The Two Chivalrous Nations. Wacław Sieroszewski and the Japanese presence in Korea

  • Andrzej Wadas Jesuit University Ignatianum in Krakow
Keywords: Sieroszewski Wacław, Korea, Japan, modernization, messianism, revolution, prometheism, socialism

Abstract

The following article focuses on Wacław Sieroszewski’s perception of the Japanese presence in Korea during his short sojourn in “The Land of the Morning Calm” in 1903. According to the author, his description of the Japanese people must be seen against the broader background of the nineteenth century anti-colonial and revolutionary movements. Sieroszewski, an engaged observer, was pursuing a clear, socialist po- litical agenda at the time. For this reason, his perception of the Korean issue was devoid of objective detachment and can be interpreted, on one hand, in the light of the socialist revolutionary activities of the Pol- ish intelligentsia before the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, but also, on the other hand, in the context of a much broader Polish mes- sianism and prometheism. The Japanese, and so the Koreans, the pa- per argues, were merely used as a convenient ideological construct for the sake of a larger political game.

Author Biography

Andrzej Wadas, Jesuit University Ignatianum in Krakow

Assistant professor at the Jesuit University in Krakow. His research interests focus on the classical culture, late medieval and early-modern England and Korean civilization. He is an ardent advocate of reintroducing classical Latin and Greek languages into the national curriculum.

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Published
2017-12-31
How to Cite
[1]
Wadas, A. 2017. The Two Chivalrous Nations. Wacław Sieroszewski and the Japanese presence in Korea. Perspectives on Culture. 19, 4 (Dec. 2017), 107-124.

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