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International Journal of Korean (Vol.13, Feb. 2009) 125

The Introduction of the Concept of '' into the Korean 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 , and . 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 or in the mass media. In this sense, the study of concept is closely linked to the study of 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 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, , 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 , 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 . 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 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 over Korea. Then Korean 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 principle sought self-governance instead of pursuing independence from China, while those promoted the 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 of the 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 , 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. The Korea Daily declared the absolute importance of 'kukka' over everything else by stating that "Today, 'kukka' is the only thing that is there in ' eyes and hearts, on their tongues and on their writing brushes. Where 'kukka' is abandoned, there is no other world. Where 'kukka' is abandoned, there is no that matters.

130 The Introduction of the Concept of 'Nation' into the Korean Society ~

Where 'kukka' is abandoned, there is no dream or sleep. Where 'kukka' is abandoned, there is no worry or joy."13 Under these circumstances, intellectuals of the times adopted new theories to help organize the ideas surrounding the concept of 'kukka'. As the concept 'nation' was being introduced, what had the most influence on Korea among the many theories on state was the theory of nation as an organic body. The most widely known for advocating this theory would be Bluntschli. Bluntschli’s theory of the state greatly influenced the formation of the structure of the Meiji State. His writings were translated into Japanese during the late 19th century, and he was widely read by not only Japanese intellectuals, but Korean and Chinese as well. Bluntschli defined the as the best political system possible. Moreover, he argued that the republican system was not advantageous because as national plans changed in accordance with changes in the political power, such a system could easily impede the permanent development of the organic body of the state.14 Sin Chae-ho also took on the theory of state as an organic body. However, unlike Bluntschli, he completely denied the militarist authority by advocating the constitutional republican system. Furthermore, unlike the Emperor Gojong and those in the royal circle who equated government with 'kukka', Sin said "While the scope of government is narrow, the scope of 'kukka' is broad. While government lasts only for short, 'kukka' lasts for long. Thus it is impossible for the pronoun government to represent 'kukka'."15, setting the concept 'kukka' apart from government. To him, government was merely an administrative agency to which the power of people was entrusted to look after day-to-day political affairs. Sin also advocated nationalism which prioritized the national interest for the sake of advancing the spirit of 'kukka'. He argued that "In today's world where all are fiercely competing with one another, if we indulge in Pan-Asianism instead of promoting nationalism, it is like a person living in today's world yet concerned about competition that will happen in a different planet at a time in the future, [...] 'kukka' is the

Song Kue-Jin 131 primary and Asia is the secondary." That is, he argued against racism or Pan-Asianism that called on Asians to unite to counter the white people or the westerners, while advocating the understanding of 'kukka' based on the notion oriented towards individual nations. Sin proposed the concept of national sovereignty and republicanism in order to have the 'kukmin' actively participate in resolving national crises. Yet, his nationalism had traits of free in its basis, thus differentiates from the blind notion of national supremacy where individuals' rights are limited and subordinated to the purpose of the state. Sin's nationalism was no longer viable as Korea fell under Japanese colonial ruling. Under those circumstances, he adapted his nationalism to be one that emphasized the permanency of 'minjok(民族)'. Based on this notion of the permanency of the 'minjok', Sin separated the state into formal and spiritual states. He also advocated the restoration of the national sovereignty, arguing that although a state can be demolished, the 'minjok' can never be destroyed.16 He regarded the formal state as being the equivalent the commonly accepted definition of the state, and defined the spiritual state as the independent spirit of 'minjok'. As discussed so far, Sin's nationalism ended up unilaterally emphasizing the spirit of 'minjok', i.e. the spiritual state, under the Japanese forced occupation of Korea. Later, he took on anarchism, moving away from nationalism and ultimately upholding that denies the state.

'Kukmin(國民)': derived and adapted from 'baeksung(百姓)'

As the meaning of the modern nation was based on the recognition of the sovereignty of other nations, equal rights, and obligations for the citizens of a nation, civil rights soon came to be emphasized. The concept 'kukmin' with the modern meaning had not existed in the Korean society before the modern times, although they loosely called the people ruled by the state 'baeksung'. It was considered that 'baeksung' was subjects of the

132 The Introduction of the Concept of 'Nation' into the Korean Society ~ king's mercy and blessing, hence the relationship between the king and 'baeksung' was like that of father and son. Only, they emphasized the obligations of 'baeksung' over their rights. The Interest in the concept of civil rights in Korea developed after the Port Opening. Having accepted the basic concepts of international law, the Enlightenment Party developed a perception of the modern state as a sovereign entity that was based on natural law. However, as they perceived the modern international order as being based on the survival of the fittest theory, they addressed the issue of the creation of a strong state structure prior to that of civil rights. The Enlightenment Party’s perception of 'min(民)' has its origins in their that a 'kunmin-dongchi(君民同治)' structure should be created. This entailed a change in the political structure from the monarchy system to a joint governance system in which the king and 'min' ruled together. Here, the concept of 'inmin(人民) was different from the traditional perception of the 'min'. In contrast to the government officials, classical scholars or the two upper classes of old Korea, 'min' was a communal concept that traditionally applied to the lower classes within the hierarchical social structure. As such, this notion of the 'min' was not concerned with people on an individual basis. However, the notion of 'min' or 'inmin' introduced in the 'kunmin-dongchi (君民同治)' did not refer to the traditional communal concept but rather to a plurality of individuals.17 The civil rights theory advanced by the Enlightenment Party consisted of the core concepts of Western liberalism such as liberty and basic rights. Thus, the position of the Enlightenment Party, including Park Yong-hyo, vis-à-vis civil rights was based on Western concepts. However, their interpretation of Western concepts such as liberty and basic rights was not completely devoid of Confucian influence. As such, although the Enlightenment Party advocated the right to freedom, they exhibited a skeptical attitude towards the direct participation of 'min' in politics. In the West, civil rights, although limited to the bourgeoisie, were brought about through the demands of the bottom echelons of society from

