유언비어를 통해 본 일제말 조선민중의 위기담론

Abstract

During the War-time Fascism(1937~1945) of the Japanese Occupation, the Japanese government forced the people of Joseon an extreme manipulation of the public opinion to create the mode of the ‘Sacred War’ and ‘A War for Victory’, and various policies to eliminate the identity of Joseon people. But, this intent backfired as the people of Joseon became more aware of the discrimination they had to suffer between the people of Japan and the people of Joseon. Such wide spread awareness on the crisis was then caused an outburst of ‘rebellious speech and behavior’ like spreading a wild rumors. The rumors that were found among the people had very divergent characteristics, ranging from personal affairs or interests to the hope of independence and foundation of a new country. And, as the war closed to its end, the contents of the rumors changed from simple fears and the sense of crisis to stories about the defeat of Japan, that is, the destruction of Japanese empire and the independence of Joseon. In spite of various limitations rumors usually have, the rumors under 'the War-time Fascism and Colony' found its way among average Joseon people to create a shared flux of discourse, helping to establish and spread the awareness of an identity as Joseon people. By the way, what is the most important with the rumors was that it was not 'discourse of crisis' but 'discourse of hope' (to overcome the crisis). The spreading of the rumors was one of the major forms of people resistance and offered the basis for independence movement of higher levels.