For the “March 1 Independence Movement” anniversary, the Chosun is running a series of photographs (which was previewed was back when) documenting the horrors of Japanese colonialism. Now, I make no secret that I’m somewhat of a Japanophile, and just as the captions accompanying the photographs are important, so are many of the things not said. Still, the photos are fascinating (and disturbing), and give us a rare glimpse at what was for many an extremely painful epoch in history.
The Japanese Colonial Period Through Photographs I
The Japanese Colonial Period Through Photographs II
Here’s just a sample:
“Comfort Stations”
The “Comfort Stations,” or military brothels, were run by the Japanese military. They were temporary structures, built to be moved easily. They were ten rooms long, and each room was big enough for two people to use.
The Japanese imperialists didn’t give more than two condoms to each woman. The comfort women could only rinse out the condoms after sex and use them again. (Photo taken in 1935)
17 Comments
That is exactly right, Mr. Shin. The Japanese are the ones who started educating Koreans, doubled their life expectancy, and turned a poor, corrupt “slave kingdom” into an industrialized country.
As for the kidnapped Japanese and their families, the Japanese want an explanation of how and when the Japanese kidnap victims died. They want proof that they are really dead? Why do the North Koreans refuse to give it?
Maybe, South Koreans can say “sunshine” and then ignore the fact that the North Korean regime has killed and is killing millions of fellow Koreans, but that does not mean that the Japanese should abandon their citizens in the name of some vague South Korean appeasement policy.
Why is North Korea insisting that Japan return Japanese kidnap victims to their kidnappers? Why is North Korea holding the families of the Japanese kidnap victimes hostage, when releasing them would win her a lot of goodwill with the Japanese?
Mr. Shin, you and many other Koreans seem to be trying very hard to convince the world that Japan and the US, not North Korea, are the ones responsible for the current situation and the impasse, while saying very little about North Korea’s responsibility. Why?
could you let us know about the things not said, mr marmot-japanophile? may i guess?
‘the japanese gave koreans schools, electricity, roads, education, blah, blah, blah…’
or
‘the koreans helped in their own subjugation, blah, blah, blah…’
you’re a japanophile? really? maybe that’s why you think it’s ok for the japanese to predicate policy on just six lil japanese souls being kidnapped. we know if the koreans did that, you’d be up in arms talking about korean pettiness.
take a break from slamming koreans, ok?
The caption below the picture of Emperor Gojong dressed in mourning clothes says that the emperor’s father, Regent Heungseon, “sequestered himself” in Unheyeon Palace after the assasination of Queen Min. However, if Heungseon really “sequestered himself,” why was Unheyeon Palace the only palace in Korea with the lock on the outside of the gate?
Many native Korean historians often seem to mix fact and rumor and leave out important details to try to downplay or cloud historical events. For example, though the caption below the picture of King Gojeong does mention that the king never visited his father again after the murder of Queen Min, and that he even refused to attend his father’s funeral, it fails to mention that Unhyehyeon was more a prison than a palace. Even King Gojong believed his father conspired to murder Queen Min, so much so that he had his father locked away.
When Koreans talk about the murder of Queen Min, they often seem to forget to mention that Koreans also participated in that murder.
Shin, what I’m talking about is not how Japanese built schools and hospitals, blah, blah, blah. Most colonial powers did that, and they did so not for the societies that they ruled over, but for there own interests. What I’m talking about is collaboration with Japanese colonial policy, especially in Manchuria, and the role Koreans played in the colonial state. I should also point out, of course, that Korean capitalism really has its start in the colonial period, and that start is very much tied with the Japanese exploitation of Manchuria. The colonial period was a very complex affair, as it was in most societies that were colonized, and while it might be emotionally comforting to paint the colonial period as a clear-cut struggle of us vs. them, I’m afraid that gets us nowhere in trying to understand what transpired during that painful period or the social conflicts that resulted.
