| This dissertation examines the historical construction of the “rational public” from the late nineteenth century to the First Republic (1948–1960). During this span, Korean society went from the socially segregated world of the Confucian literati to an egalitarian mass society. The focus is on how changing reading practices, script usage, textual diffusion and the transformation of the material text altered the way Koreans conceived of their relationship with each other and fostered a sense that every Korean was an equal participant in the public sphere.; Premodern societies where the elites dominate nearly all aspects of culture and politics often have little interest in the communicative habits of the common people. However, a modern society based on the premise of mass participation requires at least the fiction that every citizen is able to communicate with each other and share a common culture. For this reason, nationalist intellectuals during the period of Korea's modern transition held a keen interest in what the people were reading and writing, yet what they discovered did not always meet their expectations for a unified nation.; Prominent Koreans like Philip Jaisohn and Syngman Rhee would take note of how the people communicated with each other and attempt to argue for reforms designed to unify and standardize the language. Yet in nearly every attempt, linguistic nationalist encountered interpretive communities of readers that had already adopted their own preferred textual practices and resisted change. The persistence of long-standing reading practices frustrated nationalists and had some fatal implications for generating imaginaries of the public, especially within an imperialist context. Yet the development of various interpretive communities throughout Korean history have always had their own internal pace and logic that could not be hurried by nationalist encouragements alone.; The introduction of new forms of public sociability and the movement of significant capital into cultural production would all have an impact on gradually shaping Korea's collective subjectivity. The elitism of the premodern era would be replaced by an acknowledgement of the tastes of the common people. Once Koreans established the legitimacy of popular opinion and recognized their bonds of intersubjectivity, the “rational public” made its debut on the historical stage to be mobilized for a myriad of political and social purposes. |
