만민공동회 시기 『제국신문』과 『皇城新聞』의 인민 동원 논리- ‘자유(自由)’ 개념 비교를 중심으로 -

Abstract

This study examined the logic of people mobilization between the radical- andsoft-line members of the Independence Club through the concept of “freedom” usedin “Jeguk Shinmun” Newspaper and “Hwangseong Shinmun” Newspaper duringthe Convention of 10-Thousand People period. “Jeguk Shinmun” was created to reflect the position of the radical-line membersof the Independence Club during the Convention of 10-Thousand People period. The newspaper was positive about the voluntary participation of people in theConvention of 10-Thousand People, which was correlated with the move of ParkYeong-hyo that sought asylum in Japan during the period. “A written petition(Geonbaekseo)”, which he presented to King Gojong in 1888, offers great informationabout his thoughts as he played a pivotal role among the radical-line members ofthe Independence Club. In it, he regarded the right to freedom of the people asone of the essential elements of a nation’s independence. “Jeguk Shinmun” alsoreported that “civil rights are national rights” and maintained that the right to freedomof the people should be guaranteed to ensure the independence of their nation. The right to freedom used by Park Yeong-hyo and “Jeguk Shinmun” was similarto the right of resistance. As far as their thoughts went, the government was obligednot to cause the resistance of the people. “Hwangseong Shinmun”, on the other hand, was created to reflect the soft-line members of the Independence Club during the Convention of 10-Thousand Peopleperiod. The soft-line members of the Independence Club were basically positiveabout the activities of the Club but cautious about the demonstrations of theConvention of 10-Thousand People being violent, which explains why the newspaperhardly contained the word “freedom” compared with “Jeguk Shinmun”. The rightof freedom perceived by “Hwangseong Shinmun” was not similar to the right ofresistance found in the “Jeguk Shinmun”. It could be exercised only on the premiseof personal cultivation. The newspaper thus wanted to have some distance fromthe demonstrations as they became violent. Its concept of “freedom” was in linewith “freedom” mentioned in “Expressions on Overview of Westward Travel(Seoyugyeonmun)” by Yu Gil-jun. In the Korean Empire, the positions of the two newspapers basically inheritedthe radical- and soft-line members of Independence Club, respectively, in termsof people mobilization logic during the period of the Convention of 10-ThousandPeople, and went through their respective variations according to the course ofcurrent situations.