문화적 단절과 정치적 연대 -『독립신문』의 중국관 재검토 -

Abstract

This paper affords a renewed understanding of Tongnip sinmun’s (1896-1899) view of China. Current scholarly works have agreed that an extremely negative view of China was predominant in Tongnip sinmun. In contrast, this paper approaches Tongnip sinmun’s perception of China from a different angle and demonstrates that a relatively positive view of China co-existed with the extremely negative view. That is, this paper divides Tongnip sinmun’s view of China into two dimensions―the cultural dimension and the political dimension―and argues that, whereas anti-Chinese sentiments were strong in the cultural dimension, a positive view was seen in the political dimension. In particular, Tongnip sinmun was very critical of Chinese cultural remnants deeply rooted in Chosŏn Korea, as the newspaper’s editors thought that complete severance from Chinese culture was crucial in building up Korean national identity. At the same time, however, Tongnip sinmun paid keen and positive attention to the political reform movement in the Qing court and government and firmly supported the movement in China, hoping that the success of the Chinese political reform would lead to a political alliance between Qing China, Meiji Japan, and Chosŏn Korea. Tongnip sinmun editors thought that the alliance would be important in protecting not only Chosŏn Korea but also all of East Asia from Western imperialism.