Collaborators and national memory: The creation of the encyclopedia of pro-Japanese collaborators in Korea

Abstract

The transition of historical actors from forgotten figures to subjects of reproach for their deeds is central to understanding the power of memory movements. In this article, we examine the public recollection of national “traitors” in Korea, focusing on the recent attempt of a South Korean research institute to create a biographical encyclopedia of pro-Japanese collaborators during the Japanese occupation of Korea from 1910 to 1945; the purpose of this enterprise is to establish a “patriotic” history of this period in Korean collective memory. Why and how did such a revisiting of history take place in the first decade of the twenty-first century? To answer this question, we examine not only the historical context that affects national memory but also the efforts of various groups to revive or suppress memory in light of nationalistic ideologies.