A Postcolonial Critique of the Imagined Geography of South Korea
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A Nation with a Place in the World: A Postcolonial Critique of the Imagined Geography of South Korea DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Hyeseon Jeong Graduate Program in Geography The Ohio State University 2014 Dissertation Committee: Daniel Sui, Advisor Darla Munroe, Advisor Nancy Ettlinger Kendra McSweeney Copyrighted by Hyeseon Jeong 2014 Abstract If nations are imagined communities, how are they imagined geographically? This dissertation answers the question by investigating discourses of geographical self- awareness in South Korea. Coming out of colonial exploitations of military imperialism and moving into the geopolitical economy of the Cold War, Koreans yearned for a form for their national identity and a place for it in the world. Nationalism became a principle of geographic knowledge production, which then defined what the Korean nation ought to be in the international context. In the lack of democratic institutional consolidation, nationalism became not only an effective governmentality but also a popular politics of social movements. Reading theories of nationalism, feminist geography, and postcolonial theory, the dissertation posits that geographical knowledge governs the way the nation is imagined. Specifically, it shows how the discourse of vulnerable geography of South Korea has affected the imagination of Korean-ness. Employing critical discourse analysis of newspapers, speeches, and government documents since liberation, the dissertation investigates the imagined geography of nationalism and its discontents in South Korea. The Korean peninsula is perceived as a naturally well-demarcated land that has always had its own identity associated with the Korean nation, a homogenous people who have maintained their national identity for five ii thousand years. The peninsula is also imagined as being vulnerable to nature and neighbors, which the Korean nation has overcome with diligence and ingenuity. History and geography are constantly nationalized to produce the imagined community of nation into a reality. The dissertation investigates three moments of nationalization in South Korea: the politicization of ‘Comfort Women,’ economic development and foreign aid donorship, and the controversy over the Jeju naval base construction. Chapter 1 introduces the geography and history of South Korea and critically reviews the politics that produced the Korean peninsula as an anthropomorphized geographical entity, or a geo-body. I argue that the geo-body of the Korean peninsula dominates the discourses of colonial experience, economic development, and sovereignty. Chapter 2 points out that the South Korea rhetoric on the Japanese military ‘Comfort Women’ is different from its international counterpart and argues that nationalism reframes the history as a Japanese exceptionalism and appropriates subaltern women’s experience. Chapter 3 scrutinizes the political controversy over constructing a naval base on the Jeju island to show that the discourse on ‘commies’ is produced more by South Korea’s sovereignty crises than by geopolitical insecurity. Chapter 4 reviews the development of South Korea’s foreign aid and argues that international development assistance is desired to overcome the donor’s own colonial modernity. Finally, Chapter 5 concludes the dissertation by discussing its contribution to a postcolonial geography of South Korea and directions for future research. iii To Danok Baek and Daewon Jung Acknowledgments Writing this dissertation has been a great privilege. I learned many things, gained a new worldview, and became comfortable with it. I owe a tremendous debt to numerous people who gave me the opportunity to study, enlightened me with their knowledge, and helped me overcome hardships and my own weaknesses. They opened a door for me to further learning that is now to begin. I am forever indebted to my advisors, Daniel Sui and Darla Munroe, for having guided and supported me both academically and personally. This dissertation was not possible without them. My sincere thanks also go to my committee members, Nancy Ettlinger and Kendra McSweeney, for their invaluable teaching, insightful comments, and endless advices. Jeeseon Park-Saltzman, Becky Mansfield and Cathy Rakowski have guided me as well through research and personal ordeals. Words hardly express my gratitude to them. The Ohio State University provided me with a perfect environment for study as well as generous funding for research including the International Affairs Grant and the Alumni Grant for Graduate Research and Scholarship. The Department of Geography not only made me a geographer but gave me pedagogical experience through a Graduate Teaching Associate position. I also thank the Institute for Korean Studies, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and the Mershon Center for International Security v Studies for providing opportunities for their services and opportunities for networking across disciplines. Many people have been the source of endless inspiration and encouragement despite geographical distance and time difference. I count myself fortunate for having in my life Hee-Jeong Oh and Eunsun Oh, who taught me how to question. Doowon Suh guided me to academia with his passion for knowledge and love for young scholars. Judy Han ushered me to geography. Zane Ivy taught me how to write and Joel Wainwright taught me how to read. In addition, I had the privilege of learning from and making friends with Naomi Adaniya, Ola Ahlqvist, Ishan Ashutosh, Nurcan Atalan-Helicke, James Baginski, Hyowon Ban, Jessica Barnes, Katherine Bennett, Sayoni Bose, Larry Brown, Diane Carducci, Peter Xiang Chen, Mat Coleman, Kevin Cox, Nicholas Crane, Nicolle Etchart, Shaun Fontanella, Kyung In Huh, Kapil Kanala, Colin Kelsey, Eugene Lee, Luisa Lee, Seung-Ook Lee, Mitch Lerner, Bernhard Malkmus, Shaniquea Ormsby, Sunwoo Paek, Mary Thomas, Jennifer Williams, and Theresa Wong. They made my life during graduate education intellectually stimulating and personally enriching. Last but not least, I am extremely grateful to my parents and sisters for their love and support. Their positive vibes have saved me from pessimism and nihilism. My deepest respect and most heartfelt thanks go to Hyungwook Yim who has made me laugh, think, and endure. vi Vita 2003 ……………………………….. B.A., Linguistics, Korea University 2005 ……………………………….. M.A., International Relations, Korea University 2005-2009 …………………………. Researcher, Korean Women’s Development Institute 2009 to 2014 …………………….. Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Geography, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: Geography Minor Field: Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies vii Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments ...........................................................................................................v Vita .............................................................................................................................. vii Fields of Study ............................................................................................................. vii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................ viii List of Tables................................................................................................................. xi List of Figures .............................................................................................................. xii Note on Language........................................................................................................ xiii 1. Introduction ..............................................................................................................1 1.1. Theoretical framework.......................................................................................1 1.2. Background .......................................................................................................8 1.2.1. The Korean nation and its vulnerable geography ............................................8 1.2.2. The national geo-body ................................................................................. 16 1.2.3. Divided imaginaries ..................................................................................... 22 1.3. Method and structure of the dissertation .......................................................... 36 viii 2. Death becomes her: national appropriation of ‘Comfort Women’ ........................... 40 2.1. Frameworks by scale ....................................................................................... 40 2.2. Theories of nationalism and women................................................................. 45 2.3. The ‘Comfort Women’ exceptionalism ............................................................ 53 2.3.1. Crime ‘Made in Japan’ ................................................................................. 57 2.3.2. Dishonorable common noun, honorable proper noun.................................... 70 2.3.3. Polarized representations.............................................................................. 82 2.4. The nation’s selective listening ........................................................................ 92 3. Homo Sacer under construction: ‘commies’ and the