The Cultural Policy of Government-General in Korea and Its construction of Korean History

Abstract

This study purports to explore the impact of the international and domestic circumstances of colonial Korea on the Japanese historians’ engagement with Korean history. Since 1915, Government-General in Korea (GGK) began to re-write Korean history according to the “Il-Son Tongjoron”. In the manuscript of Choson Pantosa (the History of Choson Peninsula), the ancient history of Korea was rewritten as a history of Han ethnic groups such as Mahan, Pyonhan, and Jinhan in Southern Korea under the alleged protection of the ancient Japan against Koguryo ethnic group in Northern Korea. However, after March 1st movement in 1919, GGK transformed its policy of unilateral cultural integration into a policy of relative respect for Korean culture. It published Introduction to Korean History in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Japanese rule. In this book, Korean history was defined as a history of Choson nation, consisting of both Han and Koguryo ethnic group. Nevertheless, this book was based on the Man-Son view of history, arguing Korean history after the fall of Koguryo as a history of heteronomy under the overwhelming influences of Manchuria and Northern China. In my analysis, This view of history was adopted to justify the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and China, under the slogan of ‘Bloc of Japan-Choson-Manchuria’.