[석사논문] 고정일, 「新文館 崔南善·講談社 野間淸治 硏究 : 한국·일본 근대화기 두 출판인의 생애와 사상」, 2003
- 비교문화협동과정
- 조회수1050
- 2023-01-26
[영문초록(Abstract)]
This is a comparative study of Choi Namsun and Noma Seiji, the two publishers who opened a new era in publishing history in Korea and Japan respectively in the early modern period. By examining the lives of the two publishers who had great influence on publishing area, this study aims to find the social meaning which the cultural activity of publishing had in societies of early modern period.
While former studies about modernization have been performed mainly on political background and couldn't have presented vivid realization of the history, this study aims at revealing concrete aspects of the historical phenomenon of modernization by focusing on publishing as a part of enlightenment movement.
This study also aims at re-evaluatiing Choi Namsun. Choi has been studied as a writer or a historian, and with his pro-Japanese tendency he has often been underestimated. However, his role as a publisher and his activities related with cultural and social enlightenment is worthy of re-evaluation.
Though the modernization process of Korea was not the same with that of Japan, there were some common elements between the lives of the two publishers.
Modernization refers to the development of the things and systems in 18th∼19th century western Europe and North America, and has the positive meaning of 'progress'. For a long time the term of modernization has been understood as westernization. Modernization means establishment and settlement of democracy in politics, increase of national income and acquirement of social safety network in economy, pervasion of rationalism and pragmatism through the development of science in culture.
European countries had already colonized and governed South America and Africa in the time of Choi Namsun and Noma Seiji. In about 1870, with the development of capitalism, western countries started their competition in acquiring colonies, and in the mid 19th century, they expanded their colonies to east Asia.
United Kingdom colonized Singapore Malaysia, Burma, and India. France made great efforts to colonize Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indochina. The Opium War made Chung Dynasty signed on unfair contracts presented by foreign capitalist countries.
In this rapidly changing international order and political situation, 'cultural activities of publishing' by the two publishers in Korea and Japan were not only realization of the two publishers' personal wishes to enlighten their societies but also what the time asked of them.
Publishing had a great influence on changing society of modern period as is shown through the example of encyclopedistes of Renaissance. In the 18th century intellectual revolution, the publishing activities of encyclopedistes did a decisive role in opening a new society. It is not so very different in the case of Korea and Japan. When Korea and Japan faced the task of modernization and foreign invasion in the early modern period, the role of publishing couldn't be too much emphasized.
Generally publication is a kind of mass media along with newspapers and broadcast. However, publicaion has characteristics different from other mass media. Though apparently publication seems to have little influence over the masses in comparison with newspapers and broadcast, it is a medium the readers voluntarily choose through their own deep thoughts and appreciation of the contents. So publications made great impression on readers' mind while the other media which the audience habitually watch and listen do not.
And this may be the reason why Choi Namsun and Noma Seiji, the two representative publishers of Korea and Japan in the early modern period chose publishing as their life-time work. They were forerunners who realized that publshing was the key medium which reflects the spirit of the age.
Choi Namsun said that restoration of the nation would be possible when everyone of Chosun got knowledge and national pride. He was impressed so much when he saw streets of bookstores in Japan that he determined to commit himself to publishing business.
He established Shinmunkwan, a publishing company the title of which means to provide new culture. He published a magazine titled Boys at Shinmunkwan. Boys is the first magazine in Korea, and through the Boys he wanted to promote patriotism and provide new thoughts among Korean people. He published another magazines like Youth and Dongmyung, which also aimed to encourage the youth to develop themselves with higher knowledge and to raise the level of the nation's culture. These magazines contributed in settling new literary style in which Korean alphabet is dominant over Chinese alphabet, and opened to readers the opportunity to participate in writing.
Choi Namsun published books as well. At Shinmunkwan, western literatures were translated into Korean, and books on humanities, history, and science were published. These books influenced youths and intellectuals who were thirsty for new knowledge at that time.
Choi Namsun also made great efforts to preserve the tradition of Korean classics, and as a part of these efforts he established Chosun-kwangmunhoi. Korean Dictionary is one of the chief achievements of Chosun-kwangmunhoi. And, six-penny books which were published at Chosun-kwangmunhoi for the purpose of enlightening the masses were very popular among ordinary people. Later Chosun-kwangmunhoi became the center of patriotic activities where people who pursued national independence gathered.
If Choi Namsun's publishing activity focused on promoting patriotism and enlightening the masses, that of Noma Seiji focused more on publication itself.
Noma Seiji was very much interested in writing and telling stories aloud since he was a little child, and became interested in oratory as he grew. This hobby led him to publish a magazine on oratory. The magazine became so popular that he quit his job at a university, and concentrated wholly upon publishing activities.
Noma Seiji established a publishing company named Kodanshya and published Kodangurakbu, a magazine in which novels called kodan were published serially. Kodans were already popular among Japanese people at that time. But Noma Seiji added the element of fun and laugh to kodans. Kodangurakbu made a great success, and this encouraged Noma Seiji to publish another magazines such as Sonyungurakbu Jaemitneungurakbu Yeoseonggurakbu Hyundai Sonyogurakbu King, etc.
All these magazines were great success, and Noma Seiji became the king of magazine business. Noma Seiji's great success came from his efforts to make informative and interesting magazines. He thought about how to make good magazines day and night. He always had notebooks in handy, and whenever a good idea occurred he wrote it down.
Another element of his success was human resources. Noma Seiji knew that to make good magazines, competitive human resources were necessary. So he trained and educated a group of boys, and some of them became renowned publishers later. Kodanshya have published world literatures and art books, and is an international publishing company now.
Choi Namsun and Noma Seiji had different motives of devoting themselves in publishing activities, and the physical results of their activities were not the same. However, they are common in providing readers with new knowledge, thoughts and culture, which are invisible but important.
[주제어]: 신문관, 최남선, 강담사, 야간청치