한국학에서 집단전기학의 가능성에 대한 탐색

Abstract

This article was written as part of the “Prosopography of Overseas Korean Studies for Deepening and Diffusing East Asian Koreanology” project, currently being carried out by the Institute for Korean Studies at Inha University. Since 2007, the Institute for Korean Studies has been exploring various contexts of Korean studies conducted overseas. In the process, the Institute for Korean Studies has focused on the methodology of collective biography under the goal of “comprehensive research on intellectual groups for the reconstruction of East Asian scholarly history.” Collective biography, which was established in Western academia in the early 20th century, involves the collection and listing of biographical sketches of individuals, and analyzing these biographical materials to capture the historical significance of a particular group. This methodology moves away from traditional historical narratives that regarded the ideological orientations of a few elites as the driving force of social change. Instead, it has the advantage of being able to analyze social networks and mobility based on statistics and analysis of the practical relationships of a broader range of people. Although the term “collective biography” is relatively unfamiliar in Korean historiography, this awareness of the issue and the methodology itself are not entirely absent. Even in the Joseon Dynasty, which is often referred to as a “country of records,” there is a wealth of diverse collective biographical materials. These materials can be categorized into two types: first, the “Inmulji” (人物志), which attempts to comprehensively cover the information of all individuals belonging to a certain category, similar to a directory; and second, the “Inmuljeon” (人物傳), which selects and records individuals based on certain ideologies and criteria according to the subjective judgment of the compiler. Meanwhile, the biographies of great figures compiled in the modern era also offer a different dimension of collective biography. Through the process of selecting individuals and evaluating them, these compilations reveal the historical perspective of the compiler, providing a contrast to the typical collective biography that is based on raw data such as documents and directories. These materials can serve as a primary approach to regions or periods that have not been sufficiently examined or are difficult to research, such as North Korean studies after 1945. For example, an analysis of the contents of The Historical Figures of Korea published in 2011 reveals the unresolved dilemmas faced by North Korean historiography after the establishment of the Juche ideology, where it was necessary to combine the discourse of nationalism, defined by autonomy, with the class-based perspective that is the starting point of socialist historical narratives. Recently, Western academic research on collective biography has transitioned from case studies focused on the ruling class to quantitative analyses encompassing the general public, based on the computerization of biographical data. In this context, collective biography in Korea, when combined with digital history, is expected to be an effective methodology for supplementing the limitations of existing historical narratives that have been structured under dominant discourses and ideologies, such as Western-centric modernity in the 20th century.