Joseon/Korean Intellectuals Interpreting the French Revolution during the 1890s-1930s

The fundamental goal of this article is to fill the void of poor prior research and stimulate further research. The main issue is, first, to apply into the context of the time and analyze various types of texts referring to the French Revolution from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. In that extension, it tracks the changes in the views and historical perspectives of Joseon/Korean intellectuals who lived in a radical transition period leading to the period of King Gojong, the Korean Empire, and the colony on the French Revolution. In addition, the discourse on the French Revolution formed and shared by Joseon intellectuals in the 1890s and 1930s is briefly compared with that of contemporary Chinese and Japanese intellectuals to gauge the worldview of contemporary East Asian intellectuals in the West. The achievements of this study are as follows. First, reformist intellectuals during the period of King Gojong-the Korean Empire represented by Yoo Gil-jun and Yoon Chi-ho were also afraid of active discussion of the French Revolution and acquisition of its historical lessons. Second, intellectuals during the period of cultural governance tried to approach the French Revolution ‘from below’, paid attention to its creative destructive power, and learned its democratic character. Third, Joseon’s modern women welcomed the French Revolution as a successful example of the modern feminine movement, and made it a lesson to overcome the ‘women’s panic era’ in which old women and new women conflict. Fourth, some intellectuals appropriated ‘La Marseillaise’, a military song and national song of the French Revolution, in a way that supported Japanese militarism and promoted totalitarian fascism. It can be seen that the framework for interpretation of the French Revolution during the colonial period shifted from ‘left to right’.