Exposing Imperial Japan

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Philosophy

Buyeo, former capital of Baekje, was used by the colonial regime to showcase a Korean nation which ‘remained completely faithful to Japan’ and sent its sons to Japan for training in the ‘Japanese spirit’, and taught that the 2nd king of Silla was the reincarnation of the Shinto god Susanoo (1943)

2023-04-02

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These articles are the first two in a series of three educational articles published by the colonial regime to promote

Japanese Language

Colonial officials claimed ‘Korean must naturally stop being spoken as a result of the spread of Japanese’ ‘no words in Korean can express the essence of the Japanese spirit in a straightforward way’ ‘Korean will one day be regarded as just another local dialect like the Kyushu dialect’ (June 1943)

2023-03-22

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In June 1943, Keijo Nippo ran a long series of roundtable discussion articles, where colonial interior ministry officials gathered to

Internment Camp

A Japanese author took a Busan-Seoul train in 1943 and saw some stylishly dressed young Koreans with a guitar and ‘American vibe’ speaking mostly in Korean mixed with English ‘okay’s, and was shocked that none onboard cared to observe the noon Moment of Silence to honor fallen Imperial soldiers

2023-03-18

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In this article, a famous Japanese author and novelist named Maruoka Akira (1907-1968) takes a trip to Korea in early

Entertainment

February/March 1943 foreign movies in Seoul theaters: 8 German films, 1 French film, 1 French-German film, with Kora Terry and Wunschkonzert especially promoted by Imperial Japanese authorities

2023-03-13

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This post will be a continuation of my exploration into the kinds of foreign movies that Seoul residents might have

Model Korean Family

Park Deuk-hyeon (박득현/朴得鉉) became a communist activist in 1928 as a student in Tokyo and struggled against colonial rule for a decade until he ‘repented’ and became an avowed Imperialist upon seeing his Japanese sister-in-law’s ‘exalted spiritual love’ toward his ailing mother and brother

2023-03-09

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This article is about Park Deuk-hyeon (박득현, 朴得鉉), a Korean communist activist who was involved in resistance activities against Imperial

Philosophy

The Korean people were allegedly descendants of Shinto god Susanoo, the brother of Amaterasu the sun goddess ancestor of the Japanese nation, and didn’t know that they had always been Japanese since ancient times, so Governor-General Koiso called upon them to ‘know their true nature’ in 1944 speech

2023-03-05

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In February 1944, Governor-General Koiso gave a speech in which he used some pretty wild religious arguments, quoting passages of

Food Shortages

Koreans generally used to make their own miso and soy sauce at home with raw soybeans, but with those rations gone, they were blamed for allegedly ‘encroaching upon’ and hoarding the miso and soy sauce that the ethnic Japanese normally consumed, contributing to shortages (Gyeonggi-do, 1943)

2023-03-02

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This is an interesting article about the dire shortages of miso and soy sauce in Seoul, where authorities apparently struggled

Model Korean Family

This Korean family donated their metallic tableware in February 1943 to help Imperial Japan’s war effort, including their brass Sinseollo (신선로, 神仙爐), a prized cooking vessel that was passed down the generations from their ancestors in the Korean royal court

2023-02-27

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This article shows a Korean man and his maidservant donating 32 brass items for Imperial Japan’s war effort, including a

Daily Life

Colonial police warned residents about police impersonators who detained passersby in the streets and stole cash and belongings, or flashed fake business cards to shoplift and dine for free; thefts and rapes were rampant in the complete darkness during wartime light dimming exercises (Seoul, 1943)

2023-02-23

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One bizarre thing that I noticed in this newspaper is the recurrence of stories about police impersonators who detain passersby

Korean Workers

Korean farming family weaving straw bags known as ‘gamani’ (가마니) in Korean or ‘kamasu’ in Japanese, traditionally used to transport manure, coal, salt, grain, etc. (Haeju, February 1943)

2023-02-14

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In this story, the reporters covered an impoverished farming family in Haeju (in present-day North Korea) which was using traditional