1970년대 농촌 주거공간의 변화와 소비자 농민 : 인테리어 공간과 텔레비전 소비를 중심으로

Abstract

A succession of rural housing initiatives during the New Village Movement in 1970s South Korea not only altered the external appearance of the farmhouse and village, but also restructured the interior space of the individual home. This article argues that, the re-created domestic space was, most of all, a vehicle for farmers’ private consumer desires; at the same time, it served as a kind of commercial showcase where farmers as consumers were making material-cultural dynamics among themselves through the new commodities. The farmers revealed their aspiration and mutual competition for brand-new commodities inside their new homes. This aspect was in clear conflict with the farmers’ financial strain and apathy produced by the ‘modernization’ projects. However, this seeming contradiction helps account for how the New Village projects were able to advance throughout the 1970s despite the farmers’ continued complaints regarding their fatigue and hardship. Rather than simply forcing farmers to submit to state policy, a number of the New Village projects indeed depended on mobilization, not only of their labour and funds, but also of their consumer desires.BR As this article illustrates, the most prominent changes of the new interior space resulted from the installation of electricity and the enlargement of house size. The spacious interior of homes with electricity was optimized to bring various cutting-edge furniture and electric home appliances. Now, the interior space of the reconstructed houses was swiftly transforming farmers into customers of a more diverse collection of commodities. A television was the most popular and overwhelming commodity, and was always positioned literally at the center of interior space and domestic life. In 1971, only 10% of farm households had a television, but by 1979 that percentage had gone up to 80%. In the midst of this television boom in the countryside, the Samsung Electronics Group established its initial business foundation. Today, Samsung Electronics is the most representative transnational corporate group in South Korea, but it was a late entry into the electronics industry of the early 1970s. Samsung sought for a way to expand its market share in the growing television consumption in the countryside, and developed marketing strategies targeting farming consumers. This article reveals that Samsung Electronics’ rapid growth in the 1970s was due to the farmers’ purchasing power. Yet, this disposable capital largely came from usurious loans offered by retailers under the façade of a burden-free instalment sale.