The Uncanny Return of the Subversive: Censorship Regimes and Literary Politics

Abstract This article examines the precedents of “subversiveness” (buronseong 不穩性) in contemporary South Korea by tracing its genealogy from colonial-era censorship regimes through the authoritarian era during the Cold War to the present. This inquiry moves beyond conventional interpretations of top-down authoritarianism by exploring contemporary formations of neoliberal governmentality through the concept of subversiveness that undergirds the paradoxical coexistence of democracy and authoritarianism. Through close analyses of juridical and ideological apparatuses, the article shows how the state has historically constructed a legal-discursive order to define the “intolerable” within the literary field. Rather than conceiving censorship solely as an instrument of repression, the article repositions it as a productive dispositif that structures the conditions of expression. In addition, the article examines key episodes of literary suppression and symbolic resistance, shedding light on how the regulation of subversive discourse has served to sustain the paradoxical cohabitation of democratic ideals and authoritarian practices. Ultimately, the article argues that Korean society remains haunted by the spectral logic of subversiveness and calls for a critical rethinking of the politics of censorship and literary autonomy.