한국 농구의 이데아 -한국 남자 농구의 한미교류 양상과 미국화 비판-

Abstract

This paper analyzes the evolution of the identity Korean basketball since its introduction to Korea in 1907 by Phillip Gillette, an American missionary who worked as a manager at Hwangseong Gidokgyo Cheongnyeonhoe (Seoul Young Men’s Christian Association). The processes, by which basketball pursued internal maturity during the Japanese Occupation and industrialization, while responding to external stimuli, are shown. In its early phase, Korean basketball was a participatory sport played at its center: YMCA. In the 1930s, schools became is center. During the Japanese Occupation, Japan was simultaneously perceived as a supplier of equipment and knowledge as well as a competitor. The birth of a strongly nationalistic basketball during the period is reviewed. After the Liberation, Korean basketball began to be directly exposed to US influences. In the 1980s, Korean basketball was strongly influenced by US professional basketball. In the 1990s, the content and form Korean basketball was rapidly changed under the impact of US-centered globalization, full-scale introduction of popular US culture, environmental changes. In particular, Korean professional basketball league, launched in 1997, was transformed into a “lower league” or “offshoot league” of the US league, the superpower of the international basketball market. As a result, Korean basketball relinquished its identity. Pessimistic and nihilistic views question the raison d’être of the domestic basketball league, which is devoid of international competitiveness. Such negative aspects of Korean basketball have originated from an absolute acceptance of US basketball as an idea. It is expected that Korean basketball will not be free from the influences of US basketball for a considerable length of time in the future. From a long-term perspective, Korean professional basketball league, which is a commercial entity, evidently has to compete with NBA. Moreover, the survival of Korean basketball depends upon the vitalization of the domestic market. Securing the domestic market by creating a uniquely Korean-style basketball should be the primary goal. To do so, policy-level institutional support and efforts to change perception of basketball are necessary. To supplement the current player training system, which is centered on schools, professional basketball teams should be transformed into clubs. The clubs should nurture amateur clubs to strengthen and expand the foundation of basketball in Korea. Introduction of a system that continuously produces outstanding players can be viewed as a future-oriented alternative.