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National Journal of Korean History (Vol.13, Feb International Journal of Korean History (Vol.13, Feb. 2009) 125 The Introduction of the Concept of 'Nation' into the Korean Society and the Adaptation of Its Usage Song Kue-Jin∗ Introduction Since the beginning of the modern era, a variety of modern terms and concepts have been introduced into the Korean society through a number of media via the western world, Japan and China. In the process of adopting new concepts, some of the conventional terms took on new meaning, while the use of newly introduced concepts were, at times, adapted under different circumstances. Because concept is an everyday language which has gone through the process of abstraction, the study of concept necessitates review of terms that appear in writings of intellectuals or in the mass media. In this sense, the study of concept is closely linked to the study of ideology both directly and indirectly. The study of concept focuses on the process where a foreign language term is translated and settles down, and examines how concepts are imported and adapted, when different schemata of knowledge/ideology come into contact or converge with each other. Lately, there are a growing number of studies attempting to define the characteristics of the Korean modern era by exploring some of the important concepts and terms which have newly emerged in Korea since * HK Research Professor, Asiatic Research Institute, Korea University 126 The Introduction of the Concept of 'Nation' into the Korean Society ~ the beginning of the modern times.1 One of the most complex and the most significant concepts that have emerged in Korea since the modern era is 'nation'. 'Nation' can be translated into a number of Korean words such as 'minjok(民族)' 'kukmin(國民)' and 'kukka(國家)', thus it is extremely difficult to reach an agreement on its unifying definition. Furthermore, nationalism, a topic that is much discussed from various angles in Korea, would take on different meaning depending on how we define 'nation' itself, therefore it is important to shed light on the history of how 'nation' has been conceptualized into 'minjok', 'kukmin' or 'kukka'. 'Nation' has been discussed on a number of occasions and from various standpoints.2 One of them is based on Primordialism which puts emphasis on the permanency of the racial community. It begins with the concept of 'Kulturnaion(cultural nation)' and emphasizes objective criteria such as language, shared culture, religion and customs. It maintains that a 'nation' is an actual entity which is based on shared historical values and social solidarity. According to this theory, modern nation is just the latest version of the time-honored concept of 'nation', which is easily found in the ancient and middle ages, so modern nation, aside from a few different characteristics, is basically not a new concept. Another standpoint is Instrumentalism which views 'nation' as a by-product of modernization. This begins with the concept of 'Staatsnation(state nation)' and argues that what creates a nation is the subjective motivation of individual members to belong to the nation community. According to this theory, the historical incident that gave rise to people's motivation to belong to the nation community by their free will was the French Revolution. It maintains that the idea of popular sovereignty, a liberation ideology advocated by the bourgeoisie, was coupled with secularism to bring about qualitative changes to the concept of feudalistic loyalty, which resulted in the formation of modern nation. Another view is Historicism which argues against both Primordialism and Instrumentalism. Its theory is that the territorial, legal and cultural elements of a modern nation are inextricably linked to the shared memory Song Kue-Jin 127 and heritage that define the collective cultural identity. It maintains that a 'nation' is defined as a group of human beings with shared myths and memory, popular culture, dwelling region and economic unity, where all individuals have equal rights and obligations. Studies of modern nation carried out by Korean researchers so far have mostly been based on specific concepts that are translatable into Korean, such as 'kukka', 'kukmin' and 'minjok'. Having said that, Kim Myung-goo said the formation of the concept 'nation' in terms of the formation of national identity, the formation of the modern nation, the concept of citizens, and examines them in the context of the Port-Opening Period and the later part of Korean Empire.3 His study, however, has limitations in examining the process of introducing the western concept 'nation' and how, in that process, the various meanings of the original concept were altered or adapted as they came into contact with some of the concepts that already existed in Korea. This study will adopt the Historicism which considers that what is equivalent to 'nation' has been formed and existed throughout history before being labeled 'nation' with the beginning of the modern era.4 This study also aims