Musical acculturation through primary school activities during Japanese colonial rule of Korea (1910–1945)

Abstract

Global colonialism and continuing post-colonial influences caused widespread cultural change at the interface of different cultures. Musical acculturation can be observed in most colonised countries. Some pro-colonialists apologetically allege that through colonisation the colonised territories would receive developmental aid and economical benefits. If this was the case, did Korean music education also benefit from Japanese colonisation as is commonly claimed? And also, was Korean school music acculturated by the Japanese curriculum? To answer these questions, I scrutinised the intentions of colonial Korean music education through interviewing 42 witnesses who attended primary schools of the time, simultaneously analysing school activities such as morning assembly and the military draft, both of which show musical content. The interviews focused in particular on the day-to-day life at school, pedagogic content and impacts of colonial education on pupils’ later life and cultural identity.