Transnational Encounters between Germany and Korea: Affinity in Culture and Politics Since the 1880s (Palgrave Series in Asian German Studies)

This book examines the history of the German-Korean relationship from the late nineteenth to the twenty-first century, focusing on the nations' varied encounters with each other during the last years of the Yi dynasty, the Japanese occupation of Korea, the Cold War, and the post-Cold War era. With essays from a range of internationally respected scholars, this collection moves between history, diplomacy, politics, education, migration, literature, cinema, and architecture to uncover historical and cultural intersections between Germany and Korea. Each nation has navigated the challenges of modernity in different ways, and yet traditional East-West dichotomies belie the deeper affinities between them. This book points to those affinities, focusing in particular on the past and present internal divisions that perhaps make Germany and Korea as similar as Germany and Japan. Contents 6 Editors and Contributors 9 List of Figures 12 Chapter 1 Introduction 13 The Transnational Framework 16 The Historiography 19 Organization of This Volume 23 Conclusion 28 Part I An Overview 36 Chapter 2 130 Years of German-Korean Relations 37 The First German-Korean Encounter and the Treaty of 1883 38 Germans in Korea Prior to 1945 40 Koreans in Germany Prior to 1945 43 Two Pairs of Friends: FRG–ROK and GDR–DPRK Relations, 1945–1990 44 German-Korean Relations After 1990 50 Academic Cooperation and Exchange 53 Part II German-Korean Relations before 1945 60 Chapter 3 Paul Georg von Möllendorff: A German Reformer in Korea 61 Möllendorff’s Appointment 64 A Neutral Korea 67 Russia as Protector of Korea: A Realistic Option? 71 Conclusion 77 Chapter 4 Franz Eckert and Richard Wunsch: Two Prussians in Korean Service 86 Introduction 86 Franz Eckert: Prussian Military Bandleader at the Korean Imperial Court 88 Dr. Richard Wunsch: Personal Physician of Emperor Gojong 94 Conclusion 101 Chapter 5 Specters of Schinkel in East Asia: Berlin, Tokyo, and Seoul from a Viewpoint of Modernity/Coloniality 105 Introduction: Why Schinkel? 105 I. The Flowering of Tectonics in Spree-Athen: From Prussian Classicism to Historicism 107 II. Forum Japanum 111 At the Limit of Tectonics: Qingdao vs. Tokyo 111 From Tectonics to Kokutai: Tokyo as Imagined Berlin 114 III. Forum Koreanum 122 Seoul as Imagined Tokyo 122 Modernity and Coloniality of Tectonics 128 Conclusion: Schinkel’s Shadow Over Seoul 131 Part III A Common Fate in the Cold War Era and Beyond 136 Chapter 6 Korean-German Relations from the 1950s to the 1980s: Archive-Based Approach to Cold War-Era History 137 South Korean and West German Relations from the 1950s to the 1970s 138 Initial Relations in the 1950s 138 Economic Relations in the 1960s and the 1970s: Aid and the Guest Worker Program 141 The East-Berlin Espionage Affair 146 North Korean and East German Relations from the 1950s to 1980s 151 The Establishment of Diplomatic Relations 151 The Evolution of Diplomatic and Economic Cooperation 152 On Reunification 154 Erich Honecker’s Relationship with Kim Il-Sung 157 Conclusion 158 Chapter 7 Luise Rinser’s Third-World Politics: Isang Yun and North Korea 162 Isang Yun’s Influence on Rinser’s Turn to North Korea 164 Rinser’s View of North Korea’s Juche Ideology 169 Problems of the Juche Ideology 172 Chapter 8 Liminal Visions: Cinematic Representations of the German and Korean Divides 179 Some Words on Borders, in General and in Specific 181 Direct and Indirect Crossing 183 Direct Crossing in The Promise and JSA 183 Indirect Crossing in Barbara and Crossing 187 German and Korean Borders as Sites of Ideological Conflict 190 Depicting the Communist “Other.” 