Abstract

During the period of Japanese colonial rule, many indigenous new religions in Joseon disseminated diverse apocalyptic landscapes based on secret texts collectively referred to as Jeonggamnok. Until now, these prophecies have been regarded as depicting apocalyptic landscapes of Japan’s defeat and Korea’s independence in a fixed, formulaic pattern. However, when comparing the specific apocalyptic landscapes depicted by each new religion, we can see that the prophecies of Jeonggamnok functioned not only as tools of resistance and revolution but also as means of helpless resignation and survival to adapt to the real world. This article aims to show that from the 1910s to the 1930s, prophecies based on Jeonggamnok circulated different forms of apocalyptic landscapes, moving between resistance and compromise. The apocalypse was the approaching end of the universe and history, a future already partially realized through colonization and modernization, and also an inner world where a mind withdrawn from the external found happiness. We need to closely examine the diverse apocalyptic landscapes based on Jeonggamnok in order to capture the eschatology of new religions, which has been described only in terms such as gaebyeok (cosmic renewal or great awakening) or hucheon (Later Heaven), in a more dynamic and historical context.