Leiden University Student Repository

Ho, Sammi (2018)

A Walk Down Memory Lane: Image of Yun Tong-ju as Resistance Poet in Contemporary South Korean Society

Bachelor thesis | Koreastudies (BA)

This thesis examines how the Korean poet Yun Tong-ju (1917-1945) has been framed as a resistance poet in contemporary South Korean society through the process of collective memory and cultural production. What role does national memory and cultural production actually play in the framing of Yun Tong-ju’s image as a resistance poet in contemporary South Korean society? This thesis uses critical analysis, literature and genre analysis as research method on both Korean and English sources to examine these concepts in relation to the resistance image of Yun Tong-ju. Existing studies on Yun Tong-ju have mainly focused on the interpretations of his poetry, this thesis instead focusses on the process of memory construction and the reinforcement of it in its society. It seems that the image of Yun Tong-ju as a resistance poet can be traced back to the defensive creation of a national memory of the ‘Han minjok’ (the Korean nation). This memory was never questioned by the general public but...Show moreThis thesis examines how the Korean poet Yun Tong-ju (1917-1945) has been framed as a resistance poet in contemporary South Korean society through the process of collective memory and cultural production. What role does national memory and cultural production actually play in the framing of Yun Tong-ju’s image as a resistance poet in contemporary South Korean society? This thesis uses critical analysis, literature and genre analysis as research method on both Korean and English sources to examine these concepts in relation to the resistance image of Yun Tong-ju. Existing studies on Yun Tong-ju have mainly focused on the interpretations of his poetry, this thesis instead focusses on the process of memory construction and the reinforcement of it in its society. It seems that the image of Yun Tong-ju as a resistance poet can be traced back to the defensive creation of a national memory of the ‘Han minjok’ (the Korean nation). This memory was never questioned by the general public but only strengthened through the elaboration of cultural heritage and cultural productions in contemporary South Korean society.Show less

Korean Poetry

Yun Tong-ju

Resistance Poet

Collective Memory

Han minjok

Cultural Production

Author

Ho, Sammi

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Supervisors

Ceuster, Koen de

ECTS Credits

10

Language

en