Making Colonial Policies in Korea: The Factory Law Debate, Peace Preservation Law, and Land Reform Laws in the Interwar Years

Abstract

The conventional view of a powerless colonial Korean labor force oppressed by an authoritative and exploitative Japan has recently come under critical attack by newer studies seeking to reexamine the social dynamics that existed among different colonial groups. This study is in the latter camp, focusing on the Factory Law debate that took place in Korea between the two world wars (1921-1936) to argue that Japanese colonial policies were not always authoritative and arbitrary. Rather, any legislation resulted from a complex decisionmaking process forced by a need to balance the interests of different leaders, shifting policy priorities in Japan, and local pressures.