UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles The Meanings of America in Modern Korea: A Study of Korean Diplomatic, Cultural, and Intellectual Engagements with America, 1852-1945 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Languages and Cultures by Hanmee Na Kim 2014 © Copyright by Hanmee Na Kim 2014 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION The Meanings of America in Modern Korea: A Study of Korean Diplomatic, Cultural, and Intellectual Engagements with America, 1852-1945 by Hanmee Na Kim Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Languages and Cultures University of California, Los Angeles, 2014 Professor John B. Duncan, Chair The scholarship on the history of Korea-U.S. interactions (1866 onwards) remains limited from 1905 to 1945. As the Japanese protectorate ended Korea-U.S. diplomatic relations, scholars have often focused on the interactions up to 1905 and after 1945. In doing so, the literature occluded non-diplomatic interactions that continued throughout the colonial period and their significance to post-1945 relations and to Korean society generally. This dissertation redresses this issue by exploring pre-1945 Korean diplomatic, cultural, and intellectual engagements with America—with a focus on “Americanism” during the colonial period—and their significance to Korean society. This dissertation argues that these engagements with America were significant to Korea’s modern experience in two ways. First, within the contexts of colonialism and the ii global rise of the U.S. and “Americanism” post-WWI, a significant group of Koreans articulated America as the source of political and cultural solutions for Korea’s colonial situation and upheld American institutions and developments as models. This articulation of America, in turn, had direct links to the adoption of American models in certain reform and development efforts in South Korea. Second, America became a significant vantage point for the contradictions of capitalist modernity and a specific reference point for articulating Korea’s particularity. This study asserts global dynamics as an inseparable dimension to Korea’s engagement with America. The Koreans’ discourse on America is explored in relation to the post-WWI rise of the U.S. and Europe’s and East Asia’s discourse on America in the 1920s and 1930s. This project’s contributions are two-fold. First, by revealing the often overlooked significances of America in Korea during the colonial period, the project offers a way to historicize and better understand the discourses and patterns that govern post-1945 relations. Second, it highlights the temporal simultaneity and resemblances in Americanism in Korea with that of other parts of the world, and roots them in capitalism that allowed for forms of Americanisms to rise globally at the same time and make them gain currency in each region. Through this global framework and emphasis in the roots in capitalism, the project rethinks the tendency in Korean historiography to privilege Japanese mediation of Western civilization when examining the origins of modern Korea. iii The dissertation of Hanmee Na Kim is approved. Namhee Lee William Marotti Sung-Deuk Oak John B. Duncan, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2014 iv This dissertation is dedicated to My mother for praying for me, My father for inspiring me, and most of all, Sam, without whose endless encouragement and support, this dissertation would not be possible. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS viii VITA xi CHAPTER ONE. Introduction Introduction 1 Literature Review 6 Framework 16 Overview of Chapters 19 CHAPTER TWO. “America” as a Site of Hope: The Emergence of “America” in Korea in the Late-Nineteenth Century Introduction 23 Initial Direct Contact 25 Encountering America through China and Japan 31 “America” as Constructed through Diplomatic Relations The Korean Interpretation of the 1882 Treaty of Amity and Commerce 39 Korean Participation in the 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition 44 The Discrepancy between the Official and Unofficial American Voices 53 The Hope in America for Independence Efforts 59 Conclusion 66 CHAPTER THREE. Americanism in Colonial Korea: The Articulation of “America” as the Source of Solutions for Korea Introduction 70 Circulation of “America” in the World and in Colonial Korea 72 America’s Linkages to Modŏn and Sinmunmyŏng vi America as “Modŏn” 86 America as “Sin Munmyŏng” The Role of Korean Students in America in this Articulation 89 America as the Locus of “Sin mummyŏng” 93 America as the Source of Solutions for Korea America as the Model 101 Materialization of Articulations of America 110 Conclusion 113 CHAPTER FOUR. Anti-Americanism in Colonial Korea: “America” as a Vantage Point for Capitalist Modernity Introduction 115 America as a Global “Reference Point” for the Articulation of Particularity 117 The Local Context for Critical Discussions of America 125 Koreans’ Criticism of America 129 Towards Particularity 136 Conclusion 149 CHAPTER FIVE. Conclusion Introduction 153 Exploring Korean Engagement with America in a Global Framework 158 Final Remarks 