Abstract

This paper examines how Park Wansuh’s 1990s novels offer fresh perspectives on Korea’s colonial period, focusing on Who Ate Up All the Shinga?. It explores themes like the Forced Name Change [sōsikaime], reading in Japanese language, and the forced mobilization of comfort women. While post-democratization South Korea viewed the Forced Name Change as the evidence of Japanese collaboration, the novel reveals that active collaborators did not always undergo name changes, unlike ordinary people who did so to avoid disadvantages. The novel also highlights that reading Japanese books was crucial for literary and intellectual aspirations during and after the colonial era. Finally, it contrasts the 1990s media’s portrayal of comfort women with its gendered impact on girls and their communities, urging critical reflections on unresolved colonial legacies.