근현대 한국의 자살 분류와 ‘자살 서사’의 간극 — 해방 후부터 1960년대까지—

초록

This study aims to investigate the major trends and characteristics of the ways in which suicide was defined and interpreted in Korean society from the post- liberation period to the 1960s. Following liberation, the state-produced suicide statistics exhibited a historical continuity by adopting the statistical classification systems of the Japanese Government-General of Korea, thereby arbitrarily catego- rizing the ”causes” of suicide. These incomplete statistics and classifications led to a proliferation of suicide-related press reports that relied heavily on pre-existing stereotypes. In this process, the media and experts projected gendered prejudices, depicting female suicide victims as inherently impulsive and passive. Meanwhile, in the 1960s, a series of family collective suicides driven by extreme poverty cat- alyzed the ”societal problematization of suicide.” This discourse argued that sui- cide was a structural issue and a form of ”politico-social homicide,” which subse- quently sparked suicide prevention movements led by civil society and the medical community. However, as preventive medicine began to intervene in earnest, sui- cide was once again reduced to an individual’s internal and physiological issues, such as depressive states and mental illnesses. Ultimately, this medical and clini- cal approach produced a political effect: it neutralized demands for structural so- cioeconomic reforms and relegated the responsibility of suicide back to vulnerable individuals.

키워드