문충성의 후기시에 나타난 대안근대성(altermodernity)으로서 제주공동체 연구

Abstract

This study examines the Jeju-community as a form of altermodernity in the late poetry of Moon Choong-sung after the 2000s. The development of Jeju in the 2000s was framed by the state-led initiatives of the “International Free City” and “Island of World Peace”. While these projects ostensibly promoted values such as freedom, cooperation, coexistence, and peace, they were in fact driven by the economic logic of neoliberal globalization. By exploiting Jeju’s strategic geographical position between Asia and the Pacific, the state promoted economic growth in the name of peace and development. In Moon Choong-sung’s later poetry, the collapse of the Jeju-community due to such neoliberal development policies is vividly depicted through the lingering wounds of the 4ㆍ3 Jeju Uprising, the marginalization of local residents, and the destruction of the island’s ecological system—realities that cannot be concealed by the state’s peace discourse. His poetry articulates a strong critique of these systemic injustices and is deeply intertwined with an ecological imagination that seeks to restore Jeju’s lost cultural and communal traditions as a form of alternative modernity. The self-governing democratic traditions of the Jeju-community, which uphold democratic self-governance and collective resource management, challenge the exploitative nature of neoliberal capitalism and state power. These traditions move beyond antimodernity, which is often associated with nativism or racial nationalism, and instead advocate for a more inclusive and participatory communal model. The communal self-governance of Jeju resists the encroachment of state-led developmentalism and disrupts the imperialist logic that seeks to appropriate shared resources for economic gain. In this context, the frequent invocation and enumeration of natural elements in Moon Choong-sung’s poetry after the 2000s resonate with the concept of “Individual Corporativism”—a regional philosophy of the Jeju-community that integrates both individual autonomy and collective solidarity. Moreover, traditional structures such as “wondam” and “doldam” serve as powerful symbols of Jeju’s indigenous communal practices, which emphasize sustainable coexistence with nature. His poetic representation of Jeju’s cultural and political heritage is significant in that it not only exposes the continued violence of state-led developmentalism—despite the establishment of grassroots democracy in the 2000s—but also calls for an alternative political vision rooted in ecological ethics and self-determination.