Abstract

This article explored the discourse of labor mady by Maeilsinbo, the bulletin of the Japanese Government-General of Korea in the wartime period. In Maeilsinbo, there were diaries, letters and reports written by Koreans; this editng method to use Koreans’ voices is good to understand the characteristics and meaning of the discourse of labor although it is difficult to take all of the contents of the diaries etc. as facts. The period was divided into June 1938, when the Labor Patriotic Corps activities began, November 1940, when the ‘Guideline for Establishing a New Labor System’ was published, and around September 1944, when the conscription order was expanded. First, since the beginning of the Labor Patriotic Movement in June 1938, MaeilShinbo had shown the superiority of collective and overall power centered on the experiences of young men who were active in the Labor Patriotic Corps, and had realized the image of the Subjects of Japanese empire who had storonger powers than the total sum of powers of members of the Subjects. Second, after the publication of the ‘Guideline for Establishing a New Working System’ in November 1940, the Maeil Shinbo explained labor as one of the standards of national ethics. Accordingly, it was explained that the working spirit was a virtue that everyone should work without exception. MaeilShinbo explained the National Labor Patriotic Cooperation Ordinance(November 1941), which did not ordered but requested for young men and women to work in the military industry. In addition, in order to establish a common sense that the women and the elderly were responsible for agricultural labor, the production labor of married women and the elderly was shown as a natural and moral duty in a way that equalized the family and the country with the cases of Japanese women and the edlderly in rural areas. Finally, before and after September 1944, MaeilShinbo tried to show the desire to labor. MaeilShinbo, described the work of rear ground embracing the battlefield with pleasure in a way that alludes to the desire to win and the desire to post-victory ideals. In particular, it directly conveyed the feelings of pleasure and satisfaction from work revealed in the diaries of the conscripted students and the letters of members of the Korean Women labor corps. and indirectly metaphorized the pleasure and satisfaction of labor with cases of labor without complaints or labor without rest of conscripted workers, members of the port labor corps and rural women.

Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call