1960년대 한국의 근대화론 수용과 인문학계의 변화

Abstract

Examined in this article is essentially what kind of effects the Modernization theory from the U.S. actually had on the Humanity studies in Korea, when it was first introduced to the Korean academic circles in the 1960s. Previously, this introduction of a U.S.-based modernization theory was simply criticized for working in concert with the U.S. anti-Communist world strategy, depicting the American and European style of progress as an ideal model of development and suggesting that to the Third world countries, and ultimately serving as an ideology that blocked the growth of nationalistic aspirations in those countries. Surely this study acknowledges that the modernization theory did exhibit such nature, but at the same time I would also like to point out that the Korean intellectuals and academic circles dedicated to Humanity studies in Korea accepted and embraced such Modernization theory, in order to overcome and dismantle the distorted image of Korean history (earlier branded as ‘stagnated’ and ‘heteronomous’ by the Japanese oppressors during the Japanese occupation period), and eventually developed nationalistic ideologies and academism for themselves.<BR> It is strongly argued (and verified) in this article that certain noteworthy changes did continue in individual academic areas such as history, philosophy and literature. The Korean historians’ society, riding on the wave of modernization theories’ expansive circulation, and based on the Marxist historiography’s ‘Transition to Capitalism’ theory (Marxist historiography had been oppressed and illegalized in Korea ever since the Korean war), successfully nullified the notion of ‘modernization by Japan,’ and then proved the existence of ‘independent modernization led by Koreans themselves.’ Then, in the area of Korean philosophy, duly noted was the nationalistic awakening of the Confucian scholars and Shilhak experts since the middle period of Joseon, and that notice led to the philosophers’ recognition that philosophical ideas such as free democratic thinking, existentialism, and knowledge of science and technology did continue to grow in Korea, and led to Korean modern philosophies including Donghak, which could be labelled as a national religion. And finally in the area of Korean literature, nationalistic literature and critical reviews searching for a new reasoning system of a unique Korean nature began to take shape, replacing existential nihilism that had prevailed ever since the Korean war.