Moreover, if Koreans DID care about “six lil Korean souls” that were kidnapped up North, I’d be the last to bitch. BTW, I prefer not to use “Koreans,” but the current South Korean administration. Since you’re American, Shin, I doubt you’d appreciate me tarring all Americans with Bush Administration policies. Anyway, 500 South Koreans were abducted to North Korea (or were kept as POWs), and the Noh Administration doesn’t say anything. Heck, it was pretty damn timid even after one escaped and got arrested in China. Which might be fine, BTW — perhaps, given the circumstances, it’s in Seoul’s best interests to put the issue on the back-burner. However, if Seoul wants to get Tokyo on board financially AND stop it from seeking “Made in Japan” solutions to its political and security needs, it can’t have the head of the de facto ruling party go to Japan and tell the Japanese that those “six lil Japanese souls” just aren’t important. That’s all I said in that last post.
As for me being a Japanophile, well, shoot me. I don’t expect you to like them, but being, as I am, a Westerner, and hence the inheritor of a very long and frequently not-so-proud imperial tradition, I have a very difficult time faulting the Japanese for simply trying to break into the “White Man’s Club” in the first half of the 20th century. Especially when you consider that Japan had only two options — colonize or become a colony itself. I’m sure you, Shin, can appreciate that this was, in fact, the case. Yes, imperialism was nasty business, but it was the reality of the times, and while the Japanese could be brutal, my condemnation is somewhat tempered by the knowledge that the Western powers (including the U.S.) could be equally brutal (just ask the Filipinos). So yes, I admire the Japanese for a) avoiding being carved up like a watermelon by the West ala China, and b) becoming the only non-Western power to break into the imperial club (while putting up with a ton of racist crap as it did so), and in so doing undergoing an incredible transformation in a remarkably short (and dangerous) time. Heck, it went from being an almost-colonized feudal society to kicking Russia’s ass in a fair fight in, what, 40 year’s time? Like I said, given the history between Japan and Korea, I don’t expect you to see the Japanese in quite the same light I do. But keep in mind that when I said I’m a Japanophile, it’s not because I think they’re “superior” to Koreans, but simply because my historical perspective on the late Imperial Age allows me to be somewhat more forgiving of some of their mistakes, and a lot more appreciative of what they were able to accomplish in what was, as I said, an extremely dangerous time to become a modern, industrial nation-state.
Anyway, I hope we at least agree to disagree on this point.
Gerry Bevers,
I think you’re making a mistake, but Koreans who particpated in the assasination of Empress Myeoungsong (degraded to Queen Min by the Japanese) were those who were threatened to do so. Not only that, Japanese historians cloud and distort history more than Korean historians by claiming that the Japanese empire brought prosperity. But they’re purposely overlooking the fact that brutal individual sacrifices were forced upon their subjects. Just look at the Rape of Nanjing. I know that it was exaggerated, but it was still brutal and inhumane. How can you call that an action taken for prosperity, as claimed by the Japanese government and historians? Shouldn’t Japan feel ashamed that it covered up all of these facts, while its own citizens feel sympathy for the victims?
Also, I noticed in your other comments that you highly dislike Korea, but the foundation for your opinions are citing false sources. Any reason why?
The Marmot,
I guess you can be right in saying that Japan had no choice but to colonize other nations, but didn’t it prove its potential in the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War?
“six lil souls”?
Six surviving souls. There were many more, but they all died. NK provided death certificates for the others, but there are serious questions about all of them. For example, people dying of heart attacks in their mid-30s. The German doctor, Norbert Vollerstein (?) says that he has seen official NK death certificates, and the ones NK provided aren’t official. Remains can’t be provided, says NK, because flash floods washed them away some years ago.
One of the abductees was a 13 year old junior high school girl coming home from school.
Perhaps instead of complaining, South Koreans should wish that it had happened to the US instead of Japan. Had NK agents infiltrated sparsely-populated American coastal areas and kidnapped junior high girls and young lovers on late-night strolls, the American government would have dismantled Pyongyang plank by plank long ago. (Except when Jimmy Carter was president.)
I guess you can be right in saying that Japan had no choice but to colonize other nations, but didn’t it prove its potential in the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War?
