Colonized National Identity:The Reconstruction Of Choe Nam-seon’s National Identity During Japanese Colonial Rule

In order to understand how colonial activities might influence the identity of the colonized,to analyze the reasons and logic of the construction and reconstruction of the colonized’s identity,and to explain the defection phenomenon that commonly occurred in the colonial system,this thesis selects the Korean intellectual Choe Nam-seon as the main case.It analyzes the reasons and process of his changes in mentality and identity towards the Japanese colonial system.The identity construction of the colonized has become one of the critical viewpoints of colonial theory.When a national group is threatened,the most common response is confronting the threat.Within the Korean Peninsula,various forms of confrontation occured against the Japanese colonial system.Korean nationalism is one of the primary ideological roots of the conflict,and many independent fighters carry out anti-Japanese struggles in various ways according to the nationalist ideology.However,it is worth noting that some independent fighters and intellectuals who previously possessed nationalist ideas have gradually become pro-Japanese,which was described as the defection phenomenon.Choe Nam-seon’s attitude towards Japanese colonialism changed dramatically during Japanese colonial rule in Korea.This thesis regards his changes in mentality towards the Japanese colonial system as the construction and reconstruction process of his national identity,divides his deeds into four steps according to the change of Japan’s colonial rule in Korea,and then focuses on the changes of Choe’s understanding of others in each period and its impact on the construction of national identity.Overall,the change in Choe’s utopian thought and its influence on the understanding of others will play an essential role in the forming,developing,and reconstructing of his national identity.This thesis argues that Choe Nam-seon’s defection is not calculated according to selfinterest or emotional transmutations,but a logical problem from the constructing and developing of his national identity.In other words,Choe’s defection was not to abandon his Korean national identity and become Japanese,but his national identity was colonized by the forced otherizing of the colonial system.For the postcolonial theory,the study of colonialism must understand and consider the reaction of the colonized to colonialism during the formation of the colonial system.In short,by analyzing of Choe Nam-seon’s changes in attitude towards Japanese colonialism,this thesis effectively explains the relationship between colonialism and identity reconstruction,which is focused on postcolonial theory.