to prove that unlike European countries, Korea, China and Japan have quite distinct characteristics, stemming from the long shared history, thus the adaptation of the concept 'nation' was inevitable as it was being introduced into Korea. To this end, this study looks into how 'kukka(國家)' is derived from 'kuk(國)', 'kukmin(國民)' from 'baeksung(百姓)' and 'minjok(民族)' from 'dongpo(同胞)' as the concept 'nation' is introduced, and how each concept is adapted in their meaning and usage. ‘Kukka(國家)’: derived and adapted from ‘kuk(國)’ Generally, a state means a group of people occupying a certain territory and having sovereignty. The concept of sovereignty came into being as European countries, since the establishment of the Peace of Westfalen, 128 The Introduction of the Concept of 'Nation' into the Korean Society ~ sought ways to pursue their self-interests without victimizing one another. In Korea, the concept of ‘kukka’, unlike 'minjok(民族)' or 'kukmin(國民)', had been represented by the term 'kuk' since before the modern times. In those times, however, it did not imply the concept of sovereignty which is closely linked to autonomy and independence. In Korea, the modern concept of ‘kukka’ had to compete with alternative concepts such as ‘bangkuk(邦國)’ and ‘kuk’ before it could emerged to replace the traditional concept of the state. Under these circumstances, intellectuals tended to explain ‘kukka’ as being a new concept based on traditional notions. One also finds many instances during this period in which Western knowledge was used to define a ‘kukka’ or the composition of such a state.5 It was through the Treaty of Ganghwa that Korea was officially recognized as a self-governed state for the first time. Article one of the treaty stipulates that Korea, as a self-governed state, has equal rights to Japan. As is well known, this provision was a tool put in place by Japan to seek ways to invade Korea free from any intervention from China by denying China's suzerainty over Korea. Then Korean government made excuses on the provision by saying "article one was written by Japan at their discretion to impose on us"6 willfully adhering to its subordination to China. China, on their part, also acknowledged their understanding of self-governance not as independence but as autonomy. Since the Port Opening, with the growing recognition of modern international laws and also with deepening awareness of the concept of modern state, Korea endeavored to build a sound state amid threat of invasion from external powers. Notably, during the course, people had come to hold different positions as to the concepts of self-governance and independence. Those who subscribed the so-called Eastern Tao and Western Science principle sought self-governance instead of pursuing independence from China, while those promoted the Civilization and Enlightenment theory equated self-governance with independence.7 After the Sino-Japanese War, as Tsing's influence over Korea declined greatly, self-governance and independence were used almost interchangeably. Song Kue-Jin 129 A series of measures that symbolized self-governance and independence, such as the use of original era names, were implemented.8 The construction of the Independence Gate and the creation of the Independence Park, led by The Independence and the Independence Club was for the purpose of declaring and commemorating independence from China. The overall tone of The Independence, despite slight variation under different editors in chief, was fairly consistent in that it criticized the current conditions of Korea and demonstrated strong aspirations for becoming a civilized nation under the cross-cutting theme of 'civilization and enlightenment' and 'sovereign independence'.9 Yu Gil-jun used several words at the same time to describe the concept 'kukka' including ‘kuk’, ‘bangkuk’, ‘minkuk(民國)’ and ‘kukka’. 'Kuk', 'bangkuk' and 'kukka' were mainly used in his earlier works including Observations on a Journey to the West, National Sovereignty, and The Theory of Competition. He used 'minkuk' on occasion, and almost solely used 'kukka' in his later publications such as The Politics, and A Reading Book for Night Class of Laborers.10 He offered a clear definition of 'kukka' by stating "A 'kukka' is a political organization established on a certain territory for the purposed of serving the interest of a group of people, and it is an entity with unlimited sovereignty. In short, a 'kukka' is an independent political organization."11 Yet, his definition of 'kukka' only emphasized independence from foreign powers, and did not provide a clear stance as to the rights of individual members. As the term 'kukka' was widely used, nationalism emerged which put 'kukka' before everything else. The Hwangsung Daily viewed 'kukka' as the foremost being by writing "Where there is 'kukka', so is the people. Where 'kukka' is not there, neither is the people."12 This notion of nationalism was even more emphasized under the Japanese invasion that violated Korea's sovereignty.
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