190 A Global Play with Inner-National Borders 192 Film as Borderland 193 Chapter 9 The “Ignorant” Other: Popular Stereotypes of North Koreans in South Korea and East Germans in Unified Germany 197 Why Here? Why Now? 198 Ossis and Wessis in Unified Germany 199 Two Koreas, One People? 206 Conclusion 211 Chapter 10 Illusions of Unity: Life Narratives in Eastern German and North Korean Unification Literature 217 The Post-Cold War Era and Unification Literature 218 Germany’s New Disunity 221 North Korea’s Future Unification 227 An Illusion of Unity 232 Part IV The Migration of Ideas and People 237 Chapter 11 Depictions of the Self as Korean in German-Language Literature by Mirok Li and Kang Moon Suk 238 Mirok Li in Germany: East Asian or Korean? 240 Moon Suk’s Poetry of One Korean Woman in Germany 246 Conclusion 253 Chapter 12 Endstation der Sehnsüchte: Home-Making of Return Gastarbeiter Migrants 259 Creating Dokil Mauel, a Semi-German Community in Korea 261 Heimat, Film, and Degrees of Germanness 263 The Successful Migrant and the In-between Space 271 Conclusion 276 Chapter 13 History As a Mirror: Korea’s Appropriation of Germany’s Experience in Rectifying the Past 279 Korea’s Tangled History 281 The German Experiences as a Reflector of Korea’s Uncomfortable Past with Japan 285 Korea’s Objections: Japan’s Wartime Sexual Slavery and Dokdo 285 Korea’s Appropriation and Misunderstanding of German Examples 287 Misunderstandings about Japan and Germany 289 German Experiences as a Mirror for Korea’s Self-Reflection 293 Conclusion: Gradual Shift from Nationalistic to Self-Reflective Approach to History 297 Chapter 14 Goethe’s Faust in the South Korean Manhwa The Tarot Café: Sang-Sun Park’s Critical Project 303 Introduction 303 Goethe’s Faust in South Korea 305 Park’s Critique of a Neo-Confucian View of Women 308 Park’s Critical Feminist Project: Goethe’s Faust and Beyond 310 Park’s Critique of Modern Korean Masculinity: Kkonminam 312 Conclusion 316 Index 321 Front Matter ....Pages i-xiii Introduction (Joanne Miyang Cho, Lee M. Roberts)....Pages 1-23 Front Matter ....Pages 25-25 130 Years of German-Korean Relations (Eun-Jeung Lee, Hannes B. Mosler)....Pages 27-49 Front Matter ....Pages 51-51 Paul Georg von Möllendorff: A German Reformer in Korea (Eun-Jeung Lee)....Pages 53-77 Franz Eckert and Richard Wunsch: Two Prussians in Korean Service (Hans-Alexander Kneider)....Pages 79-97 Specters of Schinkel in East Asia: Berlin, Tokyo, and Seoul from a Viewpoint of Modernity/Coloniality (Jin-Sung Chun)....Pages 99-129 Front Matter ....Pages 131-131 Korean-German Relations from the 1950s to the 1980s: Archive-Based Approach to Cold War-Era History (Sang-Hwan Seong)....Pages 133-157 Luise Rinser’s Third-World Politics: Isang Yun and North Korea (Joanne Miyang Cho)....Pages 159-175 Liminal Visions: Cinematic Representations of the German and Korean Divides (Bruce Williams)....Pages 177-194 The “Ignorant” Other: Popular Stereotypes of North Koreans in South Korea and East Germans in Unified Germany (Aaron D. Horton)....Pages 195-214 Illusions of Unity: Life Narratives in Eastern German and North Korean Unification Literature (Birgit Susanne Geipel)....Pages 215-234 Front Matter ....Pages 235-235 Depictions of the Self as Korean in German-Language Literature by Mirok Li and Kang Moon Suk (Lee M. Roberts)....Pages 237-257 Endstation der Sehnsüchte: Home-Making of Return Gastarbeiter Migrants (Suin Roberts)....Pages 259-278 History As a Mirror: Korea’s Appropriation of Germany’s Experience in Rectifying the Past (Ho-Keun Choi)....Pages 279-302 Goethe’s Faust in the South Korean ManhwaThe Tarot Café: Sang-Sun Park’s Critical Project (Kyung Lee Gagum)....Pages 303-320 Back Matter ....Pages 321-328