Exposing Imperial Japan

Latest Posts

Police

Imperial Japan’s manhunt for the “Communist Bandit Kim Il-Sung” in the late 1930’s was sensationalized in news headlines all over Korea, capturing the imagination of the Korean public under colonial rule

2023-09-03

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Continuing my exploration of Korean colonial-era newspapers from the 1930s and 1940s, available on the Internet Archive since 2021, I

Daily Life

Imperial Japanese colonial regime instilled intense fear and paranoia among Koreans by forcing them to listen to this 20-minute radio broadcast mobilizing the entire nation in counter-espionage to snitch on each other even for complaining about food shortages (July 1943)

2023-08-07

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It’s been just over 80 years since a terrifying radio broadcast was delivered to the entirety of the Korean nation

Daily Life

Bilingual Korean-Japanese propaganda posters started to be used in Korea starting October 1944

2023-07-31

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For the past two years, I’ve been studying the pages of Keijo Nippo (Gyeonseong Ilbo), the official propaganda mouthpiece newspaper

Foreign Residents

The Sulemans were a Russian Tatar refugee family in Seoul who gained acceptance as assimilated Imperial Japanese people while holding strong to their Muslim faith, and left for Turkey amid warm farewells in 1939

2023-07-18

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This article from 1939 features the remarkable story of a Tatar family in Imperial Japan. This particular article bids a

Korean Royal Family

Wartime news coverage of Prince Yi Un (이은, 李垠) and Princess Yi Bangja (이방자, 李方子) fulfilling their royal ceremonial duties on behalf of Imperial Japan as they meet the public, accompanied by an entourage of the top elites of colonial Korean society (July 1943)

2023-07-09

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In this post, I will focus on some newspaper clippings from July 1943 featuring the Korean royal family, specifically Prince

Entertainment

“The New Age Has Arrived”: Imperial Japanese Propaganda Manga from Occupied China, 1942

2023-07-04

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Just sharing a fascinating piece of historical artifact – a comic strip, or more accurately, a manga, published in the

Military

Imperial Japan had postwar plans to quadruple Japanese settlers in Korea to dominate the most technologically intensive industries, and suppress Korean access to higher education to quell ‘dissatisfaction’ (June 1943)

2023-07-01

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I recently came across two intriguing news articles from the Japanese colonial period of Korean history that shed light on

Imperial Way

Dehumanization in Colonial Korea, 1943: Branding Koreans as ‘just objects’ for ‘not understanding the blessings of Imperial Japan’ and labeling them as ‘hypocrites who are outwardly obedient, but inwardly rebellious in their hearts’

2023-06-22

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I’m posting here today to share a rather unsettling article from colonial Korea in 1943. It is timely, as this

Foreign Residents

Spotlight on 1943 Seoul: A Glimpse into the Russian Tatar Refugee Community, Marja Ibrahim’s Poetry Tribute to Tatar National Poet Ğabdulla Tuqay on the 30-year anniversary of his death

2023-06-17

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Following on from a previous post about the small community of Russian Tatars residing in Seoul in 1943, I’m glad

Daily Life

Severe 1940s wartime housing crisis in urban areas of Japan-colonized Korea: housing shortfalls worsening each year, exacerbated by rent control, 2-3 families sharing one house, young people unable to marry or start families due to housing shortage

2023-05-25

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This article from 1943 covers the severe wartime housing crisis in Korea which was particularly acute in urban areas and