162 APPENDIX I. List of Korean objects sent to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition 164 BIBLIOGRAPHY 167 vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to so many people who have encouraged and guided me along the way during the process of researching and writing. I thank my advisor, Professor John Duncan, who has always been patient and encouraging. I have learned and gained so much from working with him, and he has modeled for me what a true scholar and teacher looks like. I thank Professor Namhee Lee for her guidance both academically and personally, and I am grateful for the way she has always treated me with warmth and kindness. I am grateful to Professor Marotti for always being supportive, and for the ways he has challenged and pushed me to think beyond my comfort zone. I thank Professor Sung-Deuk Oak for his advice which has always been candid and caring. I am thankful to Jennifer Jung-Kim for her friendship as well as mentorship both professionally and personally which I have greatly appreciated over the years. I also thank Professor Kim Do-Hyung at Yonsei University who was very generous with his time during my research year in Korea. He assisted me with my research and included me in all the tapsa with his students and thus made sure that my stay in Korea was both productive and enjoyable. I am very fortunate to have been in the midst of such a wonderful community of fellow graduate students at UCLA. In particular, I thank the members of my dissertation writing groups—Sinwoo Lee, Hannah Lim, Janet Lee, Youme Kim, Elli Kim, Howard Kahm, Dennis Lee, Timothy Goddard, and Maya Stiller—as well as others outside of the writing groups who read parts of my dissertation including Sangmee Oh, Hieyoon Kim, and Paul Cha. I appreciate their feedback, encouragement, and most importantly, friendship over the years. They shaped my graduate school experience and made sure that viii even the most difficult parts of this journey were interspersed with much laughter. I am happy and proud to call this group of people my friends. The research and writing of this dissertation were generously supported by the Korea Foundation, Harry and Yvonne Lneart Foundation, and the Yonsei University Institute for Korean Studies. Financial support for my graduate studies was provided by the UCLA Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, UCLA Graduate Division, Northeast Asia Council of the Association for Asian Studies, U.S. Department of Education Title VI Program, UCLA Center for Japanese Studies, and Kyunggi Foundation. Last but certainly not least, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for my family. I thank my parents who have cheered me on throughout my whole life and have shown me the love, patience, and care as I went through graduate school that only the most wonderful parents can show. I thank my brother, Hankook, and sister-in-law, Mary, whose prayers and love aided me in each step of my studies. I am indebted to my parents- in-law for being such supportive parents. My mother-in-law, in particular, made sure that we were always well-fed and cared for. I am so grateful for my brother-in-law, David, and sister-in-law, Jessica, whose generosity with their time and encouragement have constantly moved and humbled me. In the many instances where both Sam and I faced deadlines, Jess and Dave were always the first ones to lend a helping hand with Cole. I am grateful for my son, Cole, who has made these last two years and a half (which should have been thoroughly agonizing given the struggles with my dissertation) the most joyful ones of my life. Most importantly, I thank my husband, Sam. He encouraged me when I needed encouragement, pushed me when I needed to be pushed, and has been my biggest ix cheerleader throughout my graduate career. I share the joys of completion with him for this dissertation would not have been possible without his love and support. x VITA 2003 B.A. with honors, International Studies University of Chicago Chicago, Illinois 2005 M.A., Asian Studies University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California 2006 Sasakawa Japanese Language Study Fellowship 2006-2007 Teaching Assistant Department of Asian Languages and Cultures University of California, Los Angeles 2007-2008 Teaching Associate Department of Asian Languages and Cultures University of California, Los Angeles 2008 Graduate Summer Research Mentorship 2008-2009 Teaching Fellow General Education Cluster Program University of California, Los Angeles 2009 -2010 Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship 2010-2011 Lenart Graduate Travel Fellowship 2010-2011 Yonsei University Institute for Korean Studies Exchange Scholar Fellowship 2012-2013 Teaching Fellow Department of Asian Languages and Cultures University of California, Los Angeles 2012-2014 Korea Foundation Fellowship for Graduate Studies PRESENTATIONS March 2014. “The Meanings of America in Colonial Korea: America as a Reference Point for Articulating Particularity.” Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Association for Asian Studies, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.