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ISSN : 0023-3900

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Vol.63 No.2
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Collective Memory as Reflected in the Popular Historical Novels and Culture of Korea: The Debate on Jo Jeong-rae’s Arirang

Korea Journal / Korea Journal, (P)0023-3900; (E)2733-9343
2023, v.63 no.2, pp.151-176
https://doi.org/10.25024/kj.2023.63.2.151
Sungwoo KANG (Chungnam National University)
Sun KIM
KANG, S., & KIM, S. (2023). Collective Memory as Reflected in the Popular Historical Novels and Culture of Korea: The Debate on Jo Jeong-rae’s Arirang. Korea Journal, 63(2), 151-176, https://doi.org/10.25024/kj.2023.63.2.151
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Abstract

The collective memory of Korea, which has evolved through the shaping of the country’s national culture and identity, has deepened Koreans’ animosity toward Japan, and undermined reconciliation between Korea and Japan since the end of World War II. This paper analyzes how the collective memory of Japanese colonization of Korea has been constructed since World War II by examining the multiple narratives contained in Arirang, a popular Korean novel by Jo Jeong-rae, which has since the 1990s achieved canonical status on the basis of its nationalist perspective. For this purpose, this paper explores how Japanese colonialism is portrayed in Arirang, the pushback this portrayal has received from professional historians, and the socio-economic context in which the collective memory the novel promotes has been shaped and shared among Koreans.

keywords
collective memory, post-WWII, popular novels, Korea-Japan relations, Arirang
Submission Date
2022-07-13
Revised Date
2022-09-06
Accepted Date
2022-09-06

Korea Journal

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