최남선은 출판물로 구성된 문화로서의 근대를 형성하는 데 중추적인 역할을 담당했다. 여기에 결정적인 역할을 한 것은 『소년』이며, 이 잡지는 편집자 최남선과 출판사 신문관을 연계시키며 편집자 최남선이라는 이름의 권위를 강화시키고 실질적으로 저자-독자의 네트워크라는 현실적 장을 구성시켰다. 『소년』은 독자로서의 ‘소년’이 알아야 할 근대적 지식의 총체를 전달함으로써 근대적 지식 공동체를 형성시켰다고 여겨지는데, 이때 『소년』이라는 매체는 독자에게 근대적 지식을 전파하고 수용케 하는 도구이자 매개체로 간주된 경향이 있다. 그러나 실제로 『소년』이 겨냥했던 독자란 실체가 명확하지 않으며, 『소년』이 수록한 지식 또한 알아야 할 모든 것이라는 측면에서 사실상 아무 것도 아니다. 편집자 최남선은 지식을 수집하고 그것을 잡지의 지면에 배치함으로써 실제로는 이 『소년』이라는 매체를 텅 빈 물질적 기호로 만들었다. 독자인 소년은 『소년』의 현실태이자 『소년』 그 자체이며, 『소년』이 전달하는 지식은 역시 『소년』 그 자체다. 즉 배우고 알아야 할 독자 소년과 그들에게 전달할 지식은 모두 『소년』과 함께 탄생하고 『소년』 안에서만 존재하는 것이다. 『소년』은 그러나 실제적으로 근대적 지식 공동체를 탄생시켰고, 이러한 측면에서 텅 빈 매체로서의 『소년』은 이 현실적 장을 탄생시키고 규율하는 유일한 실체(물질적 매개), 즉 심급으로서 작동한다고 볼 수 있다.
Ch’oe Namsŏn played a crucial role in the formation of Korean modernity as constituted by printed materials. Sonyŏn was the nexus that bound Ch’oe’s editorship to its publishing house Sinmungwan [New Literature Publishing House]. In particular, the monthly magazine allowed Ch’oe to build up his prime authority in early modern Korean print culture and contributed to the making of author-reader network in Korean society. Sonyŏn has been regard as the key player to construct modern reading community by trasmitting modern form of knowledge to its readers, sonyŏn [boys, or Koreans from younger generations]. This rests upon the premise that Sonyŏn is a transparent vehicle that carrys the content of knowledge about modernity. However, it is impossible to identify the magazine’s target reader. Furthermore, the knowledge in Sonyŏn is nothing to the extent that it contains mere everything deemed necessary for its readers to know. Ch’oe as the editor makes the media as an empty sign of materiality by collecting infinitely plural pieces of knowledge and then arranging them under the title of “Sonyŏn.” In this sense, the sonyŏn as reader is the realization of the magazine Sonyŏn’s meaning and the knowlege the magazine transmits is the magazine itself. In short, the subject of learning and knowing the knowledge comes into being at the moment of publishing of Sonyŏn. Sonyŏn, as an empty media, functions as an instance, which brings forth and regulates the social sphere of modern community that shares knowledge about modernity.
Ch’oe Namsŏn played a crucial role in the formation of Korean modernity as constituted by printed materials. Sonyŏn was the nexus that bound Ch’oe’s editorship to its publishing house Sinmungwan [New Literature Publishing House]. In particular, the monthly magazine allowed Ch’oe to build up his prime authority in early modern Korean print culture and contributed to the making of author-reader network in Korean society. Sonyŏn has been regard as the key player to construct modern reading community by trasmitting modern form of knowledge to its readers, sonyŏn [boys, or Koreans from younger generations]. This rests upon the premise that Sonyŏn is a transparent vehicle that carrys the content of knowledge about modernity. However, it is impossible to identify the magazine’s target reader. Furthermore, the knowledge in Sonyŏn is nothing to the extent that it contains mere everything deemed necessary for its readers to know. Ch’oe as the editor makes the media as an empty sign of materiality by collecting infinitely plural pieces of knowledge and then arranging them under the title of “Sonyŏn.” In this sense, the sonyŏn as reader is the realization of the magazine Sonyŏn’s meaning and the knowlege the magazine transmits is the magazine itself. In short, the subject of learning and knowing the knowledge comes into being at the moment of publishing of Sonyŏn. Sonyŏn, as an empty media, functions as an instance, which brings forth and regulates the social sphere of modern community that shares knowledge about modernity.