National Memory and Identity of the Working Class in Korea (1910~1950)

Journal Title: International Journal of Korean History - Year 2000, Vol 1, Issue 1

Abstract

The Korean working class founded their construction of national memory and identity upon their resistance to Japanese domination. The origins of working class identity could be traced back to Korean perceptions of Japanese as lithe other" based on differences in tradition, culture and consciousness. During the colonial period however, workers continued to identify with nation over class as demonstrated by their widespread participation in national events such as the funeral of King Sunjong. This was also part of a process of reconstructing national memory. Although in the colonial period, the working class claimed a memory of resistance under modernity, they simultaneously constructed a memory of compliance through their voluntary labor and obedience to factory discipline. Modem memory changed rapidly once the working class were incorporated into a fascist war mobilization program. However, in spite of workers' strong resistance to colonial domination, they also developed a culture of submission founded on fear and terror. This duality interfered with the development of national memory and transformed national identity into one characterized by passive and tacit forms of working class resistance. Following the surrender of Japan in 1945, memory was reconstructed around a "community of liberation" as workers focused on state building in their quest for independence, power, and escape from the humiliations of colonial rule. Memory was thus readjusted in order to tie memory to the period of liberation and eliminate negative memories of the past. However, the South Korean government, established in 1948, split this "community of liberation," executing and exercising various forms of physical violence and social discrimination against those dissidents who refused to accept the Rhee regime. The working class, coerced by ruling forces into forgetting existing memories and accepting an "official" memory, was thus forced to construct new national memory in response to national division. This was not only a part of the national formation process but also indicated an involuntary shift in the labor movement away from the left. It was this coercive process that erased working class memory and convinced them into complacency. Under such pressures, national memory of the working class could not resist change. The general workforce was forced into submitting to the Rhee regime this submission was ultimately represented in national memory as a culture of compliance, reflecting working class experiences under national division, anti-communism and dictatorship. Korean working class identity was thus gradually transformed by forced silence and submission and expressed as a new memory of defeat and frustration.

Authors and Affiliations

Moo-yong Kim

Keywords

Related Articles

Raising the Issue of ‘Modernity’ : ‘Colonial modernity’ theory as advanced by Japanese Korean Studies scholars and the background thereof

The manner in which the relationship between the colonial rule/period and ‘modernity’ should be perceived has been a hot-button issue in studies on the colonial period in Korea. Particular attention has been paid by so...

Analysis of Local Aristocrats (士族) in the Asan Area During the Chosŏn Era as Viewed Through the Sama pangmok(司馬榜目)

Various significant studies have been conducted on the aristocrats who ruled over local communities (在地士族, chaeji sajok) during the Chosŏn era. As part of its efforts to secure the basic information needed to perp...

Global History and East Asia : A Late Chosŏn Perspective

Some Asia historians have recently argued for a new understanding of global history by reexamining how the European countries took the lead in making modern civilization and capitalism, specifically concentrating on hist...

Direction of Public Opinion during the Taehan Empire and the People’s Perception of Their Era during the Period of Russo-Japanese Conflict-With a special focus on the Hwangsŏng sinmun

There have been many studies conducted on the subject of how the Hwangsŏng sinmun attempted to use its articles to get the Korean population to support the notion of the forging of an alliance with Japan that was base...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP26244
  • DOI -
  • Views 578
  • Downloads 24

How To Cite

Moo-yong Kim (2000). National Memory and Identity of the Working Class in Korea (1910~1950). International Journal of Korean History, 1(1), -. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-26244