A Spectacle of Authority on the Streets: Police Uniforms in Imperial Japan and Colonial Korea

The eminent scholar-nun Chŏng Suok (1902–1966) traveled from colonial Korea to Imperial Japan from 1937 to 1939 and wrote a travelogue that provides an important first-hand account from a woman’s perspective on the state of Japanese and Korean Buddhism during the early 20th century. Bemoaning the destitute state of Korean Buddhist nuns who had no schools, lecture halls, or even meditation rooms, she notes the stark contrast with the Japanese nuns who had access to proper education and enjoyed respect from society. After returning from Japan, she became not only a dharma instructor and abbess but something much more. As a prominent leader of the Buddhist purification movement in the 1960s she became one of the most influential nuns in Korea, promoting education, practice, social engagement, and feminist consciousness until her death in 1966. Her long struggle exemplifies a transnational crossing that helped to deepen the Buddhist tradition in both Korea and Japan.

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International political economy thought in pre-modern and colonial Korea

International Trade, Politics and Development ◽

10.1108/itpd-02-2019-002 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 11-29

Author(s):

Hyoung-kyu Chey

Keyword(s):

Political Economy ◽

Intellectual History ◽

International Political Economy ◽

Late Nineteenth Century ◽

Colonial Korea ◽

Content Type ◽

Economic Liberalism ◽

History Of ◽

Imperial Japan ◽

The Times

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse international political economy (IPE) thought in Korea during its pre-modern and colonial eras. Design/methodology/approach It divides these eras into three periods. The first period is the eighteenth century, in which Silhak arose. The second is the mid- and late nineteenth century, a time characterised by conflicts between Wijeong-cheoksa and Gaehwa thoughts. The final period is that of colonial Korea under imperial Japan, and during this time economic nationalist movements were pursued while Marxist theories were also introduced to the country. Findings This research shows that IPE thoughts analogous to Western economic liberalism and economic nationalism did emerge endogenously in Korea when its environment was similar to those in which these Western thoughts arose, although in ways that reflected Korea’s peculiar situations of the times. This study also demonstrates that the “economic” thoughts of the Koreans in these periods were shaped largely by their political thoughts. Originality/value This research contributes to the building of a more “globalised” intellectual history of classical IPE thought.

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