The Dead-End of Third World Marxism: Park Hyunchae and Samir Amin in the Bandung Period
April 12, 2022
Event Description
In 1985, Park Hyunchae, an eminent South Korean Marxist economist contributed a controversial article to a critical journal <Creation and Criticism (Changjak gwa bipyong)>, which led a most heated intellectual debate in Korean intellectual history for more than a decade. It is known as “social formation debate” which is about how to define characters of Korean social formation into capitalist mode of production. Park’s article argues the key characters of Korean social formation is “Neo-colonial State Monopoly Capitalism” contesting competitive discourse of the characters as “Colonial Semi-Feudal Society”. The argument generated intense discussions on the historical character of Korean society in relation to the political struggles against the military regime at that moment. In hindsight, however, it was the critical turn that Marxist intervention in the historical knowledge production effectively re-emerged after the division of Korea. Park’s article performs the critique of dependency theories, in particular the argument of Samir Amin. Dependency theory was an alibi fabricated to emphasize the fundamental contradiction of capitalism, the contradiction between capital and labor. Furthermore, Park’s theoretical view seem to oppose Amin’s dependency theory by establishing theory of the national economy (Minjok gyungje ron). In fact, Park’s theory parallels with, at the same time, converges on Amin’s theoretical and political approach when Park’s theory addresses the significance of the national popular development en route to the socialist society since the Bandung era. Based on the imagination of the encounter between the theorists, the talk invites to contemplate difficulties of Marxist theoretical practices in post-colonial capitalist societies in tandem with ‘question of the nation’.
SPEAKER
DONGJIN SEO
Professor, Department of Intermedia Art
Kaywon University of Art and Design
Professor Dongjin Seo attended Yonsei University, where he received Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degrees in Sociology. His work critically analyzes relationships between capitalist economy and culture, and his published writings focus on contemporary visual culture and performance art. He is currently working on a book that critically examines the aesthetic shifts in visual culture during recent years. Professor Seo’s major publications include After Contemporary: Time-Experience- Image (Hyunsilbook, 2018), The Nap of Dialectics: Antagonism and Politics (Courier, 2014), The Will for Freedom, The Will for Self- Improvement (Dolbegae, 2009) and Design Melancholia (Hyunsilbook, 2009). He co-curated Solidarity Spores (Asia Culture Center, 2020), and participated as an artist in exhibitions such as Read My Lips (Hapjungjigu, 2017) and Urban Ritornello (Ilmin Museum of Art, 2017). He has also acted as a dramaturg or participant in many performances, including Name Names Naming Named (2017), Other Scenes (2017), and Big Big Big Thank You (2016).
This virtual event is organized by Hyun Ok Park (Sociology, York University)
This virtual event is co-presented by the Korean Office for Research and Education (KORE), which is funded by the Academy of Korean Studies, and Centre for the Study of Korea (University of Toronto). The event is also co-sponsored by Department of Anthropology (University of Toronto).