Song Kue-Jin 133 arbitrary power. However, the Enlightenment Party thought that such civil rights should not be so easily granted to the common people.18 Yu Gil-jun often used the term 'inmin'. In The Rights of the Inmin, he wrote "Freedom is to do whatever you feel like without giving in or being restricted."19 introducing the notion of the natural rights of man. However, he also stated "The law is like the commander-in-chief and the rights. For a soldier not to obey the commander-in-chief goes against the solder's obligations"20 making clear that the law of the state should come first before the rights of individuals. Explaining the political systems of different countries, he said "The political system of the Great Britain is known to be the best in the world." Yet he maintained 'inmin' should not be given the suffrage, saying "The right to participate in political affairs should not be granted to 'inmin' who have not learned enough. When 'inmin', ignorant without sufficient , seeks to benefit from ideal political systems from other countries, the nation would be greatly troubled."21 Yu's notion of 'inmin' had some similarities to the modern concept of 'kukmin', but shows differences from 'kukmin' as it lacks the concept of civil rights centered around suffrage. The word 'kukmin' was used in The Independence. As for the frequency of the related words, however, 'baeksung' was most frequently used (2,466 times), followed by 'inmin' (1,532 times), 'shinmin(臣民)' (162 times), 'kwanmin(官民)' (152 times) and finally 'kukmin' (98 times), indicating that the term 'kukmin' was still not in the mainstream by then. Particularly, 'kukmin' was frequently used to mean domestic and overseas citizens, and mainly used to refer to people as the subjects of enlightenment and education; to reference citizens of other countries which guarantees suffrage or is classified as a civilized nation; and to distinguish between different citizenships.22 The term 'inmin' or 'baeksung' is easily accompanied by the perceived existence of the superior such as 'kun(君)' as in 'kunmin(君民)' or 'shin(臣)' as in 'shinmin'.23 As the concept of 'kukmin' was increasingly recognized, the most commonly used term 'baeksung' came to have slight changes to its concept. In The Independence, for example, they wrote

134 The Introduction of the Concept of 'Nation' into the Korean Society ~

"What we mean by 'baeksung' is not confined to those who are not serving a government position, but includes all the people who reside in the country".24 That puts government officials as well as common people together in the category of 'baeksung', which shows difference with the concept of 'baeksung' from the pre-modern era. The Independence Club took on the liberalistic notion of civil rights of the civilizationist school, and partly adopted the concept of freedom and rights from the western world moving away from .25 Given that, some have generously regarded the Club's attempt to establish 'Jungchuwon(中樞院)' and to separate the and the executive as a move towards constitutional monarchy.26 The Independence Club itself, however, denied the suffrage of 'min' by indicating "We shall not hope for rights outside of our fair share. If the government and the common people work together for the good law allowed by the Great Emperor to be implemented well, civil rights will increase gradually as the intellect and education of the general public grows".27 As they were opening the People's Cooperation Assembly from October 28 to November 2, 1898, they published a rather clear list of the four behaviors banned during the assembly period: disrespectful utterance on the emperor or the royal family and speech in favor of democracy and republicanism, utterance/behavior offensive of foreign countries, upper and lower classes insulting each other and disrespectful remarks on former government officials, and discussions on reforming social customs such as topknot(hair knot for married men). Also, they clearly distinguished the Upper House and the Lower House, and progressively denied the establishment of the Lower House. Having said that, it is more realistic to understand that they did not really pursue constitutional monarchy, but their attempt was meaningful as a complement to the existing political system.28 As is discussed earlier, the Independence Club suggested the idea of civil rights to some extent, but it failed to develop into a modern concept of 'kukmin'. Hence the civilizationist school and the Independence Club mainly used the terms 'baeksung' and 'inmin' to mean the members of a

Song Kue-Jin 135 state, but they rarely used the term 'kukmin'. In the bulletins of various academic institutions, increasingly published since 1904, however, the word 'kukmin' was frequently used. Also, 'Kukmin-kyoyukhwoe(國民敎育會)29, which was created in August 1904 to promote education, used the word 'kukmin' in the organization's name, indicating that 'kukmin' was easily communicated to common people around those times. The term 'kukmin' was also frequently used in The Hwangsung Daily and The Korea Daily News among others. This trend was related to the move towards establishing a modern nation led by the authority of the emperor and the rapidly exacerbating situation, against the backdrop of growing influence of Japan, the signing of the Protectorate Treaty of 1905 and the Emperor Gojong's forced stepdown. By the time when the term 'kukmin' was widely used, proposals were increasingly put forward to adopt constitutional monarchy. The Association of Constitution Studies was established in May 1905 with the aim to introduce constitutional monarchy. When the Association was disassembled as the Japanese the Residency-General, created in February 1906, banned Korean people's political activities, Yun Hyo-jung, Jang Ji-yeon and others created 'Daehan-Chaganghoe(大韓自强會)' in April 1906, and this organization again demanded the introduction of constitutional monarchy. Yet, they denied the suffrage of farmers and common people. Yun Hyo-jung regarded farmers' movement as an anti-nation behavior and as "an act of destroying all human beings in the nation" which hints that his definition of 'kukmin' was extremely limited. As such, although this group advocated the fact that people’s participation in politics meant that they were entitled to certain rights and obligations, the range of individuals who could participate in politics was limited to those who belonged to the elite social class. This mindset was closely related to the inherent belief in the fact that the people’s ignorance rendered them unfit to participate in politics.31 In fact, it appears that the concept 'kukmin' was not clearly established before the year 1907. The evidence is that when comparing the edition of The Korea Daily News written in the combination of Chinese and Korean

