Exposing Imperial Japan – Page 13 – Viewing the suffering of colonized people through the lens of the colonizer's propaganda

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Ordinary rural Koreans including men, women, elderly, little girls were forcibly worked to collect organic debris, animal manure, human feces/urine and make organic fertilizer to increase agricultural production for Imperial Japan’s war effort (April 1944)

2022-09-10

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The following three articles are from April 1944, when Imperial Japan was into its third year of fighting an all-out

Model Korean Family

12-year-old Korean girl in Tokyo allegedly chanted ‘Banzai to the Emperor’ 3 times with her last dying breaths before dying of diphtheria in April 1942, her father suddenly died soon afterwards of a broken heart, and Governor-General Koiso of colonial Korea gave condolence money to her surviving mother and sister the following year

2022-09-05

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(Translation) Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) February 14, 1943The Model Korean Maiden“Banzai to the Emperor” at the Moment of DeathThe Warmth

Food Shortages

Vegetable rationing in 1943 Seoul was measly (~200 grams a day per person), monotonous (mostly bok choy and daikon radish), and controlled by Patriotic Groups, the local arm of the ruling party of Japan-colonized Korea – severe shortages of carrots, taro roots, yams, all sold on the black market

2022-08-29

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This article talks about vegetable shortages in Korea in December 1943, two years into an all-out war against the US.

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Imperial Japanese police in Seoul raided amusement centers, cafes, parks late at night and rounded up ordinary residents labeled ‘rebellious intellectuals’ and ‘insolent fellows’, announcing ‘every single idle person must be exterminated … to bring down the hammer on the neon bugs’ (August 1943)

2022-08-23

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If you suddenly found yourself in Seoul in 1943 and couldn’t stand your oppressive surroundings, you would have probably been

Model Korean Family

Propaganda story about a Japanese couple in Seoul adopting a poor Korean orphan boy who grows up to become a restaurant owner in Japan with Japanese wife and mixed children, tearfully reuniting with his adoptive parents and vowing to “fulfill our duties as Imperial subjects on the home front” (1943)

2022-08-20

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This is my translation and transcription of a news article from Keijo Nippo, a propaganda newspaper and mouthpiece of the

Food Shortages

In November 1943, colonial authorities implemented a clumsy, inefficient fish rationing system in Seoul which led to large spoilage losses, a measly fish quota of less than 750 grams a day per person, angry complaints about irregular store hours, families were sometimes allotted poisonous fugu fish

2022-08-15

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This is my translation and transcription of a news article from Keijo Nippo, a propaganda newspaper and mouthpiece of the

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On August 5, 1942, severe flooding hit all of Korea but especially Seoul and Gyeongi-do, at least 13 people died, and water overflowed Cheonggyecheon River and flooded Gwanghwamun Street (news coverage published on August 7, 1942)

2022-08-09

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My condolences to the residents of Seoul who lost their lives in the flooding yesterday. I read a tip from

Food Shortages

By December 1943, poultry was unavailable anywhere in Seoul, eggs were supposed to be priority-rationed to hospitalized war veterans and people with doctors’ certificates (pregnant women and nursing mothers), but ordinary Koreans had to buy eggs on the black market at 30 sen (about $6 USD today) each

2022-08-06

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This article talks about the egg and poultry shortage that was rampant in Korea in December 1943, two years into

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Minakai Department Store in Seoul featured a propaganda panoramic picture depicting New York City in flames from an Imperial Japanese air raid and President Roosevelt fainting out of panic, as part of a warplane donation campaign (September 1943)

2022-08-03

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This is my translation and transcription of a ‘forward-looking’ news article from Keijo Nippo, a propaganda newspaper and mouthpiece of

Model Korean Family

Propaganda ‘feel good story’ praises Korean grandfather for finally accepting his grandson’s voluntary enlistment in the Imperial Japanese air force, as it was ‘not easy to persuade’ him due to his ‘having lived through half a century of complicated historical changes’ (Dongdaemun Seoul, 1943)

2022-08-01

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This is my translation and transcription of a news article from Keijo Nippo, a propaganda newspaper and mouthpiece of the