Current perspectives of Korean Intellectuals Living in Postcolonial Japan:The 'Universal Singulier'

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24617001
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: 文化学
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Manabe Yuko 東京大学, 大学院情報学環, 教授 (00302258)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 在日コリアン / ポストコロニアル / 知識人 / 歴史認識 / 日韓連帯 / 韓国民主化運動 / 慰安婦問題

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This paper reviews change in generational perspectives of Korean intellectuals living in Japan who are in a specific position in academic discussion and society in Japan in a postcolonial context, and then, examines how their discourse could gain ‘universality’ in spite of the ‘uniqueness’ in their ethnical attributes.
Alert to a recent tendency to historical revisionism in both Japan and South Korea, some Korean intellectuals participate in politics about social issues such as the accidental sinking of the MV Sewol as well as hate speech, while the younger generation tends to be more actively involved in speech activities about comfort women. This tendency shows that the stance of these younger Korean intellectuals is pursuing universal values as concerned individuals.This phenomenon can be considered primarily as a change in perspective among postcolonial generations in accordance with the intergenerational qualitative change of ‘universal singulier’ based on Sartre’s concept.

Free Research Field

文化学