136 The Introduction of the Concept of 'Nation' into the Korean Society ~ languages and the pure Korean version, which is written based on the interpretation of the other version, frequency of the use of the term 'kukmin' in the Korean version of the is even less than half of the times than the mixed language version.32 The actual colonization of Korea caused a change in the general consciousness as people began to sense that their national sovereignty had been taken from them. As such, the necessity to strengthen the sovereign consciousness of the people emerged during the process of reminding people of their obligations and responsibilities to the state. As the Japanese created the Security Law, the Newspaper Law and other rogue institutions to oppress anti-Japan enlightenment movements, Yun Chi-ho, Ahn Chang-ho and others secretly organized 'Shinminhoe (新民會)' in April 1907 for the purpose of recovering the nation's sovereignty. What was distinctive of 'Shinminhoe' was they moved away from the idea of constitutional monarchy, as their goal was to restore national sovereignty, establish a free and independent nation with the republican system. As republicanism emerged, the term 'kukmin' began to be used with clear definition. The modern concept of a sovereign nation was developed by Sin Chae-ho. His political thought, which appealed to people’s sense of , was based on the notions of popular sovereignty and republicanism. Shin, who was a member of 'Shinminhoe', provided a clear definition of 'kukmin' by writing in The Korea Daily News dated in July 1908 that "All 'kukmin', in addition to sharing the same lineage, history, territory of residence, religion and language, must have the same spirit, feel the same interests and act in the same way. The internal organization of 'kukmin' should be no different than the bone structure of a person's body, and their external spirit should function like a single unit of the army”.33 In other words, 'kukmin' shares the same spirit on top of the 'minjok(民族)' elements so that they can function in an extremely orderly manner just like the bone structure of a person's body. Delving into the causes of the collapse of the Chosun dynasty, Sin concluded that the strong power of the Western states was rooted in the

Song Kue-Jin 137 people’s strong participatory mindset. In this regard, Sin argued that 'sinkukmin(新國民)' would emerge in the 20th century as the main actors in the restoration of national sovereignty. He regarded these new people as those who possessed an internalized sense of patriotism and who were devoted to the autonomous achievement of liberty and public thought.34 He believed that establishing a republican state where the political participation is active and the order is maintained autonomously is the way to achieve independence. He also believed that all 'kukmin' is not capable of building a modern nation, but only those with an original vision of their state, ethical drive, emotional strength and the hunger for a modern nation could create an independent nation. Especially, he proclaimed that "The state produces the common of the people, and the people hold the authority of the state."35 In other words, he made it clear that the state shall make efforts to produce the common property for the people, while the nation's sovereignty lies in the hands of the people. To Sin, sovereignty is not an absolute power that conflicts with the freedom of the people. Instead, the sovereignty of the nation equals to the power of the people, and any governance matters shall be controlled by those who are actually governed. During the period in which Korea’s national sovereignty was being taken away, Sin Chae-ho actively argued in favor of the introduction of liberal elements such as national sovereignty and republicanism in order to entice the 'kukmin' to participate in efforts to overcome the national crisis.36

'Minjok(民族)': derived and adapted from 'dongpo(同胞)'

In Korea, a strong sense of ethnicity existed in the pre-modern times, which had certain influence on the process of the emergence and adaptation of the concept 'minjok'. Eric Hobsbawm has pointed out that Korea, China, and Japan are amongst those rare cases throughout history of states which have had ethnically homogenous or nearly homogenous .37 As such, the people of these three East Asian nations share

138 The Introduction of the Concept of 'Nation' into the Korean Society ~ the commonalities of having developed highly advanced political bodies that are based on a pre-modern ethnic consciousness. While Korea, like Japan and China, long enjoyed an independent sphere, centralized government system, and unified administration, and maintained its ethnic and cultural homogeneity, it also developed a unique pre-modern ethnic community mindset. This perception of monoethnicity can be found in the articles of the Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea compiled during the Goryeo dynasty dealing with Tan-gun(檀君). Such articles about Tan-gun appear during periods in which Korea’s relationship with China or Japan was characterized by war or tension. The legitimacy of the Chosun dynasty was based on the Sino-centric world order in that as the direct descendants of Kija(箕子), it was in fact a ‘miniature China’. However, Chosun simultaneously developed a consciousness as an independent community which was separate from China from a geographic, cultural, and blood tie standpoint. This phenomenon took the form of the emphasis which was placed on the kingdom’s status as the direct descendants of Tan-gun. This perception as the successors of Tan-gun eventually gave way to the emergence of the notion of monoethnicity, while the perception as the successors of Kija eventually resulted in an inherent belief in the superiority of Korean culture.38 These linear perceptions were gradually altered with the introduction of Western thought during the 19th century following the opening of Chosun’s doors. Before the term 'minjok' came into use, the term 'dongpo' had long been used in Korea. While this term carried the traditional neo-Confucian meaning during the late period of Chosun, during the independence movement, the term was used by such groups as the Independence Club to refer to those who resided in Chosun territory, as can be seen from the example ‘ichunman-dongpo’(the brotherhood of 20 million).39 The term 'dongpo' was often used in combination with 'hyungje(兄弟)'. The Independent often used the term, ‘chunkuk-dongpo-hyungje’(全國同胞兄弟) in conjunction with the term ‘chunkuk-inmin’(全國人民). Under this situation in which the terms ‘inmin’ and ‘baeksung’ were more generally

