자전거라는 속도-기계와 한국 근대문학: 자전거의 고유 속도에 입각한 근대성․식민성․이동성의 문화사적 재구성

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the unique role and function that the bicycle, a modern invention and speed machine, has played in the cultural landscape of modern Korea. Chapter 1 discusses how film <The Bicycle King Uhm Bok-dong> (2019) reduces and distorts the cultural history of the bicycle and suggests the need to explore the multifaceted aspects of the bicycle's cultural history anew. Chapter 2 examined the invention and development of the bicycle, and the historical and cultural significance of its introduction to Korea in the late 19th century. The modern speed provided by the bicycle was utilized in historical events such as the rebellion against the Japanese and the construction of the Independence Gate. Initially reserved for the upper class, bicycles became popular in the 20th century and were used for personal transportation and in a variety of commercial applications, such as delivery. Chapter 3 examines the ways in which the bicycle's inherent speed, unlike other modern modes of transportation such as streetcars and automobiles, was used in commerce and everyday life through cultural and literary texts produced during the period. Chapter 4 examines the ways in which the bicycle was utilized as a postcolonial speed-machine. The bicycle's human-powered nature also made the act of riding a bicycle a form of asceticism and demonstration, as it allowed for nimble travel on small roads rather than the public spaces of railroads and boulevards, where imperial surveillance and control operated. The arrival in colonial Korea of a group of young Indian men who had traveled around the world on bicycles to raise awareness of the situation in colonial India, and the enthusiasm with which they were received by Korean society, demonstrates the potential of the bicycle as a postcolonial speed-machine.