박열·가네코 후미코 사건과 퍼포먼스

Abstract

The aim of this article is to illuminate the Park Yeol(朴烈)·Kaneko Humiko(金子文子) Case from the perspective of performance, by analyzing newspapers published in Colonial Korea. The Park Yeol · Kaneko Humiko Case include the High Treason Incident(大逆事件) case and the mysterious photo(怪寫眞) case that occurred in Tokyo in Imperial Japan from 1923 to 1926. Even though Park Yeol · Kaneko Humiko were individually imprisoned during this period, they proceeded to act shrewdly and preposterously as performers. First, they made the trial itself into an astonishing case by donning traditional Korean clothes and insisting on using the Korean language in Japanese Imperial Court. Second, they caused the judge in charge to accidentally take the so-called ‘mysterious photo,’ which later led to the collapse of the Japanese cabinet. The newspapers published in Colonial Korea served as unique stage on which Park Yeol and Kaneko Humiko performed. The newspaper articles reported on the public trials as if it were a drama, describing their clothes, look, and dialogue in public court. The news about them was published not as it occurred but in a plotted sequence because of a press ban, consequentially building suspense among readers. Meanwhile, the Korean newspaper editorials pointed out the injustice of the High Treason Incident, breaking down the Japanese judge’s opinion. The Park Yeol·Kaneko Humiko Case was a social drama that revealed the disharmony that led to the breakdown of Taisho Democracy and imprinting national resistance in Japan as well as in Korea.