Song Kue-Jin 139 employed than the term ‘kukmin(國民)’, 'dongpo' was commonly used in conjunction with ‘inmin’ and ‘baeksung’. As we can see from the expression, ‘The 'ichunman-dongpo' consists of those who pursue loyalty and patriotism as their main objectives’, the 'dongpo' began to be gradually perceived not as the people who simply received benevolent affection from the king, but as the main actors in history.40 Yet, the term 'minjok' was not used in The Independence. The Independence did, however, try to strengthen the identity of the Korean 'minjok' by stating that "Regrettably, Koreans have only learned the Chinese history and do not have any knowledge of their own [...] hopefully, Koreans will be educated on the Korean history to recognize that Korea is indeed their nation."41 According to what has been discovered so far, it was Jang Ho-ik who used the term 'minjok' to refer to the Korean people. He described in the bulletin of social gathering dated in December 1897 that "'Minjok' gathers around borders [...] it is in nature of 'minjok' to avoid places that are extremely hot or cold, dirty or shabby and to seek for elegant and comfortable surroundings" which seems to make 'minjok' almost the equivalent of species.42 However, the bulletin itself was published in Japan by students studying there, such use of the term 'minjok' does not appear to be in the Korean context. The term 'minjok' first appeared in The Hwangsung Daily in 1900 as part of the wider expression 'dongbang(東方)-minjok'. During this period, 'injong(人種)' and 'minjok' were considered to be synonyms, and as can be seen from the expression ‘dongbang-minjok’ the concept of 'minjok' encompassed all three East Asian countries. As such, the strong influence of the race-based perception of the world during this period made it such that the terms 'injong' and 'minjok' were in effect intertwined with one another.43 Such an expression as 'baekin(白人)-minjok' as opposed to ‘dongbang-minjok’ was also created. This is a case where the concept of race, as in color terms like 'yellow', 'white' and 'black' races used in The Independence, was expressed in the term 'minjok'. Back then, the Korean society was still under the influence of the way of viewing the world

140 The Introduction of the Concept of 'Nation' into the Korean Society ~ based on racial categorization, hence the meaning scope of race terms and that of 'minjok' terms were to some extent, blended in a rather messy way. It was around February 1904 when the Korea-Japan Agreement was signed that the term 'minjok' started to carry its meaning of today. Previously, the perception of the Japanese among Koreans was based on the general notion of Pan-Asianism, but since the agreement, Koreans developed clear awareness of the invasive nature of the Japanese. That is to say, the changing historical circumstances brought about changes in the meaning of 'minjok'. The Hwangsung Daily and The Korea Daily News started using 'minjok' confining its meaning to those who reside in the Korean peninsula, moving away from their race orientation.44 In a Korean language edition of The Korea Daily News published in 1904, the term 'hanminjok(韓民族)' was used, and that was along with such expressions as 'hankook(韓國)-baeksung', 'ilbon(日本)-baeksung', 'ilbon-saram(사람)' and ''hankook-saram'. This indicates that 'baeksung', 'saram' and 'minjok' were used almost interchangeably.45 It took some more time for the term 'minjok' to settle with its meaning of today. Yu Gil-jun, in The Politics, is using the concept 'jokmin(族民)' instead of 'minjok'. He posits "'Jokmin' refers to a certain group of people with same ethnic background, while 'kukmin' refers to a part those people who reside in the same country. 'Jokmin' as a racial concept, is not a legal entity, whereas 'kukmin' as a legal one is a legal entity. Therefore, 'jokmin' is not necessarily bound to the territory of the nation, thus one 'jokmin' could reside over several different nations and one nation could have several different 'jokmin'. On the other hand, 'kukmin' is bound to the territory of the nation, thus whoever resides within the boundary of the nation's territory is a member of the nation, regardless of their ethnic background, so it is not possible for one nation to have several different 'kukmin'."46 The usage of the term 'minjok' in The Korea Daily News surged from only once in 1907 to 135 times in 1908, showing it was increasingly used around the time the collapse of Korean Empire was becoming imminent.47 Yet, in those times, 'minjok' was still used, albeit rarely, to refer to a range

