한국 근대 역사개념의 성립

The Korean Conception of History - The Birth of National History and Shin Ch'aeho's Nationalistic Historiography -

The Korean Middle School textbook defines ‘Korean History’ as ‘the path travelled by our nation, as well as the record of that path’. That is to say, it describes Korean history in terms of a ‘nation’ that is seen as existing as the transcendent subject of history. In most countries, ‘national history’ is a common noun used to refer to a historiographical tradition, originating in nineteenth century Europe, in which the history of a state is described as coterminous with the historical development of the nation. The case of Korea, however, is unusual, in that the word used ‘National History’, Kuksa, is used as a proper noun referring specifically to Korean History. This is an unusual feature of Korean historiography that sets its tradition of nationalist historiography apart from those of other countries; indeed, the Korean tradition can only be understood through investigation into the history of the development of Korean historiography, as well as into the attendant process by which Kuksa gained the meaning that it currently has. Shin Ch'aeho(1880～1936) is the father of Kuksa. The tradition of Kuksathat he created, continues to inform, as meta-history, historical discussion to this very day. In this sense he can be described as the deus obscurus of Korean history. However, ironically, he has been rejected by the positivist historians who dominate the scientific community of Korean history. The most widely accepted narrative of Korean ancient history continues to be based on Kim Pusik(1075～1151)'s Samguk sagi, despite the fact that Shin Ch'aeho rejected the validity of that narrative. It has been Shin's fate to become Korea's ‘eternal opposition historian’. His national-historical meta-history has gained wide acceptance, but the various claims he made about proper history have been largely rejected. How can we explain this contradiction? I hope in this essay to investigate how Shin modernized Korean historiography through the creation of the concept of National History. Furthermore, I will suggest the need to change the paradigm from the National History to a post-national historiography.