Colonial National Learning (植民地國學) and Kangaku (漢學)
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Abstract,
This lecture explores the intellectual history of 1930s Korea and East Asia. The term "Colonial National Learning" refers to the National Learning (國學; C: Guoxue; J: Kokugaku; K: Gukhak) of colonial Korea—a discipline that, unlike its contemporary counterparts in China and Japan, had to operate under the title of Chosŏnhak (朝鮮學). The term National Learning originally emerged in premodern Japan as a counterweight to Kangaku (漢學) and was systematized by Motoori Norinaga. In the 20th century, Japanese Kokugaku secured a firm place within the university system through Haga Yaichi, a key successor of traditional Kokugaku and the father of modern Japanese literature. Korea's first fully modern university - Keijo Imperial University (京城帝國大學) was established only in 1926, and its own movement to reorganize national heritage—the "Korean Studies Movement"—did not gain real momentum until the 1930s. Unable to name itself "National Learning," Chosŏnhak (or "Colonial National Learning") developed several unique characteristics distinguishing it from both Japan and China. A prime example is the intervention of Marxists in Gukhak, which was tied to contemporary East Asian debates on the Asiatic Mode of Production. This lecture briefly outlines these distinct features of Colonial National Learning and demonstrates how Kangaku—which had been excluded beyond the boundaries of the "Nation" in Japan and China—actually formed the core of Colonial National Learning in Korea.
This lecture explores the intellectual history of 1930s Korea and East Asia. The term "Colonial National Learning" refers to the National Learning (國學; C: Guoxue; J: Kokugaku; K: Gukhak) of colonial Korea—a discipline that, unlike its contemporary counterparts in China and Japan, had to operate under the title of Chosŏnhak (朝鮮學). The term National Learning originally emerged in premodern Japan as a counterweight to Kangaku (漢學) and was systematized by Motoori Norinaga. In the 20th century, Japanese Kokugaku secured a firm place within the university system through Haga Yaichi, a key successor of traditional Kokugaku and the father of modern Japanese literature. Korea's first fully modern university - Keijo Imperial University (京城帝國大學) was established only in 1926, and its own movement to reorganize national heritage—the "Korean Studies Movement"—did not gain real momentum until the 1930s. Unable to name itself "National Learning," Chosŏnhak (or "Colonial National Learning") developed several unique characteristics distinguishing it from both Japan and China. A prime example is the intervention of Marxists in Gukhak, which was tied to contemporary East Asian debates on the Asiatic Mode of Production. This lecture briefly outlines these distinct features of Colonial National Learning and demonstrates how Kangaku—which had been excluded beyond the boundaries of the "Nation" in Japan and China—actually formed the core of Colonial National Learning in Korea.