Song Kue-Jin 141 of other things such as family or relatives, which is a part of 'kukmin', or people in a certain locality.48 In late 1908, the usage of 'minjok' to refer to people in a certain locality or class almost disappeared, and the term began to solely mean a group of people residing in the boundary of a nation. It is notable that they started using the concept 'minjok' to mean a group of people that did not exist at that time, but had existed historically. Coinciding these trends, Sin Chae-ho, in The Korea Daily News in July 1908, defined 'minjok' as "those who share the same lineage, reside in the same territory, share the same history, revere the same religion and speak the same language".49 This definition can be understood to conceptualize 'minjok' as having originated naturally from history which provides ethnic basis for nation. Sin Chae-ho serialized Doksasinlon(讀史新論) in The Korea Daily News where he was the editor in chief from August 1908. He wrote "the history of a nation is the description of the rise and fall of 'minjok'. Without 'minjok', there would be no history, and without history, 'minjok' would have little respect towards their nation, hence historians also have crucial responsibilities"50 promoting a new way of history writing centered around 'minjok'. Furthermore, Sin defined 'spiritual state' as the spirit of independence and sovereignty,51 emphasizing the 'spirit of minjok'. This spirit of 'minjok' was composed of the pure essence of the nation. He defined the pure essence of the nation as "the spirit of traditions, customs, laws and institutions formed throughout history" and argued that it should be preserved in relation with the preservation and development of 'minjok' culture.52 As discussed above, the fact that 'minjok' started to be used with historic significance since from 1908 is closely related to the realities of the times when they needed impetus to unite and sustain the Korean society facing the imminent perishing of the state. That is to say, as the nation was nearing to its demise, 'minjok' took on great significance as something that could replace the nation. Alongside this, Tan-gun(檀君) became increasingly emphasized. It was

142 The Introduction of the Concept of 'Nation' into the Korean Society ~ once written that "Tan-gun descended on Mountain Taebaek to name our country Chosun and our 'minjok' the people of Chosun, so the word Chosun most ably signifies our nation and our 'minjok' as a whole"53 promoting Tan-gun as the uniting force of 'minjok'. As the concept of 'minjok' became universalized, Koreans began to express the clear consciousness of the uniqueness of the Korean culture by labeling themselves as Tan-gun's descendants and by promoting the preservation of the pure essence of the nation. The usurping of the national sovereignty by a foreign power caused the ethnic and cultural unification of the Korean identity under Tan-gun, thus effectively separating Korea from China and Japan. This sheds light on the role of the concept 'minjok' in forming Korean's new ethnic identity that is distinct from the one before the modern era.

Conslusion

In Korea, although different from the modern concept of 'nation', there existed a primal concept of 'nation' that is distinct from that of China or Japan, and it was formed through the course of interactions with those neighbour countries throughout history. Given that, as the modern concept of 'nation' was introduced, it was inevitable for it to be adapted in the dynamics of the changing circumstances of the times. Koreans used the word 'kuk(國)' to mean 'state' since before the modern age, unlike 'minjok(民族)' or 'kukmin(國民)'. Only, in the pre-modern times, it did not imply the concept of sovereignty that is closely linked to self-governance and independence. Since the Port Opening, Korea endeavored to build a strong nation amid threats from external powers, and they experienced split opinions over self-governance and independence. As Tsing's influence over Korea weakened significantly after the Sino-Japances War, however, self-governance and independence were treated as the same concept. Yu Gil-jun provided a clear definition of 'kukka(國家)'. Yet, his notion

Song Kue-Jin 143 of 'kukka' only stressed independence from the outside world, but did not clearly provide for the rights of individual members. With the growing use of the concept 'kukka', nationalism, which puts the nation before everything else, emerged. As the importance of 'kukka' was increasingly emphasized, intellectuals of the times adopted new theories to help organize the ideas surrounding the concept of 'kukka'. As the concept 'nation' was being introduced, what had the most influence on Korea among the many theories on state was the one which essentially viewed nation as an organic body. Sin Chae-ho was among those who embraced the notion of nation as an organic body, but unlike Bluntschli he advocated constitutional republicanism, attempting to deny the militarist authority. Sin also promoted nationalism, but he also suggested the idea of sovereignty in the hands of the citizens and republicanism, showing differences from the blind notion of national supremacy. Sin's nationalism was no longer viable as Korea fell under Japan's colonial ruling, and his notion of state moved towards emphasizing the permanency of 'minjok'. Before the modern times, those who were subject to the state ruling were called 'baeksung'. As for 'baeksung', only their obligations, not their rights, were emphasized, and 'baeksung' is different from the modern concept of citizens. In Korea, the idea of civil rights started to develop after the Port Opening. The civilizationist school's understanding and perspectives on citizens was suggested in the context of shared power between the monarch and the citizens. The civilizationist school's notion of civil rights was inclusive of some of the core concepts of western liberalism such as freedom and rights. They advocated the rights of the citizens based on freedom, rights, and other core factors of western liberalism, but at the same time they did not believe the rights were to be easily granted to common people. The Independence used the word 'kukmin'. In terms of frequency of usage, 'baeksung' was single most frequently used one, and such words as 'inmin(人民)', 'shinmin(臣民)' and 'kwanmin(官民)' were also used more frequently than 'kukmin'. Yet, as the concept of citizen was increasingly

