구한말 부산지역 조선어, 일본어 교육의 전개-이문화 ‘장(場)’으로서의 교육 공간-

Abstract

Researches regarding Busan during the Japanese colonization of Korea are being conducted in a number of different aspects in the recent few years. As a result these researches, the lifestyle of Japanese sojourning in Busan after the opening of ports has been revealed little by little, as well as the zeitgeist of Koreans in the community. This paper strives for an understanding of the reality and the tendency of educational industry in the Busan area of the time, enforced specifically for the Japanese and Koreans. The purpose of this paper through such investigation is to evaluate the possibility of education being the place for unity, where reciprocity, cooperation, discrimination and conflicts manifested by both nationalities exist together. Not only was Busan the first city to create a special district for Japanese habitation, the city holds many other evidences of being a culturally diverse place during the time. For example, the fact that the Japanese learned Korean directly relates to their everyday life in Korea: it shows that Japanese immigrants had to have an understanding on Korean culture, and the people, in order to live in harmony with the Koreans in Busan. Thus, the most of elementary educational systems in Busan created a course on Korean language during the era of Korean Empire, 1897-1910. On the other hand, the learning of Japanese language among Koreans also showed a certain enthusiasm. Especially, the fact that knowing Japanese as a Korean came to have an elated importance after the Sino-Japanese war shows that the knowledge on Japanese language was essential in cultural exchange. The education of Japanese and Korean language in Busan played a significant role in creating a place of cultural diversity, composed of Korean and Japanese cultures. The existing evaluations on education during the Korean Empire remain focused on ‘Colonial education regarding Korea’ or ‘Nationalism education as a form of rebellion’, unable to break the conventionally set composition of domination and submission, exploitation and victimization. This paper aims at overcoming this limitation by viewing education as an opportunity of cultural unity between the Japanese and the Korean.