Abstract

This study analyzes the ideological feature of 『Sasanggye』, the magazine which is representative of the history of Korean intelligence in 1960s, as scientism. And then it explores how scientism reframes gender; a link between scientism and the reconstruction of gender. Most of the studies on 1960s have been centered on the cold war and militarism or the Saemaul Undong(the campaign to booster productivity by reforming the whole country) and the productivity discourse. While intensively analyzing the productivity discourse of Park Junghee's Project to follow after the speedy modernization, the study extracts scientism from the values that it uses as essential ideology. The scientism at that time, that can be prescribed as the technology nationalism, functions as a magic helper for enhancing the wealth and military strength of a country. In addition, it holds such views about technology determination that technology will be good for everyone. The technology determination was criticized by the social shaping of technology that criticized the arms race between the U.S. and the soviet Union; it mentions that not only is technology constructed socially, but it forms society. The technology determination was emphasized as the key factor in the modernization project rather than the ideological feature limited to 『Sasanggye』, and used as the symbolic mark of enhancing the wealth and military strength of a country with longing for nuclear weapon and nuclear development. Jang Junha argues in the frontispiece of 『Sasanggye』 that the factor required for our people's survival is a pioneering spirit and scientific method. As his words, scientism is the point that national intelligence and national policy are so intertwined. As scientism moved forward in the secularized technology nationalism, the speedy national project, it is changed into the productivity discourse; we take it for granted the mechanical man is the ideal man. There have so far been many studies on hegemony masculinity and feminity and lots of analyses which the value of man-woman dichotomy would obstruct human diversity. It, however, is judged that there is a lack of contemplating the reason why the mechanical man in the productivity discourse becomes hegemony masculinity in Korean society. 『Sasanggye』prescribes that an ideal human is a scientific human. So needless to say, women should be a rational and scientific human, given that he is a universal human as well. The construction of gender internalized in the magazine, which can be called asexual media without any specific mention about women, holds conventional perception of sex role. According to the articles of Kim Kisuk, an expert advisor of 『Sasanggye』 or women's writings included in the magazine, it can be founded out that over-emotion rather than intelligence is prescribed as feminity. For the dichotomy of mechanical masculinity and over-emotional feminity its reason will be comprehended by scientism discourse. Science and scientism are distinct concept. While science is knowledge reflecting a fact, scientism is an ideology mythifying scientific knowledge. The mythic faith of scientific technology contributes to productive human rather than reflection on human. For that very reason, it shows that the construction of gender in『Sasanggye』has two types of human; mechanical masculinity and over-emotional feminity.