Since the 1980s the U.S. military government which supervised Korea during the 1945~48 has become one of the most popular topics for Korean historians However, most studies on this period have focused on the political, military and economic aspects of the U.S. occupation.
In this paper, I will consider the ideological division within Korean nationalism and its reflection on the art community after the liberation from the Japanese rule in 1945. The ideological conflict is contextualized within the political and cultural policy of the United States Military Government in Korea. I will also examine how the military government affected the discourse on tradition among intellectuals and artists
Record Group 332(Records of U.S Theaters of War, World War Ⅱ, USAFIK, Twenty-fourth Corps, G-2, Historical Section), which is stored at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland, U.S.A. provides valuable information on the cultural policies and activities of the American military government in Korea. In particular, two folders m Box 64, entitled "Culture in Korea," and "Culture in Korea Reports and Drafts," are very useful These materials have never been mentioned in the literature on Korean art.
Cultural matters m the US military government(USAMGIK) were assigned to the Bureau of Culture within the Department of Education The Bureau of Culture was established in order to carry out the policies of the USAMGIK as stated m Field Order 55, ⅩⅩⅣ Corps, Annexes 7 and 8, which directed that "historical, cultural and religious objects and installations will be carefully preserved and protected." The Bureau of Culture primarily focused its attention on the antiquities of the Korean culture. Considering that it officially neglected the contemporary artists of the time but its interest in ancient Korean art and culture was quite extraordinary
The interest in the Korean antiquities of the USAMGIK seems to have been largely derived from a political consideration. It's promotion of ancient Korean art was intended for diverting the artists attention from politics, that is, separating culture from politics. It was only the leftism or the Communism, however, that the USAMGIK sought to separate from culture. In this sense, the promotion of Korean traditional arts could be seen as a part of American anti-communist stance. Here we can see an unique character of American Orientalism that was derived from, according to Said, "Cold War competition with the Soviet Union."
In dealing with contemporary cultural matters, American officials were also preoccupied with eliminating leftist forces from the cultural scene When Korean artists submitted the plans for the Choson Arts Academy, American military officials, first of all, examined the political backgrounds of its representatives; the reason why they held the Korea United Fine Arts Exhibition(Choson chonghap misul chollamhoe) was to promote a democratic attitude among Korean artists From 1947, moreover, the USAMGIK began to use oppressive measures against the leftist movement, driving leftists underground and eventually to North Korea
In Korean history, the liberation period was an unique moment in which Korean people could dream of building a new culture and a new nation and try to materialize the dreams In this sense, intellectuals, writers, and artists of the period can be said to have been pregnant with the consciousness of the avant-garde in its original sense, implying both innovation and revolution. With the presence of the U.S. and Soviet troops, however, Korean society came to be polarized into two conflicting camps, ultimately two politically opposing countries.
The political division at least in theory meant the geographical dissolution of the concept of the avant-garde into artistic innovation for South Korea and political revolution for North Korea. Yet, both Koreas even failed to work out the respective aspects of the avant-garde While political revolution in North Korea turned into dictatorship, artistic creativity m South Korea was stiffened to conservative academism.