1920년대 문명·문화 개념의 교차

Abstract

The received understanding that civilization was more or less synonymous with the achievements of the modern Western world showed signs of faltering during the 1920s. The ravages of World War Ⅰ had prompted many to doubt the significance of historical progress towards civilization, and demanded a reconsideration of human nature and a reappraisal of what constitutes true civilization. The increasing pressure for social reforms and the burgeoning cultural movement led to the concept of ‘culture’ emerging as the core of the civilization discourse. The conceptual interconnections and semantic changes of the terms ‘civilization’ and ‘culture’ during this period provide an interesting and significant subject for historical semantics. Gaebyeok, the bulletin of Cheondogyo, is very useful in this context: it offers a variety of discourses by different individuals who had examined modern Western civilization and were seeking new directions for modernity. The various combinations of historical conception, subjects and objects of discourse, and methodologies allow recognition of the relations between the subjects of speech and conceptual performance. In particular, this analysis emphasizes the semantic intersection of two conceptual frames: material-civilization vs. mental-culture. The boundary between these was still vaguely defined in the 1920s, and the frame of universal civilization and particular cultures gradually crystallized during this period. As the authority of universal civilization waned, the unique history and culture of each nation could emerge. A succession of books appeared on various themes, describing the distinctive traits of Joseon history and culture. Now that civilization was no longer seen as universal, the specific characteristics of Joseon culture were concomitantly more evident, and Joseon’s national identity and singular cultural were perceived by contrast with those of other places. Writing about cultural history was more than the rectification of distortions imposed by Japan upon Joseon history: it was also a positive project on the part of the subject against colonialism. The reinvention of Joseon’s national culture, which was founded on a moral and ethical perspective, reflected the subject’s aspiration for recovery, which had been repressed by material civilization.