144 The Introduction of the Concept of 'Nation' into the Korean Society ~ recognized, the meaning of 'baeksung(百姓)' also slightly changed. That is, 'baeksung' came to include both the government and the common people. The Independence Club took on the liberalistic notion of civil rights of the civilizationist school, and partly adopted the concept of freedom and rights from the western world, being free from Confucianism. However, the Club itself denied common people's suffrage, so the modern concept of citizens was still not fully established. In the bulletins of various academic institutions, increasingly published since 1904, the word 'kukmin' was frequently used. This trend was related to the emergence of the notion of constitutional monarchy amid the move towards establishing a modern nation led by the authority of the emperor and the rapidly exacerbating situation, against the backdrop of growing influence of Japan, the signing of the Protectorate Treaty of 1905 and the Emperor Gojong's forced stepdown. The concept of 'kukmin' was not fully established by 1907, but later with the realization that the nation had collapsed, the need arose to raise the awareness of sovereignty among the citizens. The modern concept of 'kukmin' which includes the notion of sovereignty was introduced by Sin Chae-ho. His political view was transformed in the context of appealing to patriotism, and it was based on the idea of sovereignty in the hands of citizens and republicanism. As the collapse of the nation was becoming apparent, Sin put forward the notion of national sovereignty and republicanism in order to entice the citizens to participate in efforts to overcome the national crisis, thereby firmly maintaining the liberal elements. In Korea, a strong sense of ethnicity existed in the pre-modern times, which had certain influence on the process of the introduction and adaptation of the concept 'minjok'. Before the term 'minjok' came into use, the term 'dongpo' had long been used. Although Jang Ho-ik mentioned the term 'minjok' in Japan in 1897, the term first appeared in Korea in 1900 when The Hwangsung Daily used the expression 'dongbang(東方)-minjok', which is later than 'kukka' or 'kukmin', Back then, the Korean society was also under the influence of the way of viewing the world based on racial categorization, hence the

Song Kue-Jin 145 meaning scope of race terms and that of 'minjok' terms were, to some extent, blended in a rather confusing way. It was after the Korea-Japan Agreement was signed in February 1904 and the Japanese invasion was becoming more conspicuous that the term 'minjok' started to carry its meaning of today. Yet, it took some more time for the term 'minjok' to settle with its meaning of today. In late 1908, it became commonplace to use the term to refer to a group of people residing in national boundaries. Notably, the concept 'minjok' took on the meaning of a group of people that did not exist at that time, but had existed historically. Under these circumstances, Sin Chae-ho promoted a new way of history writing centered around 'minjok', and further he defined 'spiritual state' as the independent and sovereign spirit, emphasizing the 'spirit of minjok'. This 'spirit of minjok' was composed of the pure essence of the nation. The fact that 'minjok' started to be used with historic significance from 1908 is closely related to the realities of the times when they needed impetus to unite and sustain the Korean society in the face of the imminent perishing of the state. The concept of 'minjok' contributed to the formation of national identity that is distinct from that of the pre-modern times. Its emergence was the latest among similar terms, but throughout the Japanese colonial period, it became the most appealing concept to Koreans. Therefore, the Korean translation of 'nationalism' has come to settle as minjok-ju-ui (民族主義) rather than 'kukka-ju-ui(國家主義)' or 'kukmin-ju-ui(國民主義)'.

Key Word : 'nation', 'kukka(國家)', 'kukmin(國民)', 'minjok(民族)', 'baeksung(百姓)', 'dongpo(同胞)', Sin Chae-ho

Notes :

1 See Korea Culture Research Institute, Ewha Womans University, 2004, The introduction of Modern Concepts during the Korean Enlightenment

146 The Introduction of the Concept of 'Nation' into the Korean Society ~

period(1895~1910), Somyung Publications. 2 Song Keu-jin, 2005, The Reception and Appropriation of 'Nation' Conception in Modern Korea, China and Japan. Reception and Appropriation of 'Nation' Conception in Modern East Asia : A Comparative Study on Korea, China and Japan, Goguryeo Research Foundation, pp.15-20. 3 For review of studies on the concept 'nation', see Kim Myung-goo, Recognition and alternation of the concept of nation at the end of Imperial Korea. Reception and Appropriation of 'Nation' Conception in Modern East Asia : A Comparative Study on Korea, China and Japan, Goguryeo Research Foundation. 4 Traditionally in Korea, Primordialism, where 'nation' is considered as having 'naturally' existed since pre-modern times, has been the mainstream point of view. Lately, however, a growing number of studies are adopting Instrumentalism, where they see nation as a man-made by-product of modernization. 5 Kim Dong-taek, 2002, A study on adaptation of the notion of 'state' and 'nation' in the modern korea. Daedong Culture Study 41, Daedong Institute for Korean Studies, Sungkyunkwan University, pp.367-368. 6 Tongmoonkwanji(通文館志)(Vol 11), p.249(quoted in Chung Yong-hwa, 2004, Political Thougt of Civilization: Yu Gil-jun and Modern Korea. Moonji Publishing. p.160). 7 Chung Yong-hwa, 2004, Same reference, pp.165-166. 8 Lee Kwang-lin, 1982, Korean history lecture(Vol 5:The modern times), Ilchokak, pp.337-338. 9 Jung Sun-tae, 2004, The Independence's perspective on Chosun and the people of Chosun, The introduction of Modern Concepts during the Korean Enlightenment period(1895~1910), Somyung Publications, p.168. 10 Chung Yong-hwa, 2004, Same reference, pp.238-239. 11 Committee for publishing the complete book on Yu Gil-jun, 1996, The complete book on Yu Gil-jun(Vol 4), Ilchokak, p.758. 12 The Hwangsung Daily dated on November 24, 1898. 13 The Korea Daily News dated on January 5, 1909. 14 Woo Nam-sook, 2000, A study on the theoretical origin of modern state theories in Korea, Korean Political and Diplomatic History Studies 22-1, Institute of Korean Political and Diplomatic History Studies, pp.126-127. 15 Sin Chae-ho, 1979, Sin Chae-ho´ complete works(Special edition), Hyungsul

