이 글은 일제의 식민지배가 남긴 교육 제도적 유산을 고찰한다. 특히 ``식민지배의 유산``이라는 관점에서 식민지 유일의 대학이었던 경성제국대학이 어떤 존재였으며, 또 이것이 해방 이후까지 어떤 영향을 끼쳐왔는가 하는 문제를 역사사회학과 비교사회학의 관점에서 검토한다. 교육의 측면에서 보았을 때, 경성제국대학이 소수의 일본인을 위한 고등교육 기관이라는 점은 명확하다. 하지만 경성제국대학이 단순히 교육기관이 아니라 근대적 학술지식을 생산하는 문화 권력이었다는 점을 고려한다면, 식민유산 문제에 대한 보다 엄밀한 분석이 요청된다. 이 글은 경성제국대학이 식민대학이면서 동시에 제국대학이기도 했다는 이중성을 전전 일본의 대학체제의 특징과 일제의 식민교육체제 형성과정을 통해 분석하고, 이러한 특징이 식민 이후 한국대학의 형성과정에 어떻게 제도적으로 영향을 미쳤는지를 검토한다.

This paper elucidates the continuity and discontinuity of educational institutions before and after liberation from Japanese colonial rule. Especially, it focuses on the case of Keijo Imperial University of colonial Korea in order to analyze the role of university in the Japanese colonial rule and its ``traces`` and ``residues`` in postcolonial Korea. What is distinct about the Keijo Imperial University compared to other colonial universities was that this was established as the highest level of education for the metropolitan students and treated as such. While the colonial universities founded by the western imperialism symbolized not only the ``benevolence`` of civilization but also ``degradation`` of colonies, the Keijo imperial university manifested the strong political gesture of the Japanese colonialism for assimilation policy. In this context, the Japanese colonial policy of assimilation led to the establishment of the Imperial University in colonial Korea. First of all, this paper examined the Japanese system of higher education, especially that of imperial universities. the Keijo Imperial University was bound to such structural constraints of Japanese imperial universities and this left much room for the controversies concerning the characteristics of colonial universities. Secondly, this study examined the establishment of Keijo Imperial University in terms of formation of colonial educational system in colonial korea. The Keijo Imperial University established in 1926 was the outcome of hegemonic competition with among colonial agencies for founding university. The colonial rule not willing to permit the establishment of universities except for the colonial university only cared for the foundation of the university. Therefore, this led to the acquisition of the elements of the Imperial University which the colonial rule did not quite intend. The vision of the university for national prosperity and the universal vision of modern university were inherently conflicting.