Paper short abstract:

This presentation, by looking at historical themes ranging from modernization to historical continuities from the colonial period to the especially volatile topic of collaboration, examines how museums in the Republic of Korea narrate the colonial period.

Paper long abstract:

       The Republic of Korea's history museum-scape is as pluralistic as one might expect from a liberal democracy of fifty million citizens, with museums ranging from those that glorify the national history (even while pointing an accusing finger at Imperial Japan) to those that are far more introspective about Korea's experience.   This presentation, by looking at historical themes ranging from modernization to historical continuities from the colonial period to the especially volatile topic of collaboration, examines how museums including Independence Hall, the War Memorial, the Soedaemun Prison Hall Complex, the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, and the Jeju April 3 Peace Park portray the era when Korea was under colonial rule by Japan.

The presentation will focus mainly on convenient absences from the narratives presented at these museums, absences which reinforce patriotic accounts of the national history. Comparisons will be made to narratives put forth at museums in Japan ranging from the Kyoto Museum for World Peace to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum to the notorious Yushukan museum located on the grounds of Yasukuni Shrine. One key difference between Japan and Korea that must be explored is that Japan has no national museum devoted specifically to modern history, whereas Korea has several.

Museum exhibitions are a fundamental aspect of the ongoing history or memory wars between these two countries. They are one of the many vectors by which popular historical consciousness is shaped in this age of growing mobility, and thus they must be included in discussions of how history is told and retold.