Song Kue-Jin 147

Publishing Company, p.33. 16 Same reference, pp.160-161. 17 See Lee Na-mi, 2005, The changes of political subjects through the concept of 'baeksung(百姓), 'inmin(人民)', 'kukmin(國民)', Social Science Studies 13-1, Social Science Research Institute, Sogang University. 18 Kim Myung-goo, Same reference, p.72. 19 Committee for publishing the complete book on Yu Gil-jun, 1996, The complete book on Yu Gil-jun(Vol 1), Ilchokak, p.109. 20 Same reference, p.119. 21 Same reference, pp.151-152. 22 Kim Dong-taek, 2004, "Nation" in Kuk Min Su Ji(國民須知), The introduction of Modern Concepts during the Korean Enlightenment period(1895~1910), Somyung Publications, p.196. 23 Ryu Jun-pil, 2004, The concept of independence in the late 19th century and its political mobilization, The introduction of Modern Concepts during the Korean Enlightenment period(1895~1910), Somyung Publications, p.41. 24 The Independence dated on March 9, 1897. 25 Lee Na-mi, 2001, The origin of Korean liberalism, Bookworld, p.42. 26 See Shin Yong-ha, 1988, The issue of modern nation establishment and the move to build a constitutional republican state in the 19th century in Korea, The establishment of modern state in Korea and national issues, Moonji Publishing. 27 The Independence dated on July 9, 1987. 28 See Kim Dong-taek, 2004, Discourse of modern state formation in DogRipSinMun(The Independence)'s perspective on building, Social Science Studies 12-2, Social Science Research Institute, Sogang University. 29 Also known as 'Daehan-Kukmin-kyoyukhwoe(大韓國民敎育會)'. It was established in September 1904 under the leadership of Lee Won-keung(president), Lee Jun, Jeon Duk-ki, Choi Byung-heon and Yu Sung-joon. See http://www.koreaa2z.com. 30 Kim Dong-taek, 2002, Same reference, p.378. 31 Chung Yong-hwa, Same reference, p.107. 32 This indicates that 'baeksung' was still widely used, as is seen from the fact that 'min(民)' in the mixed language edition of The Korea Daily News was transferred into 'baeksung' in the Korean language edition. See Kim Dong-taek, 2008, A study on the notion of 'Nation(Minjok)' in The Korea

148 The Introduction of the Concept of 'Nation' into the Korean Society ~

Daily News, Daedong Culture Study Series 61, Daedong Institute for Korean Studies, Sungkyunkwan University, pp.429-430. 33 The Korea Daily News dated on July 30, 1908. 34 Kim Myung-goo, Same reference, p.80. 35 Sin Chae-ho, 1979, Sin Chae-ho´ complete works(Special edition), Hyungsul Publishing Company, p.155. 36 Sin's notion of 'kukmin' in the face of the Japanese colonial period changed yet again to one that sees 'kukmin' as a passive people who must always obey the state. This issue needs further exploration. 37 Hobsbawm. E.J(translation by Kang Myung-se), The nation and nationalism after 1780, Changbi Publishers, p.94. 38 See Lee Woo-sung, 1976, Korea's notion of history(vol 1/2), Changbi Publishers. 39 Baik Dong-hyeon, 2004, The notion of nation and the embodiment of state in the Korean Empire period, A doctorate thesis, Korea University, p.94. 40 Kwon Yong-ki, 1999, A review of 'dongpo’ in The Independence, Korean History and Thoughts Studies 12, The Association For The Study Of Korean History Of Thoughts, pp.254-255. 41 The Independence dated on August 17, 1897. 42 Jang Ho-ik, 1897, Social competition, The bulletin of social gathering, p.56(quoted by Kwon Boduerae, 2004, The historical experience and political characteristics of 'dongpo', The introduction of Modern Concepts during the Korean Enlightenment period(1895~1910), Somyung Publications, p.104). 43 Baik Dong-hyeon, Same reference, pp.94-95. 44 Baik Dong-hyeo characterized the 'minjok' in those times as a territorial and historical community with its ethnic identity represented by Tan-gun and its cultural identity by Kija. See Baik Dong-hyeon, Same reference, p.101. 45 The Korea Daily News published the English, mixed-language(Korean and Chinese) and Korean editions at different timings, and since May 1907 they continued publishing the Korean and mixed-language editions, which enables the comparison between the two different versions. Generally, a news article was first released in the mix-language version before the same article went into the Korean version a day or two later. In this process, it can be assumed that some translation work would be involved or the articles would be re-written based on the one in the mixed-language version. See Kim

Song Kue-Jin 149

Dong-taek, 2008, Same reference, p.417. 46 Committee for publishing the complete book on Yu Gil-jun, 1996, The complete book on Yu Gil-jun(Vol 4), Ilchokak, p.758. 47 Kim Dong-taek, 2008, Same reference, p.430. 48 Kim Dong-taek, 2008, Same reference, pp.425-426. 49 The Korea Daily News dated on July 30, 1908. 50 Sin Chae-ho, 1979, Sin Chae-ho´ complete works(Vol 1), Hyungsul Publishing Company, p.473. 51 Kim Myung-goo, Same reference, p.60. 52 Sin Chae-ho, 1979, Sin Chae-ho´ complete works(Special edition), Hyungsul Publishing Company, pp.116-118. 53 The Korea Daily News dated on May 11, 1910. 1

