This thesis drew the concept of 'semi-civilization' from modernity embodied by Lee Kwang-su's Mujeong(Heartlessness), and critically discussed colonial modernity of the novel. In addition, in order to explain cracks in the Enlightenment and ‘semi-ci...
This thesis drew the concept of 'semi-civilization' from modernity embodied by Lee Kwang-su's Mujeong(Heartlessness), and critically discussed colonial modernity of the novel. In addition, in order to explain cracks in the Enlightenment and ‘semi-civilization’ of Mujeong, this thesis focused on the fact that the emotion of ‘heartlessness’ appears when ‘Hyeong-sik’ pursues modernity, unlike in Lee Kwang-su’s essays on the Enlightenment. The purpose of this analysis is to find problematic colonial modernity and its cracks in Mujeong’s narrative structure.
Chapter Ⅰ discussed about ‘semi-civilization’ to examine colonial modernity in Mujeong. The term ‘semi-civilization’ refers to the intermediate stage between ‘barbarism’ and ‘civilization.’ This concept provided a theoretical basis to ‘civilization and modernization’ movement in Japan and Chosun while it also justified colonialism. It's because ‘semi-civilization’ is an identity that relies on pursuit of Western ‘civilization’ and otherization of East ‘barbarism.’ The concept of ‘semi-civilization’ not only justifies self-colonization by positioning itself as a state less than ‘civilization’, but also promotes otherization of ‘barbarism’ to separate itself from it.
Chapter Ⅱ examined the narrative of ‘semi-civilization’ by analyzing the composition of the characters in Mujeong. The characters are classified into ‘Person of the Past,’ ‘Person of the Present,’ and ‘Person of the Future,’ depending on the degree of adaptation to the modernization of Chosun. This stratification is based on strong binary oppositions such as the past and the future, premodernity and modernity. Furthermore, it shows a clear orientation towards modernity by contrasting the fate each group faces. The word ‘heartlessness’ is used to indicate that people who belong to the premodern world are inevitably sacrificed in the transitional state of Chosun. Above all, ‘Hyeong-sik’ makes choice of deserting ‘Yeong-chae’ who symbolize premodernity and getting engaged to ‘Seon-hyeong’ who represent modernity so that he could become a modern individual. Similarly, ‘semi-civilization’ relies on the exclusion of ‘barbarism’ and the orientation towards ‘civilization.’ Therefore, modernity embodied in Mujeong includes the colonial unconsciousness and the colonial consciousness.
Chapter Ⅲ explained the process of revealing the falsehood of ‘semi-civilization’ through cracks in the story. The emotion of ‘heartlessness’ ‘Hyeong-sik’ shows to ‘Yeong-chae’ is both rationalized as the expression of modern ‘emotion’ and criticized as immoral ‘heartlessness.’ The self-justification and guilty conscience of ‘Hyeong-sik’ come from the entanglement of premodern values and modern values. Even after the love triangle of ‘Hyeong-sik’, ‘Yeong-chae’ and ‘Seon-hyeong’ was solved, the entanglement of premodernity and modernity occurs because of the contradictory character the figuration of ‘semi-civilization’ has. In Chosun at the transitional state, the choice to break away from premodernity as ‘barbarism’ in pursuit of ‘civilization’ actually relies on the authority of the Confucian patriarchal system, including the sacrifice of ‘Yeong-chae’ and obedience of ‘Seon-hyeong.’ At this point, the logic of ‘semi-civilization’ to reject the past as ‘barbarism’ and cultivate the future as ‘civilization’ is revealed as falsehood. The ‘heartlessness’ of ‘Hyeong-sik’ cannot be only justified as modern ‘emotion’, also the premodern world cannot be completely removed. Accordingly, the guilty consciousness of ‘Hyeong-sik’ and the return of ‘Yeong-chae’ reveal the falsehood of ‘semi-civilization’ and instability of colonial modernity.
Chapter Ⅳ analyzed the second half of the work in which the ‘heartlessness’ is deflected and the contradiction of ‘semi-civilization’ is concealed. ‘Byeong-uk’, as an alternative character to ‘Hyeong-sik’, seeks harmony between premodernity and modernity and prevent ‘heartlessness’ instead of taking the logic of ‘semi-civilization.’ However, this concord is jeopardized when ‘Yeong-chae’ group and ‘Hyeong-sik’ group reunite in the train. In Samrangjin, ‘Hyeong-sik’ otherizes flood victims as ‘barbarism’ in order to emphasize the necessity of the modern Enlightenment movement and strengthens the binary confrontation of premodernity and modernity. As a result, the division among the enlightened subjects including ‘Hyeong-sik’, ‘Yeong-chae’, ‘Seon-hyeong’, ‘Byeong-uk’ is eliminated and the logic of ‘semi-civilization’ is rationalized. Nonetheless, the lack of probability and ‘unnaturalness’ are the traces of concealing the contradiction of ‘semi-civilization’ and thus become another symptom for its fabrication.
Although Mujeong is regarded as the first modern novel in the history of Korean literature, discussions on its modernity have continued to this day. It’s because Mujeong contains disparate elements that cannot be included in modernity and the Enlightenment. Rather than explaining these cracks in the work as the writer's lack of capacity or the limitation of modernity achievement, this thesis tried to explain them with contradictions inherent in the modernity itself drawn by Mujeong. Mujeong embodies colonial modernity through its character composition and narrative structure, but it exposes the instability of colonial modernity with its cracks. Therefore the significance of this study lies in the fact that it tried to find complexity in Mujeong, which neither completely explained by the Enlightenment nor colonial modernity.