• American Studies
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.57-81
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• 2020

The purpose of this essay is to reexamine the overlooked politico-philosophical paradoxes of early American democracy. From its beginning, the American Republic was predicated on the conceived notion of political autonomy and independence from the British Empire. Those who fought for the cause, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, invented and internalized so-called self-evident propositions which served as the key ideological foundation of the American Republic. Moreover, the unique historical ontology of American democracy was coupled with the politico-philosophical necessity of collective fantastical belief in the equation of selfhood with nationhood. By delving into how particular philosophical ideas and political concepts helped shape the visionary imagination of framers and their contemporaries, I investigate the way in which philosophy and politics are constitutive of the ideological fabric of the substantial-both conceptual and practical-paradoxes of the early American democracy.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.20
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• pp.113-148
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• 2010

This paper examines the American role in shaping South Korean nation-building during the early Cold War by considering how the United States attempted to form South Korea's education and how Koreans responded to these efforts. It looks at education as an arena where "American" ideas such as democracy and liberalism were received, transformed, and utilized by Koreans. This study pays particular attention to the gap between American intentions and Korean expectations, as well as to the competition between American and Japanese systems, which explains the contradictory role America played in South Korean nation-building. In order to better assess the role of the United States in shaping South Korean education, this article considers the complex dynamics between the Japanese legacies, American influence, and Korean actors. Americans had exerted a great effect on Korean education since the beginning of their relationship. American missionaries, U.S. military government, and educational mission teams had all contributed to the expansion of educational opportunities for Koreans. Through the educational institutions that they established or helped establish, Americans tried to spread "their" ideas. In this process, Americans had to struggle with two obstacles: Korean nationalism and the legacies of Japanese colonialism. Many Koreans used American missionary schools for their own purposes and resisted U.S. military government's policies which ignored their desire for self-determination. American education missions had limited effect on Korean education due to the heterogeneous Japanese system that was still influencing South Korea even after liberation. The ways in which Americans have influenced the democratization of South Korea have not been simple. Although "American" democratic ideas reached Koreans through various routes, Koreans understood the "American" idea within their own historical context and in a way that fit their existing socio-political relations. Oftentimes suspicious of "American" democracy, Koreans developed their own concept of democracy. The overall American influence on Korean democratization, as well as on Korean education, was important but limited. While Americans helped Koreans build educational infrastructure and tried to transfer democratic ideas through it, Koreans actors and Japanese colonial legacies limited its impact.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.23
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• pp.63-106
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• 1992

The opening period of Korea was the period of modernisation amidst the conflicts between conservative and progressive sections with penetration of Western powers after 1876. With the opening modernisation accompanied modernisation of education. Missionary schools established by protestant missionaries played a crucial role in educational modernisation in the period of opening. In this article, the process of educational modernisation and the ways in which the ideas of democracy and equality were taught in the earliest schools, Paejae, Ewha, Kyoungsin and Chungsin are analysed through the method of bibliographical investigation of the textbooks used by these schools. No textbook prior to 1900 was found and in general there were no textbooks such as we know today. Usually English reading material and the Bible were the main teaching materials. Teachers kept their own copies of hand-written texts which were translated versions of American textbook. Since the same teacher taught in a number of schools, they shared same curriculum. In the early period, English Bible was taught so that English and the Bible lessons were not separated but gradually history and geography were added. Teaching of Hangul, and Korean history were added to encourage the sense of national identity and patriotism. In the case of Chungsin, for biology class, pupils were sent to Che-jung-won to learn human physiology, chemistry and physics, which shows an emphasis on science education. Vocational education was carried out; in the case of Paejae, a printing workshop was set up enabling students to earn some money at the same time as learning. Also in Kyungsin, skills of woodwork and basket weaving were stressed. Ewha also held a bazaar of the work made in sewing classes. Establishment of missionary schools brought about a great contribution in modernising Korean society and the Christian spiritual education of these schools lay the foundation for building democracy in Korea.

• The Korean Journal of Archival Studies
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• no.80
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• pp.43-88
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• 2024

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is a relatively quiet latecomer to the traditional archives of the Western world. Although the United States lacks a long history of organized public records·archives management, it has developed a modern system optimized for the American historical context. This system focuses on the systematic management and preservation of the vast amount of modern records produced and collected during the tumultuous 20th century. As a result, NARA has established a modern archival system that is optimized for the American historical context. The U.S. public records·archives management system is based on the principle that records·archives are the property of the American people and belong to the public. This concept originated during the British colonial era when records were used to safeguard the rights of the colonies as self-governing citizens. For Americans, records and archives have long been a symbol of the nation's identity, serving as a means of protecting individual freedoms, rights, and democracy throughout the country's history. It is natural, therefore, that American life and history should be documented, and that the recorded past should be managed and preserved for the nation's present and future. The public records·archives management system in the United States is the result of a convergence of theories, practices, lessons learned, and ideas that have been shaped by the country's history, philosophies, and values about records, and its unique experience with records management. This paper traces the origins of records and archives in the United States in a historical context to understand the organic relationship between American life and records. It examines the process of forming a modern public records management system that is both uniquely American and universal to the American context without falling into the two forms of traditions that reflect the uniqueness of American history.