Forge a strong, Independent Nation! : The Role of the Discourse of Autonomy in Creating Internal Repression in North and South Koreas from 1945 to 1979
This paper compares how the North and South Korean government from 1945 to 1979 used a rhetoric that emphasized individuals’ autonomy and unity with their nations to create internal repression. This rhetoric, which the paper terms as “the discourse of autonomy”, emerged during the Japanese Occupation when politicians posited Korean identity as a unique and homogenous entity. By analyzing the speeches, autobiographies, as well as economic and educational policies published by the North Korean president Kim Il Sung and South Korean president Park Chung Hee, this paper illustrates how self-strengthening movements in agricultural and educational sectors punished individuals who failed to conform to societal standards. Because of the division between two nations, the discourse of autonomy further repressed members of South and North Korean societies whose occupations bore association to their enemy nation.