도일(渡日) 백제유민(百濟遺民)의 정체성 변화 고찰

Abstract

The purpose of examining the identity changes the Baekjae migrants (refugees) went through after they lost their home country, is to determine how the status of the Baekjae migrants changed, and decide how to portray them in the history of the Baekjae dynasty. A 'social identity' means ‘self- definition in relationships with others’. When Baekjae fell and Baekjae migrants massively moved to Japan, ancient Japan was in the process of constructing a constitutional country under the power of the Japanese Emperor, and through this process the identity of ‘Japanese’ and the concept of ‘Japanese consciousness,’ which would treat Baekjae migrants as 'others,' were just being developed. In other words, when the Baekjae migrants settled down in Japan, there was not a strong sense of 'identity' in the Japanese society. So,ancient Japan actively incorporated Baekjae migrates into its own society. Baekjae migrants were mostly members of the Revival army which resisted the Shilla-Tang alliance, so immigration to Japan was obviously done actively and enthusiastically. Also, the constant cultural exchange with Japan established a cultural, religious, and linguistic similarity, and such historical conditions would have contributed to the Baekjae migrants' adaptation to the ancient Japanese society. By analyzing the perspective of the Baekjae migrants which can be called 'self-definition,' and the attitude of the ancient Japanese society toward the Baekjae migrants that can be called 'definition by others,' we can see that the Baekjae migrants, especially the ruling class, adapted remarkably easily to the new society. The adaptation and assimilation to a new society was a process of acquiring a new social group identity, and also a process of losing the original one as Baekjae citizens. This process also coincided with the construction of a law-governed state in ancient Japanese society.