731부대에 대한 민족주의적 ‘소비’를 넘어서 ―731부대 관련 사진 오용 사례와 조선 관계 자료 검토

Abstract

Unit 731 is quite familiar to Koreans, so much so that the term ‘Maruta’, which refers to the people who fell victim to the experiments by Unit 731, is often used in everyday life. However, it is not easy to obtain proper information about Unit 731 in Korea. Most of the information online display gruesome pictures and describe Unit 731 as a ‘mad group’ that used Joseon people as ‘Maruta.’ The efforts to properly learn about Unit 731 has been far from enough since information providers were bent solely on the nationalistic ‘consumption’ of Unit 731. It was a frequent occurrence for media outlets to be engrossed in stimulating nationalistic sensibility and hence use wrong photos. What is more problematic is that it is difficult to find academic papers or books that correct such cases. Based on the awareness of this problem, this study reviewed the most representative cases of photograph misuse by the media in Chapter 2. In fact, it would be unfair to blame the media alone for the repeated distorted reports on Unit 731 in the Korean media, because that signifies the absence of researchers who are able to review such reports. In that sense, this article is also a self-reflective essay by one the researchers related in the field. For a constructive reflection, historical records and topics that are worthy of note in relation to Joseon are presented in Chapter 3. While the topics mentioned here are microscopically limited to Joseon and hence are directly about Unit 731, opting a broader perspective will lead to a wide variety of research topics. In other words, the issue of Unit 731 is a subject worthy of further exploration rather than to be ‘consumed’ merely by nationalistic sentiments. It is expected that more diverse and thorough approach is taken in researching Unit 731 in the future. Hopefully, this article will help bring about such a change.