Interesting question. In the greatly liberalized international environment of the 1920s, yes, Japan had done enough to “prove its potential” — access to markets and raw materials were fairly secure. By 1930, however, the international system began to break down, and powers like the U.S. and Britain began setting up what were, essentially, imperial trading blocks. And when Wall Street collapsed, so did Japan’s credit lifeline. At this point, Japan moved to create its own imperial economic block in Asia. I should also point out, of course, that given political instability in China (which, for reasons of geographic proximity, was of special concern to Japan) and the Soviet threat (musn’t forget that), the course Tokyo took was a wholly understandably one, regardless of whether, in the end, it was the right one or not (clearly, it was not). Now, this is not an apologea for the Rape of Nanking, the comfort women, or Pearl Harbor — clearly, those were things that should never have been allow to happen, and the total defeat Japan received in WW II was a richly deserved one. What I am saying, however, that Japan’s attempt to create its own imperial block in Asia was not the product of some sort of “original Japanese sin” that makes Japan naturally more agressive toward its neighbors, but the result of brutal international environments, both in the late 19th century and the 1930s. And for the Pacific War, there’s more than enough blame to go around.
Daniel,
You are mistaken. The Japanese did not “degrade” Empress Myeongseong by calling her Queen Min. She was Queen Min until King Kojong posthumously elevated her status to Empress Myeongseong. It sounds like you have been reading some of the anti-Japanese conspiracy theories floating around?
King Kojong’s father and Queen Min hated each other long before the Japanese became involved. The feud is reported to have really picked of steam with the death of King Kojong’s first son, Anwang, who many, including King Kojong’s father, believed was murdered by Queen Min.
Why would Queen Min murder her own son? Because Anwang was not her son. He was the son of a court lady named Lee.
The rumor is that Queen Min murdered Anwang to ensure the throne would go to her son, Sunjong, who was born feeble and not what people considered to be kingly. Anwang, on the other hand, was strong and bright and loved by the king’s father. Also, the lines on the palm of Anwang’s hand supposedly formed the Chinese character for “king.”
Anyway, the feud between Kojong’s father and Queen Min was long and bitter. It is generally recognized that even before her murder in 1895, Kojong’s father tried and failed to kill the queen. The Japanese did not have to threaten the king’s father or anybody else to kill Queen Min; she had a reputation for being heartless and had many enemies. Queen Min’s enemies among Korean officials, the king’s father, and the Japanese assassins must all share blame for her murder.
The Japanese did bring Korea prosperity and improved the life of the average Korean. Japan ended slavery in Korea, improved health services, built infrastructure, and developed public education.
By the way, Daniel, the Rape of Nanjing has nothing to do with Korea, except that Koreans fervently supported Japan’s war with China. Japan was brutal to her enemies, but Koreans were not her enemies; they were members of the Japanese Empire fighting China.
What false sources have I listed Daniel? And, by the way, where are the sources for your opinions?
“The Japanese did bring Korea prosperity and improved the life of the average Korean. Japan ended slavery in Korea, improved health services, built infrastructure, and developed public education.
By the way, Daniel, the Rape of Nanjing has nothing to do with Korea, except that Koreans fervently supported Japan’s war with China. Japan was brutal to her enemies, but Koreans were not her enemies; they were members of the Japanese Empire fighting China.”-Gerry Bevers
If you change Japan with Nazi-Germany, Korea with Poland (or any other occupied East European country)and China with Soviet Russia, you can get a perfect excuse for Nazi Germany?쨈s criminal war aggression and mayhem in Europe. I?쨈m nearly speechless… Gerry Bever?쨈s comments are horrific.
Pacific,
I am not blaming anyone. I am just telling you the facts. Koreans were part of the Japanese Empire. Koreans supported Japan’s war in China. Koreans fought with the Japanese. Koreans were executed as war criminals.
You, Pacific, are the one overlooking the facts when you try to group Koreans with the Chinese, Filipinos and other “Asians” who suffered at the hands of Japan. Koreans were on Japan’s side, not against her.
If Bevers is correct, and the Japanese were being saviors to poor Asians, and who just wanted to do good, then why the heck did America fight Japan in the Pacific War, and felt that dropping of two atomic bombs on them was justified? If Japan was such a good benevolent power, was America being a selfish no do gooders in defeating them? I know Japanophiles would vigerously defend Imperial Japan. I wonder who’s side they would have been on when America was at War in 1941.
Sugar,
I do not know much about the relationship between the Poles and the Nazis. Did the Poles suppport the Nazi war effort, too?
Pacific,
Korea was a part of the Japan that the US fought against in the Pacific. Many older Filipinos still claim to hate Koreans because of the cruelty they showed Filipinos as prison guards for the Japanese. Do not make the mistake of lumping Koreans in with other Asians when you talk about that war.
