1991년 5월 투쟁의 학술적 재현 양상

초록

Korean democracy has often been imagined through a narrative of death, the fear it engenders, and the collective mobilization that overcomes such fear. The May 1991 Struggle unfolded on the basis of this imagined causality, in which death was believed to intensify political resistance - a belief that was manifested in a series of self-immolations. However, as the struggle was derailed in unexpected ways, participants were left with guilt and a profound sense of defeat, experiencing depression and trauma. Some of those who had participated in the struggle as university students later entered academia and sought to work through the personal and generational trauma of the May Struggle through scholarly discourse. In these representations, they defined the May 1991 Struggle as an unequivocal failure and portrayed themselves as tragically isolated subjects. Over time, however, the number of positive accounts of the long-term effects of the May Struggle has increased, while normative and emotionally charged evaluations have gradually declined. The meaning of the May 1991 Struggle has remained contingent upon the historical transformations of Korean democracy. As a historical event with enduring significance, the May Struggle should be continuously reexamined and reinterpreted.

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