대한제국기 노동 개념의 형성 과정 연구 -학술지·학회지를 중심으로-

Abstract

It was from the early modern era that the discourse on labor was introduced to the public in earnest. The intellectuals of the Korean Empire used labor as one of the means for modernization and spread the labor discourse, and at this time, labor introduced through intellectuals was ‘勞働’, not ‘勞動’. ‘働’ is Japan's unique way of writing Chinese characters, and the fact that the mark ‘勞働’ began to appear during the Korean Empire means that the Korean Empire accepted the Japanese discourse at this time. Labor at that time was used with the concept of ‘increase of production(殖 産)’. The Korean Empire, just before becoming a colony, accepted Western modern knowledge and discourse through Japan as one of the means for national prosperity and defense, one of which was labor. Then, what concept did ‘labor’ have at the time specifically? Therefore, this study tracked the formation process of the concept of ‘labor’ focusing on the period of the Korean Empire, which actively embraced overseas culture and discourse for modernization. The ‘勞働’ used during the Korean Empire shows a different use case from the existing ‘勞動’ used during the Joseon Dynasty. ‘勞動’ is a traditional concept of labor, which means ‘work’ or simply ‘move the body’, that is concept that focuses on the act of moving the body itself. In contrast, ‘働勞’ was closer to the concept of labour, which included the meaning of hardship and labor, and focused more on products produced through labor. However, ‘勞働’ at that time was not consumed as a modern concept. The intellectuals of the Korean Empire encouraged labor by spreading the concept and significance of labor through academic journals and academic journals, but the purpose of self-discipline through food production was hidden. Thus, the concept of production activity, '勞働', was introduced to the public for the purpose of mental cultivation, and accordingly, labor during the Korean Empire turned into a contradictory concept of “production activities for the state for social development and spiritual cultivation.”