한국의 근대국가 건설운동과 공화제

Abstract

The western form of government was introduced in Korea through Chinese books in 1840s. It was not until 1880s that Korean people had a real understanding of constitutional monarchy system and democratic republic system. Until then absolute monarchy has been established in Korea and politicians of reformist group thought that people in Korea had a too low political awareness to maintain a republican form of government. The reformist group in Korea attempted to make a first step of constitutional monarchy by restraining the power of King Gojong. Gojong frustrated the reformists’ plan by his flight from the palace in February, 1896. King Gojong became an Emperor by himself in 1897 and rather reinforced his power. Independence Club, the organization of enlightened citizens, resisted it. Independence Club made a plan to enlighten the public and to organize a rudimentary form of parliament. They wanted to gradually introduce constitutional monarchy in Korea but they were dismissed by Gojong in 1898 who even more strengthened his power then. Although the members of the society for study of constitutional government organized in 1905 planned to make Korea a constitutional monarchy, intellectuals did not expect that the democratic republic system would work in Korea. At that time most people in Korea had a low political awareness and no chances for school education. However some editorials of Korea Daily News asserted the necessity of establishing a nation state. Ahn Chang-ho also claimed in his public lectures that Koreans had to regain sovereignty. The turning point of the discussion on the forms of Korean government was the China revolution occurred in 1911. Some Korean intellectuals moved to Shanghai and met the Chinese revolutionists. Korean nationalists were convinced that they should establish a new nation in Korea as a democratic republic. Korean nationalists clarified the people’s sovereignty through the declaration of the unity of Korean nationalists in 1917. In some leaflets distributed during the March First Movement in 1919, it was proposed that a provisional government of Korea needed to be established and it should be a democratic republic government. As the imperial governments in China, Germany and Russia were all collapsed in 1910s, Korean nationalist believed that democratic republic was the general tendency of the time. The provisional government of Korea formed in April 1919 adopted indeed a democratic republic system. Korean people finally chose the democratic republic system as a new national polity after the long discussions since 1880s.