Struggling Every Day: The Domestication of Emancipatory Narratives in Early South Korean History

Friday, April 22, 2011
12:00 PM - 1:15 PM
(Pacific)
Philippines Conference Room
Speaker: 
  • Charles Kim

Narratives of emancipatory struggle have occupied a privileged position in modern Korean nationalist discourse since the start of the twentieth century. Historians have not yet delved fully into the production and impact of emancipation narratives in modern Korea. This talk examines the transposition of this venerable anti-colonial narrative frame to South Korean political and public discourse during and after the student protests of April 19, 1960. The postcolonializing of emancipatory stories at this critical juncture has profoundly shaped the nation’s politics and culture in subsequent decades.

Charles Kim is an assistant professor of modern Korean history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research interests include nationalism, narrative, popular culture, and historical memory. At present, he is at work on a project that explores the post-colonial reconfiguration of Korean nationalist discourse in and through the seminal event of April 19th.  He holds a PhD from Columbia University, an MA from UCLA, and a BA from Pomona College.