Your blaming of cruelty of Japanese POW camps, on few Korean guards who were essentially collaborators (however cruel they were), shows where your bias stands. Yes, there were some Korean traitors serving as POW guards. But who created the horrific conditions in those Far East POW camps? Who were the commanders in those camps? They sure weren’t Korean guards. Who was responsible for Bataan Death March? Was it Koreans again? Your blatant consistent overlooking of that little important fact shows you where your bias stands. It’s one reason why nobody should take you seriously.
“If Japan was such a good benevolent power, was America being a selfish no do gooders in defeating them? I know Japanophiles would vigerously defend Imperial Japan. I wonder who’s side they would have been on when America was at War in 1941.”
As a self-confessed Japanophile, let me make one point clear — I never said Japan was a benevolent power. In fact, I don’t believe benevolent powers exist — countries look out for No. 1, and that’s about it. What I have tried to argue, however, is that the Pacific War was not a clean cut case of good vs. evil. I mean, really, when it comes down to it, wasn’t the war fought over how China would get screwed — Japanese monogamy (the Co-prosperity Sphere) or an Anglo-American gangbang (the Open Door)? Mind you, I see nothing necessarily wrong with this, being that I don’t believe right and wrong exist in international politics (how many times have I said this), and if you must know, I would have pulled for the Americans, mostly on account of my being American, and in a world of shit (and one could accurately describe the world of the 1930s as just such a world), you might as well pull for the home team. Besides, given their respective global visions, the American one of 1945 certainly seemed a lot more pleasant than the Japanese one of 1941. That being said, however, let’s not bullshit ourselves as to how that war started and why it was fought — as Shin points out, I give the Koreans a lot of shit for bullshitting themselves about their own history, so I’m not prepared, as an American, to bullshit myself about my own country’s past.
Gerry Bevers,
“I do not know much about the relationship between the Poles and the Nazis. Did the Poles suppport the Nazi war effort, too?”
Although everybody can smell your hatred sweat against anything Korean, I?쨈ll answer you. Poland is only one example for the collaboration of many European countrymen(especially in Nazi-occupied Eastern European copuntries like Ukraine, Hungary, Romania, Kroatia)with the Nazi war efforts. The Nazis used to recruit mostly “Aryan”-looking foreign forces for the Waffen-SS (military offspring of the infamous and notoriously criminal SS-units)and as guards for the concentration camps mainly in Poland and the Ukraine, which were used as industrial exstinction complexes. Especially the General-Gouvernement Poland was planned as a integrated part of the Third Reich, were slavic-looking Poles have been educated only elementary skills at school (”Poland was German since ancient times”, reading: German language, maths: only elementary arithmetics) to serve better as working slaves for the future German settlers and companies. There have been also widerspread infrastructure build-ups to have a fully springboard for the settlement of Germans in the vast territory of the Ukraine and Russia. The Nazis used the common anti-Semitism among the occupied populations, which existed as a folk tradition in this region. But there have been also righteous Polish resistance against the German invaders from the nationalistic and communistic groups. Many Poles fled to London and were part of the Allied Forces against Hitler. The last soldiers to defend the last bunker of Hitler in Berlin 1945 have been mostly French and Swedish Waffen-SS troops, who had nothing to loose in their home countries. So, if a applicate your thesises, not the German Nazis, but all the European people which had collaborators or forced enlists among the German war machinery are responsible for the sins of World War II? Come on, you are fooling yourself, Mr. “in dubio contra Corea”.
Very amusing how the vitrolic people around here like to post and counter-post on each other’s bile while ignoring the Marmot’s good sense (and pretty solid history).
And by the way, Gerry, all Korean monarchs are named posthumously after they die. Every king from King Jijung of Shilla and on was named after he died, based on his accomplishments. Queen Min’s real title is Empress Myeoungsong. Korean textbooks (at least the elementary ones) don’t call her Queen Min. Not only that, if the empress was actually Queen Min, then there would several more Queen Mins, because many wives of the kings of the Joseon dynasty were from the Min family. To distinguish all of them, the Korean court gave them all a title, based on their political influence and personality. All queens in Korea have been distinguished like that. Empress Myeoungsong is the only one that bears her last name as a title. That’s ridiculos, especially if you consider that she was Korea’s greatest queen, and the last empress.