This study examines the discourses on early marriage that peaked from the late Chosŏn through the colonial era in Korea. It specifically addresses the definition of chohon as a harmful Korean tradition, beginning with the criticism of chohon as a practice that supposedly led to the downfall of the state in the late Chosŏn. Chohon was identified as the cause of women’s adultery and husband murders, and it was defined as a pernicious tradition that compromised the security of the state. However, behind the chohon discourse, a certain type of politics was in play. By analyzing the definition of chohon as a vice, this study confirms that the modern politics of population was involved. According to these discourses, chohon was criticized as a major threat to the security of the society and state, the discourse against it challenged the existing notions of marriage and the family; and repositioned the happy family and the sweet home as the basic unit for the development of the state. The family was believed to be the vital aspect of a modern state, which was therefore used to manage the population. The state and the family were in a complex relationship as the quality of the population was managed to develop a strong nation. The belief that a high-quality population improves national competitiveness and wealth situated chohon as harmful to the nation. In Korea, chohon discourses were deeply related to Western modernity.
목차
Abstract 1. EARLY MARRIAGE AS A DANGEROUS PRACTICE 2. DEFINING EARLY MARRIAGE AS A BARRIER TO ADVANCEMENT 3. EARLY MARRIAGE AS A VICE AND THE DESIRE FOR A SUPERIOR RACE 4. EARLY MARRIAGE AS A VICE: TO ACHIEVE HAPPY CONJUGALITY CONCLUSION REFERENCES
키워드
early marriageeugenic marriageeugenicspopulationcivilizationnational power
저자
HONG YANG-HEE [ A research professor at the Research Institute of Comparative History and Culture, Hanyang University, Korea. ]
한국연구원은 1970년 5월 한국 민속의 각 분야에 걸친 자료의 수집과 학술적 연구를 목적으로 '한국민속연구소'로 출발하였다. 그 후 1973년 5월 연구 분야를 확대하며 민속뿐만 아니라 한국학 전반에 걸친 연구를 위해 '한국학연구소'로 개편하였고, 다시 1989년 3월 한국의 국제적 위상의 부상과 함께 한국학 연구의 중요성이 높아짐에 따라 '한국학연구원'으로 확대, 개편하였다. 한국학연구원은 한국학 전반에 걸친 연구를 통해 지역과 민족문화 발전에 기여하며 한국학의 세계화를 위해서 학술활동을 강화하고 나아가 내·외국인에 대한 한국문화 교육을 담당하고자 한다.