희미한 흔적과 대체된 상상 ― 한국의 대중과 함께 홍콩을 문제화하기

Abstract

In Korea, the interest in Hong Kong in terms of human andsocial sciences have mainly been focused on the issue of ‘identity.’To the Korean public, the interest in the change of regime in aspecific region caused merely temporary curiosity; yet to scholarswho must develop objects that can generate a new body ofknowledge, Hong Kong was to form a very attractive academicagenda. It is important to examine the implications that can betraced from this gap between academic study and popular curiosityabout Hong Kong. It also constitutes a question: Why do scholarsrepeatedly endeavor to ‘problematize’ an ‘event’ or an ‘object’ inwhich the Korean public feel indifferent? The question can go onestep further: What is the gap between the ‘object’ and the ‘subject’when scholars produce a body of knowledge? To the Korean public,Hong Kong sometimes was an object that was represented invulgar slangs. Why did the discourse on building a relationship between Korea and Hong Kong fail? It is because the essentialquestion about relationship, namely, the question of subjectpositioning has been expunged. I try to call the people of HongKong, with insecure double identity, are Homo Sacer, the term thatused by Giorgio Agamben. And I want to argue that it must havea historical or present study about interrelationship of popularculture between Korea and Hong Kong. How does the Koreanpublic represent and consume Hong Kong? Objectification orsubjectification, Hong Kong is represented and consumed in Koreaas a matter of popular culture. For instance, when popular songsin Korea talk about Hong Kong, what does it mean to the Koreanpublic? These songs sing: “night streets of Hong Kong and starswhisper”(Geum Sa-Hyang, “A Hong Kong Girl,” 1952); “theleft-handed man from Hong Kong”(Lee Mi-Ja, “A Left-Handed Manfrom Hong Kong”); “the second daughter of Hong Kong Diner”(PunkFloyd, “The Second Daughter of Hong Kong Diner”); “a night inHong Kong”(Lee Seon-Gyu, “A Night in Hong Kong”); or “Baby,let's go to Hong Kong, with faint memories”(Yang Dong-Geun,“Let's Go to Hong Kong”). Each of the songs represent dreamlikelove or memories of love with someone extraordinary, objectifyingand representing the city to create a history of its own. Recently,the songs bring Hong Kong to the inside of the subject,restructuring it as a “different” part of us. We also need to seehow Hong Kong is represented in the popular Korean cinema. According to the Korean Movie Database, there are 9 feature filmssince the 1960s that include ‘Hong Kong’ in the title: ALeft-Handed Man from Hong Kong (directed by Lim Won-Jik,1965); S.O.S. Hong Kong (Choi Gyeong-Ok, 1966); A Seaman inHong Kong (Choi Young-Chul, 1970); A Man with a Cane in Hong Kong (Choi Young-Chul, 1970); A Man and a Woman from HongKong (Shin Kyeong-Gyun, 1970); Gold 70: Operation Hong Kong(Choi In-Hyun,1970); Madam Jang from Hong Kong (ShinKyeong-Gyun, 1970); Hong Kong Blues (Shin Kyeong-Gyun, 1971);and Park: An Iron Man from Hong Kong (Shin Kyeong-Gyun,1971). Under the circumstances, the Korean movie industry seemsto have used materials that felt as foreign as possible, to respondto the the Korean public’s taste. To the Korean public, Hong Kongis thus turning from a “faint memory” to “replaced imagination.”