한말 ‘자유주의’의 수용과 분화 -일본유학생을 중심으로- (Embracement of Liberalism at the end of the Daehan Imperial period, and Certain Divergences - Examination of Students who were studying in Japan -)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국역사연구회
· 수록지 정보 : 역사와 현실 / 97호 / 335 ~ 378페이지
· 저자명 : 노상균

초록

Liberalism was essentially a principle that was designed to battle premodern social norms, so it was a vital part of the modern society’s formation and development. In other words, it was a pivotal starting point for modern philosophies. And it played an important role in the modernization process of Korea as well. Since the opening of ports, through liberation from the Japanese imperial occupation, Koreans who lived through the modern and contemporary periods of Korean history, chose and embraced liberalism as an ideological platform for a modern state construction. Considering all that, determining the historical flow of liberalism in Korea would undoubtedly shed some light upon the task of determining what kind of process the Koreans took in their founding of modern states, as well as the nature of characteristics displayed along the way.
Historical studies of the Koreans’ embracement of liberalism only began in the late 1990s, even though it was a very important theme in Korean modern and contemporary developments. Primarily examined were historical figures who were involved in the early enlightenment movements or the Independence Club, and mostly analyzed were liberal concepts such as ‘freedom,’ ‘individual,’ ‘(civil) rights,’ ‘political rights’ and ‘constitutionalism,’ in terms of how they were perceived by the Koreans at the time. Also examined were the political and social meaning of the Koreans’ acceptance of liberalism and the nature of such acceptance process. Impressive achievements were made in a rather short time, but considering the fact that previous studies concentrated upon determining what happened in the ‘embracement’ stage, how such efforts progressed, and what actually happened along the way, are yet to be examined.
In order to overcome such problems, attempted in this article is an analysis of the process taken by Korean students, who were studying in Japan during the ending years of the Daehan imperial period, in their embracement of liberalism and how they actually viewed it. Also, a particular focus was placed upon the ‘dilemma’ that haunted all these students. At the time, the Daehan empire lost its sovereignty and became a protectorate, and was deprived by the Tonggam-bu office of all meaningful self-control. In the wake of such tragic events, intellectuals found themselves in a position which could force them to choose one goal to pursue between two very much important objectives: securing individual freedom from an oppressive premodern social structure, and securing the independence of the state from an imperialist invasion. That kind of dilemma started to tear themselves apart. Korea, which was the only state to suffer colonial occupation among all three Northeast Asian countries, had this unique problem that shaped Korean liberalism in a most peculiar way.
The failures, frustrations and subsequent efforts of the Korean students who were studying in Japan at the end of the Daehan imperial period, who devised liberal reforms but were not able to maintain the spirit of it, and the public opinion that was vocally critical of such attempt, show us that Korean liberalism, entrenched in a colonized reality, was indeed starting to fracture. Their liberal suggestions were met with stark criticism because somewhere along the way it became clear that their suggestions would lead to Koreans’ assimilation into a structure of colonial ruling, and would force Koreans to steer away from their ultimate goal of liberating themselves from the clutches of Japanese imperialism. Initially they embraced liberalism as a method that would hopefully help them regain their country’s independence, but with their failure to explore other aspects of liberalism, the aspect that they did dig into actually ended up being abused as a theory that would justify their own cooperation and collaboration with Japanese authorities.

영어초록

Liberalism was essentially a principle that was designed to battle premodern social norms, so it was a vital part of the modern society’s formation and development. In other words, it was a pivotal starting point for modern philosophies. And it played an important role in the modernization process of Korea as well. Since the opening of ports, through liberation from the Japanese imperial occupation, Koreans who lived through the modern and contemporary periods of Korean history, chose and embraced liberalism as an ideological platform for a modern state construction. Considering all that, determining the historical flow of liberalism in Korea would undoubtedly shed some light upon the task of determining what kind of process the Koreans took in their founding of modern states, as well as the nature of characteristics displayed along the way.
Historical studies of the Koreans’ embracement of liberalism only began in the late 1990s, even though it was a very important theme in Korean modern and contemporary developments. Primarily examined were historical figures who were involved in the early enlightenment movements or the Independence Club, and mostly analyzed were liberal concepts such as ‘freedom,’ ‘individual,’ ‘(civil) rights,’ ‘political rights’ and ‘constitutionalism,’ in terms of how they were perceived by the Koreans at the time. Also examined were the political and social meaning of the Koreans’ acceptance of liberalism and the nature of such acceptance process. Impressive achievements were made in a rather short time, but considering the fact that previous studies concentrated upon determining what happened in the ‘embracement’ stage, how such efforts progressed, and what actually happened along the way, are yet to be examined.
In order to overcome such problems, attempted in this article is an analysis of the process taken by Korean students, who were studying in Japan during the ending years of the Daehan imperial period, in their embracement of liberalism and how they actually viewed it. Also, a particular focus was placed upon the ‘dilemma’ that haunted all these students. At the time, the Daehan empire lost its sovereignty and became a protectorate, and was deprived by the Tonggam-bu office of all meaningful self-control. In the wake of such tragic events, intellectuals found themselves in a position which could force them to choose one goal to pursue between two very much important objectives: securing individual freedom from an oppressive premodern social structure, and securing the independence of the state from an imperialist invasion. That kind of dilemma started to tear themselves apart. Korea, which was the only state to suffer colonial occupation among all three Northeast Asian countries, had this unique problem that shaped Korean liberalism in a most peculiar way.
The failures, frustrations and subsequent efforts of the Korean students who were studying in Japan at the end of the Daehan imperial period, who devised liberal reforms but were not able to maintain the spirit of it, and the public opinion that was vocally critical of such attempt, show us that Korean liberalism, entrenched in a colonized reality, was indeed starting to fracture. Their liberal suggestions were met with stark criticism because somewhere along the way it became clear that their suggestions would lead to Koreans’ assimilation into a structure of colonial ruling, and would force Koreans to steer away from their ultimate goal of liberating themselves from the clutches of Japanese imperialism. Initially they embraced liberalism as a method that would hopefully help them regain their country’s independence, but with their failure to explore other aspects of liberalism, the aspect that they did dig into actually ended up being abused as a theory that would justify their own cooperation and collaboration with Japanese authorities.

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