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영어

This paper examines the consumer culture of women from 1950s to 1960s, focusing on boutiques and beauty salons. Through this research, I try to unveil the placeness of Myungdong. The finds are as followings. First of all, as Myungdong became a foreign concession and modern consuming space during Japanese colonial period, it had been emerged as a significant historical space. As a result, Myungdong was the capital of politics, economy, society and culture in Colonial Korea. Based on this historial background, Myungdong continuously has developed. The distribution of commercial supremacy was similar to the past one. However, unlike Japanese colonial period, the center of shopping was changed from Bonjung(본정) into Myungdong 1~2ga. Myungdong had been reorganized into a gendered consuming space. Secondly, Myungdong which was formed by the consumer culture was the space of labor, consumption and culture to women. To be specific, women could work in boutiques and beauty salons. Thus, they could have opportunities to be financially independent. The most of the women who had lead the field went to studying abroad to the Empire of Japan or learned related skills during the Japanese colonial period. Based on such experiences, they interacted with Japanese dressmakers and beauticians in order to develop fashion and beauty treatment industry, by mastering new skills and importing machinery. Also, women could form new identities, by following the latest fashion and consuming. To them, Myungdong was like a stage which they could express themselves. Myungdong made women establish and maintain networks. Moreover, it had women experience new culture spaces like theaters, cafes and dance halls. In the future, I will pay attention to how colonial modernity and Americanization affected the formation and the development of consumer culture in Myungdong, to further reveal the place of Myungdong.