The Formation of “Knowledge” of the Soviet Union by Kim Jun Yeon in the Mid-1920s

This paper examines how knowledge about the Soviet Union was shaped in Colonial Korea, with a particular focus on Kim Jun Yeon’s writings based on his visit to Russia. In the early 1920s, the Russian Revolution was viewed primarily as a practical movement, and this perspective dominated the understanding of the Soviet Union in Colonial Korea. However, after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Japan in January 1925, Kim Jun Yeon introduced a new understanding of the Soviet Union that emphasized its being a socialist state. Kim gained firsthand experience of the Soviet Union during his two-month visit to Moscow as a special correspondent for the Chosun Ilbo. Upon his return to Colonial Korea, Kim published a series of articles in the Chosun Ilbo explaining the Soviet state system, which were later compiled into a monograph. While Kim drew from existing publications, his work was distinctive in that it was based on his own direct experiences. In other words, Kim introduced the “actually existing Soviet Union,” not an unknown entity, to the colonial Korean audience. In early 1926, Kim also translated Bukharin’s works on the New Economic Policy and Stalin’s writings on Leninism into Korean. Through these translations, Kim continued his effort to explicate Soviet state policies. In this way, Kim’s writings played an important role in the development of new ‘knowledge’ about the Soviet Union in Colonial Korea during the mid-1920s.