1930년대 미디어에 나타난 독자 대중의 욕망과 좌절 －조선일보 ‘독자사교실’을 중심으로－

Abstract

‘Dokja Sagyoshiol (Readers’ Lounge)’ was an experimental space for reader participation launched by the Chosun Ilbo in 1936. It was a space for readers to do business, exchange knowledge and information, and communicate with each other, as opposed to a readers’ contribution or opinion section. The newspaper provided the space but had little control over the content, and readers engaged with and used the space in a variety of ways. The space was used to present and respond to everyday needs rather than to present particular opinions or arguments, and as such it reveals the desires and frustrations of middle-class newspaper readers in the 1930s, including intellectuals, young adults and students. It is natural for ‘Dokja-Sagyosil’ to reflect the social changes of the time, but the it shows more. The readers who participated in ‘Dokja-Sagyosil’ were active participants, not passive recipients. They used the space for their own purposes, regardless of the intentions of the editors, and they used a variety of means to do so. Many of the participants were former readers of youth magazines. They were therefore familiar with the reader participation system of modern media. Some readers attempted to embody ethical virtues or community-oriented values, as they had in the 1920s media at the height of the national movement, without much success. On the other hand, attempts to use the media to expand existing networks and make profits were easily achieved. Some readers even published false information or staged their own dramas for personal gain. This was one of the main reasons why the ‘Dokja Sagyoshiol’ lasted only a year, despite the enthusiastic response from readers. ‘Dokja-Sagyosil’ was not open to the Korean people or to Korean society as a whole. Only the educated middle class, those who could read and understand newspapers, were free to come and go as they pleased. Even among those who could read newspapers, not all were equal ‘readers’. They were mainly intellectual, middle-class and male. The participation of women was rare, and the voices of marginalised groups such as workers and peasants were not heard. By the mid-1930s, colonial Korea had become a place where it was difficult to dream of an equal community, even in the space of readers.