‘조선학/ 한국학’의 국교정상화: 한국학자들의 ‘조선학회’ 연차대회 참가와 아시아재단의 지원을 중심으로

Abstract

Joseonhakhoe(朝鮮學會) in Japan officially invited 10 Korean scholars to the 12th Joseonhakhoe(朝鮮學會) that was held in 1961. Behind this event that had been the first officially academic exchange, which was made between South Korea and Japan following the liberation, there was an intervention of the Asia Foundation that is America’s private organization. In those days, the United States established the Asian security strategy centering on Japan and then suppressed the diplomatic normalization between South Korea and Japan, which becomes its basis. Living up to American’s this strategy, even the Asia Foundation, which is private organization, gave their best to vitalizing a private exchange between Korea and Japan. The Asia Foundation supported the expenses for the participation in Joseonhakhoe(朝鮮學會) of totally 10 Korean scholars at 12th Joseonhakhoe convention and totally 6 Korean scholars at the 14th convention. ‘Joseonhakhoe(朝鮮學會)’ in Japan is the research academy of Joseonhak(朝鮮學, Joseon studies), which was established in 1950 centering on researchers who had been in office as a professor at Keijo Imperial University before the lost war. Joseonhakhoe(朝鮮學會), which was composed of Japanese colonial settlers who returned following Japan’s lost battle, had been put in the position of the non-mainstream in Japanese society after the war. Accordingly, an academic conference, which is opened by officially inviting Korean scholars, was ever a good opportunity that may emphasize what their colonial experience in the past is helpful for Japan. The view of the society can be observed through an English report that Korean participants contributed to a newspaper and a magazine and submitted to the Asia Foundation following the participation in academic conference. In a keynote speech of the 12th convention, Lee Byeong-do stressed identity and independence in ancient Korean culture, and criticized Japanese scholars’ perspective of a research on Nangnang, which had been the basis of heteronomy in Joseon history of Japanese Oriental studies in the past. Kim Du-heon proposed a change of terminology called ‘Joseon,’ which is used in the Japanese academic circles, into ‘Korea.’ Park Jong-hong, who is a keynote speaker at the 14th convention, asserted that the official language in Joseonhakhoe(朝鮮學會) should be changed into Korean language from Japanese language. The Korean scholars, who joined, sympathized with this, and progressed a debate in Korean language, thereby having allowed Japanese researchers to be astonished. As for Korean scholars, the participation in Joseonhakhoe(朝鮮學會) became an opportunity of perceiving self-identity as a researcher of ‘Korean Studies’ on de-colonization against a backdrop of the liberated country with escaping from ‘Joseonhak(朝鮮學)’ as part of the Oriental studies in the past and as the regional studies of the empire.