Korea-J apan Trade and Cotton Textile Industry in U.S. Army Military Government in Korea

Abstract

Purpose: This study examined the impact of the Military Government’s trade with Japan during the U.S. Military Government period (1945.9-1948.8) on South Korea’s cotton textile industry. Through this, we understood the situation of the cotton textile industry, South Korea’s representative sector, and looked at the impact of the U.S. Military Government’s import policy on the cotton textile industry and companies in the South Korea shortly after the collapse of the colonial economy. Research design, data, and methodology: South Korea’s colonial economic system, which had been built around the munitions industry, collapsed when its colonial rule ended. Most factories stopped procuring raw materials and components, and the Japanese-owned company’s operators disappeared. The South Korean economy was paralyzed when workers left the plant that stopped operating. When the Cold War began, the U.S. military government in South Korea expanded its trade with Japan through GHQ. Machinery imported from Japan by the U.S. military government included parts related to cotton spinning. Parts and consumables of cotton spinning facilities imported from Japan were distributed to vested textile factories under the control of the U.S. military government. South Korea’s cotton textile industry, which suffered from a shortage of cotton parts and supplies, repaired a considerable number of facilities in 1947. At that time, representative large-scale vested textile factories began to increase efficiency in terms of facilities, operations, raw materials, and labor. Results: The U.S. military government restored part of the dismantled colonial economic system through military trade with Japan and restored Korea-Japan economic relations. The U.S. military government''s move was revealed when the Delegation of Korea to Japan was established and the Korea-Japan trade agreement was signed under the leadership of GHQ in 1949, which eventually contributed to the signing of the Korea-Japan Agreement in 1965. Implications: In conclusion, the military government’s trade between Korea and Japan during the U.S. Military Government period played a role in expanding the colonial economic relationship to after Liberation. In addition, it provided the prototype of the cooperative relationship established by Korean and Japanese companies after the normalization of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan