No decolonization without national reunification?
Résumé
The figure of Tan’gun, mythical ancestor of the Korean people, played a pivotal role in several so-called “new religious movements” in the early twentieth century, in a context of resistance to foreign influences, particularly Japanese colonization. Some of these movements placed Tan’gun as a tutelary figure, even as a deity, notably the religious group Taejonggyo 大倧敎, followed later by other movements. Tang’un’s spiritual and political importance during Japanese colonization was significant and has lasting influences on the culture of both Koreas. However, the religious groups claiming devotion to Tang’un declined in the second half of the twentieth century, although several continued to exist in both the south and north of the peninsula. Today, this mythical ancestor is mostly associated with folklore or the nationalist movements of the early twentieth century. However, he continues to be invoked in political battles, particularly that of reunification. New organizations – combining political, ritual and moral activities – were created at the beginning of the twenty-first century in South Korea, and decided to rely on Tan’gun and the teachings attributed to him. In particular, some got involved in projects to “repatriate” the remains of Korean forced workers who died in the Japanese Empire during the colonial era (with the problematic question: to which Korea?). These organizations are small in size, but un,l recently (January 2024) had the characteristic of having counterparts in North Korea, with official authorization to act as an interface between the two Koreas. This presentation analyzes how the figure of Tan’gun was remobilized at the beginning of the twenty-first century. It focuses on the way these groups combine the spiritual and moral dimensions connected to him, together with political activism for reunification. It also analyzes how these organizations have relied on “new religious movements” that are now old, even apparently outdated (e.g. the Tan’gun religions of the early twentieth century colonial period), to challenge some contemporary narratives of the history of Korea’s colonization and liberation, in the context of increasingly difficult mobilizations in favor of the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula.
