한말 지식인들의 ‘국민’ 성립론 : 공통의 언어, 혈연, 역사 그리고 종교

Abstract

At the end of the 19th and early 20th century, in the crisis of the loss of sovereignty, intellectuals set up the nation-state as a task of the times and discussed various elements or conditions of the formation and integration of the ‘nation.’ Though different in opinion, intellectuals generally identified common languages, history, kinship, customs, and religions as components, and discussed the importance and use of each element to integrate the ‘nation.’ First, the use of a common language based on linguistic nationalism was suggested as an important element of the formation of the ‘nation.’ Intellectuals argued about the abandonment of Chinese traditionally used, emphasizing the importance of using ‘Korean.’ In addition, they opposed as the residency-general planned to use Japanese textbooks and provide Japanese language education at school, and tried to spread the education in Korean. Next, they recognized common kinship or race as an important factor in the formation and integration of the ‘nation.’ It was emphasized that the ‘nationals’ of the Korean Empire were all of the same race and the same blood, based on the logic that they were descendants of Dangun or the family of the Emperor Taejo. This perception led to the recognition that a kinship community with Dangun as a common ancestor has reached the ‘nation’ in the present have been formed, and has led to interest in national history as a common memory and experience. Common religions were also seen as the basis for shaping the national spirit of unity, identity and patriotism. The dominant view was that Confucianism, which had long played the role of national religion among Buddhism, Buddhism, and Christianity, should be regarded as “national religion.” The intellectuals also mentioned the political elements such as common nationality and sovereignty as elements of the composition and integration of ‘the nation.’ However, as the state and political reality of the Korean Empire were deformed by Japan, it began to emphasize more cultural elements than political ones. It was ‘blood’ that the intellectuals noted as the most important element of the formation of the 'nation' and the mechanism of integration. The relationship between the state and the ‘nation’ was also explained by the relationship between the blood and the family state theory which is the blood community.