With the growth of urban culture the western susceptibility and
consumption culture really started to emerge in the 1930’s. The popular songs,
which reflects the urban trends became the center of the urban culture in the
1930’s as a result of the golden age of popular music industry. The popular
songs of 1930’s shows the traces of crossings heterogeneous constituents.
Basically the urban culture in colonial Korea rooted in the colonial experience
that promoted to break off the relations with the tradition. The twisted identity
of urban culture had impact naturally on the popular songs. The main purpose
of this study is to inquire into the duality of urban culture of the 1930’s through
comic songs and jazz songs. The jazz songs were the hymn of the youth at
that time, on the other hand, the comic songs belonged to the subcategory
of popular songs that showed the pictures of urban life with the induction
of a laugh. It can be said to be that the comic songs and jazz songs indicated
precisely the strangeness of urban portraits above the routine customs.
However the jazz songs depict the strange images though expressing the portrayed a true sense of the urban life and men. Even though the jazz songs
and comic songs shared the experience of newly emerging urban life, the
former describes the enjoyment of youth while the latter reflects the sorrows
placed on the other side of urban life.
Key words:Urban Culture, Popular Songs, Jazz, Jazz Songs, Comic Songs,
Deviation, Youth