Author ｜
Kang Yong-hoon
Abstract ｜
The Korean word “TONG-SOK” has a twofold meaning. It can stand comparison with the English words “popular” and “common”, but sometimes it means “vulgar.” Tracing the conceptual history of “TONG-SOK” is to identify the boundary between commonness and vulgarity. This study analyzes what Koreans have meant by the word in their daily lives or in literary discourses. The word “TONG-SOK” began to be used frequently since 1910. In those days, the word tended to be combined with“lecture” or “education.” In that case, the word implies the characteristics of the lectures. In addition, it functioned as phraseology that the most people were using and may come up to more people. About that time, the word “TONG-SOK” was used as a prefix to “novel” and “literature” in addition to “lecture.” Then, since the mid-1920s, TONG-SOK literature became a synonym for “popular literature.” The word “TONG-SOK” used herein was to show the public’s common taste. In the late 30s, the word was actively discussed with the development of popular culture. During this period, the word stood for “common sense.” After liberation, the word “TONG-SOK” has started to mean “vulgar.” It was because “the mass” was substituted for the original semantic role of “TONG-SOK.” In 1950, when the conflict between belles-lettres and popular literature gradually emerged, the “TONG-SOK” began to be discussed again. However, critics of those days regarded TONG-SOK novels only as vulgarized novels. Eventually, their discussion narrowed the definition of “TONG-SOK” in the realm of literary production.
keywords ｜
TONG-SOK, commonness, common sense, mass, vulgar, belles-lettres, popular literature, concept, liberation, people, nation