Ninth International Conference on The Image

Abstract

Known as kijichon, U. S. military camp towns in South Korea produce specific conditions in which two different subjects—Korean citizens and American soldiers— conflict, cohabit, and mingle with each other. How do these geopolitical environments revolve around Korea’s postcolonial self-definition within cultural terrain? I investigate the ways in which Korean photography in the mid-1980s inscribes on the neocolonial mechanisms that harden national, military, racial, and gender politics into spatial tensions, by revisiting Homi K. Bhabha’s notion of “hybridity” and “warped space” of Anthony Vilder. Ultimately, I argue that hybrid visualizations of Kijichon present a fascinating complexity in recounting and locating Korean contemporary art under the rubric of postcolonial global politics. First, I articulate how the temporary military camp towns are visually coded within the post-Korean War culture, through a reading of the film Silver Stallion Will Never Come (Ŭnma nŭn Oji Annŭnda, 1991). Kijichon-specific architectural characteristics dramatized in this film hint at distinctive spatial experiences not only for Korean people, but also for American soldiers. My analysis of two Korean photographers from the post-war generations—Kang Yong Suk and Kim Yong Tae—and their depictions of Dongducheon’s camp towns highlights the significance of those dialectical relations. The bars and photo studios captured by these artists unveil the ways in which collective memories of history is deeply enmeshed with individual scars. By centering on the backgrounds (rather than the human subjects) of these images, I demonstrate how a macrostructure of international relations is disguised as personal records and mundane memories.