Submission date: 200.11.21 completion date of review:2009.1.23

150 The Introduction of the Concept of 'Nation' into the Korean Society ~

<국문초록>

한국의 ‘네이션’ 개념 수용과 변용 과정

송규진

한국에는 근대 ‘네이션’ 개념과는 다르지만 ‘네이션’ 개념의 원형이 역사적으로 존재했다. 이러한 역사적 경험과 당시 한국의 사회 변화에 맞물려 근대 ‘네이션’ 개념이 한국에 수용되면서 그 개념은 변용될 수 밖에 없었다. 한국에서 ‘국가’를 의미하는 용어는 전근대부터 ‘국(國)’ 이라는 용어 로 널리 사용되었다. 다만 전근대 시기에는 ‘자주’와 ‘독립’과 밀접히 관련이 있는 주권 개념을 내포하지는 않았다. 유길준은 ‘국가’ 개념을 명확하게 규정했다. 다만 그의 국가 개념은 외부로부터의 ‘독립’만을 강 조했다. ‘국가’ 개념이 널리 쓰이면서 국가를 절대화시키는 국가주의가 대두했다. ‘네이션’ 개념이 수용되면서 국가와 관련한 이론 가운데 한국 에서 가장 큰 영향력을 끼친 것은 국가유기체론이었다. 신채호도 국가 유기체론을 수용했는데 입헌공화제로 군권을 철저히 제한하려 했다는 점에서 블룬츨리와 다르다. 이러한 신채호의 국가주의는 당시 한국이 일본에 강점되는 상황에서 더 이상 실효성을 발휘할 수 없었다. 이렇게 되자 그의 국가론은 민족의 영속성을 강조하는 것으로 변용되었다. 전근대 한국사회에는 통치를 받는 사람들을 ‘백성’이라고 불렀다. ‘백 성’에게는 권리보다는 의무만이 강조되었을 뿐으로 근대적 ‘국민’ 개념 과는 다르다. 한국에서 민권에 대한 관심은 개항 이후 발전했다. 개화파 는 서구의 자유주의의 핵심개념인 자유, 권리 등의 개념을 수용하여 민 권을 주장했다. 그러나 개화파는 이러한 민권은 백성에게 쉽게 줄 수 있는 권리가 아니라 생각했다. 『독립신문』에는 ‘국민’이라는 단어가 등 장했다. 『독립신문』도 민의 참정권을 부인했다. 이는 당시까지 근대적 의미의 ‘국민’ 개념이 여전히 정착되지 못했음을 의미하는 것이다. 1904

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년 이후에는 활발하게 간행된 여러 학회의 회보들에서 ‘국민’이라는 단 어가 많이 사용되었다. 다만 1907년까지도 ‘국민’이라는 개념이 명확하 게 자리를 잡지 못했다. 주권을 보유한 근대적 의미의 ‘국민’ 개념은 신 채호에 의해 정립되었다. 국가의 멸망이 현실화되는 시점에서 신채호는 국가의 위기에 ‘국민’을 적극적으로 참여하기 위해 국민주권과 공화주 의를 제기했다. 한국은 근대 이전에 ‘종족’의식이 강하게 존재했으며 이것이 ‘민족’ 개념의 수용과 변용과정에서 일정한 영향을 미쳤다. ‘민족’이라는 용어 가 등장하기 이전에 한국에서는 ‘동포’라는 용어가 오랫동안 사용되어 왔다. 1897년 장호익이 일본에서 ‘민족’이라는 용어를 처음 사용했다. 한 국에서는 1900년 『황성신문』에 ‘동방민족’이라는 용어가 처음 등장했 다. 1904년 2월 「한일의정서」 체결 이후 ‘민족’이란 용어가 오늘날의 개 념으로 사용되기 시작했다. 1908년 후반기에는 국가 경계 내에 존재하는 인간 집단, 특히 당시의 시점에서는 존재하지 않았지만 역사적으로 존 재했던 인간 집단을 ‘민족’이라고 지칭했다. 이런 상황에서 신채호는 ‘민족’을 중심으로 한 새로운 역사 서술 방법을 주장했으며 ‘정신상 국 가’를 독립자주정신으로 규정하며 ‘민족정신’을 강조했다. 이러한 ‘민족 정신’의 핵심은 국수(國粹)였다. 1908년 이후 ‘민족’이란 용어가 역사성 을 띠게 된 것은 한국 사회를 유지시키고 통합시키는 힘이 필요했던 당 시 현실과 밀접한 관련이 있다. ‘민족’ 개념은 전근대적 정체성과 구별될 수 있는 민족정체성의 확립 에 기여했으며 용어로서는 가장 늦게 출현했지만 일제강점기를 거치며 한국인에게 가장 호소력을 지닌 개념이 되었다. 그리하여 한국에서는 ‘내셔널리즘’의 번역어가 ‘국가주의’나 ‘국민주의’보다는 ‘민족주의’라는 용어로 정착하게 되었다.

주제어: 네이션, 국가, 국민, 민족, 백성, 동포, 신채호