The Meaning of Postmodernism and Korean Art

Abstract The author explicates various contexts of postmodern discourses in the West, as an effort to position Korean art and society within a ‘proper’ context of postmodernism. The author provides four categories of postmodernism 1) theory in American literature, 2) theory in art and architecture, 3) post-structuralist philosophy, 4) a symptom of post-industrial society. The author emphasizes Korea’s current status as “a third world nation” under a military dictatorship, and argues, therefore, that Korean art and culture cannot abandon humanist values and enlightenment ideals, because it is yet to resolve the problems of national division, class conflict, an authoritarian nation-state, and the cultural imperialism of the West.