식민도시, 전통과 근대의 이중나선－사진엽서 『京城百景(경성백경)』을 중심으로

Abstract

This study aims to inquire about the value and significance of photo postcards published during the Japanese colonial period Kyungsung Baekgyeong (32 sheets in total, photos, Korean folksongs, and Japanese folksongs included). This set of postcards is not intended to introduce colonial Joseon(Korea) or as a tourist guide. It is closer to an aesthetic and psychological symbol to reveal the superiority of Japanese imperialism and the inferiority of colonial Joseon. The reasons are as follows. First, the photos and songs in postcards do not pay attention only to traditional values of the Joseon Dynasty such as natural heritage and royal architecture. Rather, they boast of the national status and potential of the Japanese imperialism through intensive focus on the modern buildings and facilities, schools and shrines built around Kyungsung(Seoul) by the Japanese imperialism. Second, attention has been paid to the contrasting emotions and expressions of the Korean folk songs translated in Japanese and the Japanese waka(和歌, traditional poetry) depicted in the posters. Korean folk songs concentrated on expressing remorse and sorrow about the past rather than the dynamic life of ‘right here, right now’. The Japanese songs, on the other hand, praise the pioneering and domination of the colonial Joseon or express the inactivity and passivity of the otherized Joseon by leaning toward the exotic sentiment. Third, the study has examined the colonial nature and roles of various public systems and facilities required to unify Korea and Japan as one and to turn Koreans into faithful subjects of Japan, such as school, shrine, and army. Ostensibly, the key figures of colonial power seemed to emphasize the friendship and harmony of the Japanese and the Koreans. However, the decadent entertainment culture that flourished in Kyungsung indicates that the ideology of “Winner takes it all” covertly underlies the Japanese ruling policy to promote the decadence and corruption of Joseon. Therefore, it is not far-fetched to see Kyungsung Baekgyeong as a colonial symbol and cultural Politics symbol that boasts of ‘Keijo (Kyungsung in Japanese) of sword’ although it appears to sing ‘Kyungsung of flower’.