[KS] Chuch'e

[Charles Rd K Armstrong]

Dear Ruediger,

Dr. Petrov's statement is correct, but I doubt that Paek Nam-un's speech
had much to do with the formation of juche ideology in North Korea, except
by analogy -- that is, in retrospect we can see that the highly mobilized
society of post-Korean War North Korea uses a similar rhetoric to wartime
Japan. The notion of juche does have roots in early East Asian ideas of
nation-centered subjectivity. Bruce Cumings argues that juche is a kind of
negative response to Japanese kokutai ("national essence") the rallying
point of pre-war and wartime Japanese patriotism and militarism. See
Cumings' article on The Corporate State in North Korea in Hagen Koo's book
State and Society in Contemporary Korea (Cornell University Press, 1993).
Shutaisei (juchesong in Korean pronunciation) and its meaning was the
subject of much philosophical discussion in 1920s Japan; see for example
Harry Harootunion and Tetsuo Najita's chapter on Overcoming Modernity in
Cambridge History of Japan, or for a more extended treatment Harootunian's
recent book Overcoming Modernity. I'm sure there are others on this list
with more expertise in Japanese intellectual history who could discuss
that subject more extensively. Best,

Charles

 On Mon, 11 Feb 2002, Leonid Petrov wrote:

> Dear Frank,
>
> In April 1941, the founder of the Marxist Socio-economic school of historiography, Paek Nam-un, gave a public lecture titled "The Morality of Regulated Economy". One section of his lecture was titled "T'ongje-Ui chuch'e-wa sinch'eje-Ui sOngkkyOk" [The Subject of Control and the Nature of the New System]. There Paek argued that Korea [uri kukch'e] must become a subject [chuch'e] of the new Japanese economic control and therefore help the Japanese people [ilbon kungmin] fulfill the Emperor's policy on the creation of the country's invincible might [kUmgu mugyOl].
>
> We can see that in this piece the word "chuch'e" was used in its original meaning -- "subject" -- albeit a little bit broadened by the fascism-tilting author.
>
> This lecture was given at the Keijo Daiwa Hall, the usual venue for "patriotic" events held in the Japanese-occupied Seoul.[1] Paek also argued for successful creation of the Japan-Manchuria-China bloc in East Asia as was suggested by the "Eight Corners under One Roof" [hakko ichiu] motto. He also compared the merits of Japanese economic system (which he unequivocally called "our national economy") with that of Germany and Italy. Paek claimed that, from the moral point of view, the Japanese economic model, based on the Imperial system, was far more advanced than those implemented by some "prominent leaders" in Europe.[2] Despite the timid criticism of over-regulation and rising prices, Paek called upon his countrymen to mobilize all national resources and prepare themselves for the extremes of wartime economy.
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> [1] Paek Nam-un, 'Tosei Keizai-no Rinrisei' [The Morality of Regulated Economy], Toyo-no Hikari, (June 1942), No. 4-6.
>
> [2] Paek Nam-un, 'T'ongje KyOngje-Ui YullisOng' [The Morality of Regulated Economy], Ha Il-sik, trans., Hwip'yOn. Paek Nam-un ChOnjip 4., Seoul: Iron-gwa Silch'On, 1991, pp.282-284.
>
> With best regards,
>
> LEONID A. PETROV
> Division of Pacific and Asian History
> Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
> The Australian National University
> ****************************************
> Mob: +61-403076604
> Tel:   +61(2) 6125 3172 (office)
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> E-mail: petrov at coombs.anu.edu.au
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>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ruediger Frank" <rfrank at eplus-online.de>
> To: <Koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws>
> Sent: Friday, February 08, 2002 8:03 PM
> Subject: [KS] Chuch'e
>
>
> > Dear list,
> >
> > I am currently writing an article on the political system of North Korea
> > for a German university textbook. Needless to say that in the course of
> > this work I have to deal with the term Chuch'e.
> >
> > As far as I remember having heard, a philosophical term called Shutaisei
> > (Chuch'esOng) has already been used by the Japanese in the 1920s, long
> > before Kim Il-sOng introduced Chuch'e in his speech to the propagandists of
> > the Nodongdang on December 28, 1955. Is that correct? And if yes, in which
> > context has it been used before?
> >
> > Thanks a lot for your help.
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > Ruediger Frank
> > ***********************
> > Ruediger FRANK
> > Humboldt-University Berlin
> > Korea Institute
> > Fon: +49-30-55 99 878
> > Fax: +49-30-2093-6666
> > e-mail: ruediger.frank at rz.hu-berlin.de
> > Web: http://www2.hu-berlin.de/korea
> > ***********************
> >
> >
> >
>