일본제국의 한국지배와 근대적 한국상의 창출 * 1) -대한협회를 중심으로-

Japan s Imperialistic Rule of Korea and the Formation of Modern Image of Korea -With Focus on Daehan hyuphoe-

With the victory in the Russo-Japanese War, modern Japan accelerated its pace for the construction of an empire. Japan s pace for colonizing Korea caused a great deal of anxieties and discussions in Korean society. This article, in particular, focuses on the formation of contradicting images of Korean society after the Russo-Japanese War. The first of such images was built by Japanese, who attempted to define Korea as a society to be colonized. The second image was built by a large group of Korean intellectuals who accepted Western/Japanese discourse on the superiority of Western/Japanese civilization. This group emphasized the need for self-strengthening through the embrace of civilization from Japan. The third can be called an image of self-reliance and independence for emphasizing Korean potentials for independence. These three groups were both interconnected and contradicting. First of all, Japan s image of Korea was in accordance with the image by the civilization group in that both emphasized Korea s backwardness, ignorance and corruption. It should be noted that the civilization group embraced a large part of Japanese excuses for colonizing Korea. In contrast, Shin Chae-Ho tried to negate Japanese explanations. He denied Japan s argument for Korea s lack of independent spirits and government corrupts by giving highest value to national independence. In short, Shin s indulgence into historical study was an attempt to overcome Japanese argument for colonizing Korea. In this way, the period after the Russo-Japanese War witnessed critical clashes in views on Korea s past, present and future, with deep political implication over Japan s colonization of Korea.