한국 학생운동의 사상적 배경

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This essay expounds the February 8 Declaration of independence by Korean students studying in Tokyo, which may be said to be the earliest Korean student movement, and their ideological tendencies leading to it.<br/>
When the Paris Peace Conference was about to open following World War I in late 1918, the Korean students in Tokyo were deeply excited to hear that U.S President Wilson had just declared self-determination for all nations, that Koreans residing overseas were sending their representatives to Paris, and that Korean residents in the United States were raising funds for the cause of an independence movement.<br/>
This led them to organize the Choson Youth Independence Corps, at the inaugural meeting of which they read the declaration of independence, adopted a resolution, and shouted "independence forever" at the Korean YMCA building in Tokyo on February 8, 1919, in order to back up the national representatives in Paris and to demonstrate the will of the Korean people for independence.<br/>
Shortly earlier, Song Kye-baek 宋kye伯, a politics student of Waseda University, returned to Korean to explain to Korean leaders the plan of Korean students in Tokyo and urge them to follow suit at home, while Yi Kwang-su 李光洙, then a philosophical student, went to Sanghai to publicize the independence movement of Korean students in Japan.<br/>
There behind these activities was a distinct ideological current. These students in Japan were receiving a higher education, which was not available in Korea, and having access to the thoughts of the world in the free, democratic campus atmosphere, they could acquire an ideological structure before anyone else in their homeland.<br/>
This writer divided into two periods the ideological current up to the time of the February 8 Declaration of Independence. The first was from when the first group of Korean students went to Japan in 1905 to the middle of World War I, when chauvinistic patriotism was dominant among them. The other is from the latter days of the war to February 8, 1919, during which civic, revolutionary nationalism grew among them. However, it must be pointed out that distinct chronological definitions can hardly be given in the ideological transition. The author only means that such a general ideological transition took place during the 14 years.<br/>
All the students in the era of chauvinistic patriotism possessed a patriotic aspect. Though nationalism after all could be said to belong to the same line, the students of the earlier period were so badly distressed and dismayed at the loss of their fatherland that they could hardly think of the long future of their nation. Most of them were captivated by the simple thought of restoring their national sovereignty. Some aspired to be a second An Chung-gun 安重根, while some others urged their colleagues to use their pen against the aggressor, and still others emphasized self-sacrifice to save the country. It war their sole and sublime purpose to recover their national sovereignty by whatever means. The dominating thought of these days could be semmed up as loyal patriotism.<br/>
On the ohter hand, in the latter period, this patriotism evolved into nationalism. If patriotism is a pre-modern word nationalism is a highly modernized one. While the patriotism of the students in the earlier period had some dynastic suggestion, nationalism entertained by those of the latter days had a civic, revolutionary nuance.<br/>
Influenced by the world trend and by the declaration of self-determination for all nations, students of the latter days claimed independence of their country, but this was for the survival of the race rather than for the country itself. The concept of nation (race) was made clearer than ever. The word nation (race) frequently appeared in speeches and writings of the students. The February 8 Declaration of Independence said, "...our race claims independence for the sake of the right to live..." and "if Japan refuses to heed this rigih