the understanding of Korea. They fixed their eyes on the clothing and housing, the system of capital punishment, sanitary conditions and lack of punctuality of korean people and regarded them as conclusive evidences of barbarism. These attitude shows the ‘pyramid of civilization’ which was conceived in German mind. Korea was placed at the bottom of this pyramid with the other east-asian countries, but its rank was always behind Japan which was regarded at that time as a ‘half-civilized’ nation. And Germany must have desired to place itself at the top of the pyramid, whose wish was not coincide with its real position. Ultimately, the German texts on Korea before 1910 are a mirror of its prejudice and desire as a modern imperialist state.