The Structure of the Double Bind Inherent in the Emotion of Han(恨) -Focusing on Narcissistic Power Dynamics

This study examines why the discourse on han (恨) has long obscured its causes, locating the answer in the structure of that discourse itself. Previous studies have made meaningful contributions at the aesthetic, psychiatric, and sociological levels. Building on these discussions, this paper offers a new analysis of the generative pathways and mechanisms of han at the level of the double bind and the personality dynamics of the perpetrators who impose it. To this end, three theoretical strands are combined. The first is Bateson’s theory of the double bind, which describes a relational structure in which attachment and autonomy cannot be simultaneously satisfied. The second is neurobiological research on the somatization of trauma. The third is the psychological theory of power dynamics in the narcissistic personality. Applying this framework to relationships such as parent - child, supervisor - subordinate, teacher - disciple, and ruler - vassal, the study identifies a structure in which the perpetrator fulfills narcissistic desires under the pretext of acting for the victim’s sake. It further examines how the double bind became socially institutionalized through the historical process by which the Three Bonds (三綱) rigidified originally reciprocal relational ethics into a system of unilateral submission. While han (恨) may be regarded as the essence of Korean aesthetic sensibility, it can equally be understood as a pathological phenomenon experienced by victims whose autonomy has been stripped away within structures shaped by narcissistic power dynamics. Traditional modes of resolving han (解恨) have failed to break its intergenerational chain because, in seeking to heal the victims, they have not illuminated the perpetrators. Moreover, an ideological system that has moralized unilateral submission has made it difficult to recognize structures of harm as harm in the first place.