The Specter of the Past: Reconstructing Conservative Historical Memory in South Korea*

AuthorMyungji Yang
Published date01 September 2021
Date01 September 2021
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1177/00323292211033082
Subject MatterArticles
https://doi.org/10.1177/00323292211033082
Politics & Society
2021, Vol. 49(3) 337 –362
© The Author(s) 2021
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/00323292211033082
journals.sagepub.com/home/pas
Article
The Specter of the Past:
Reconstructing Conservative
Historical Memory in South
Korea*
Myungji Yang
University of Hawai‘i–Mānoa
Abstract
Through the case of the New Right movement in South Korea in the early 2000s, this
article explores how history has become a battleground on which the Right tried to
regain its political legitimacy in the postauthoritarian context. Analyzing disputes over
historiography in recent decades, this article argues that conservative intellectuals—
academics, journalists, and writers—play a pivotal role in constructing conservative
historical narratives and building an identity for right-wing movements. By contesting
what they viewed as “distorted” leftist views and promoting national pride, New
Right intellectuals positioned themselves as the guardians of “liberal democracy”
in the Republic of Korea. Existing studies of the Far Right pay little attention to
intellectual circles and their engagement in civil society. By examining how right-
wing intellectuals appropriated the past and shaped triumphalist national imagery,
this study aims to better understand the dynamics of ideational contestation and
knowledge production in Far Right activism.
Keywords
right-wing intellectuals, the New Right, historical narratives, Far Right activism, South
Korea
Corresponding Author:
Myungji Yang, Department of Sociology, University of Hawai‘i –Mānoa, 2424 Maile Way, Saunders 640,
Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
Email: myang4@hawaii.edu
*This is one of four articles and an introduction that form a special issue of Politics & Society titled
“Right-Wing Activism in Asia: Cold War Legacies, Geopolitics, and Democratic Erosion.” The four
articles developed from the earlier versions presented at a symposium titled “Rise of Illiberal Politics in
Asia” organized by Yoonkyung Lee, director of the Centre for the Study of Korea at the University of
Toronto, on November 15, 2019. The authors would like to thank Professors Takashi Fujitani, Sida Liu,
Andre Schmid, and Jack Veugelers, who participated in the symposium as discussants and offered critical
comments.
1033082PASXXX10.1177/00323292211033082Politics & SocietyYang
research-article2021
338 Politics & Society 49(3)
One book caused a huge sensation in South Korean society in the summer of 2019.
Titled Anti-Japan Tribalism (Panil Chongjokchuŭi) and written by several right-wing
authors, it makes many provocative assertions about Japanese colonialism.1 The
authors claim that the existing Korean historiography on aspects of colonialism such
as forced labor, the plundering of rice, and the exploitation of comfort women is based
on fabrications by leftist and nationalistic South Korean historians. Accusing South
Korean academics and citizens critical of Japanese exploitation of being infected with
“anti-Japan tribalism”—strong anti-Japanese sentiments and nationalistic political
propaganda—the authors maintain that anti-Japan tribalism is the product of an
“uncivilized” Korean culture rampant with shamanism and lies, a culture that will
continue to be a barrier to civilization and advancement unless it is overcome.
The book created heated debate and received polarizing assessments. Historians,
liberal intellectuals, and the media all criticized it for distorting historical facts and
supporting arguments made by the extreme right in Japan.2 Some conservative politi-
cians also expressed unease about the book and did not agree with its main arguments.3
But much of the conservative media welcomed the book’s “new” perspectives. It was
one of the best-selling books of 2019, and the same authors published a second book
in 2020 that responded to the criticisms that the first received. The publication of
Anti-Japan Tribalism exemplifies the efforts of right-wing intellectuals to provide a
historical analysis that counters what they view as a dominant leftist, “totalitarian”
perspective. In the wake of left-leaning reformist governments and the mainstreaming
of former student activists as a political force, right-wing intellectuals and politicians
have tried to delegitimize their political counterparts over the last two decades.
The interpretation of unsettled historical matters has been a major arena of conflict
between the Left and the Right. Historical events are constantly invoked in contem-
porary political discourse and often spark vehement debates among politicians, aca-
demics, and journalists. Looking at intellectual movements on the New Right
(nyurait’ŭ)—of which the authors of Anti-Japan Tribalism were an important part—
in South Korea beginning in the early 2000s, this article explores how history has
become a battleground on which the Right hopes to restore its political legitimacy
and symbolic power. Analyzing disputes over historiography in the recent decade
relating to the founding of the Republic of Korea (1948) and the Park Chung Hee
regime (1961–79), I argue that conservative intellectuals—academics, journalists,
writers, and political analysts—play a pivotal role in constructing conservative his-
torical narratives and building an identity for right-wing movements. Promoting
national pride and contesting what they view as “distorted” leftist views, the Korean
intellectual right has positioned itself as the guardian of “liberal democracy” in the
Republic of Korea—the most important ideological tenet among the South Korea
right.4 As the Right has believed that “freedom” (chayu) is unattainable in a commu-
nist country, “liberal democracy” in South Korea has been understood as an antithesis
to communism or socialism. Given the confrontation with North Korea and the con-
tinuing threat from that country, the Right argues that opposing communism and
North Korea is fundamentally synonymous with protecting freedom and democracy
in South Korea.

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