Liberation Of Korea Research Articles

Anarchist tendencies in the early socialist movement in Korea, 1919–1924

Korean anarchism is in many ways a unique phenomenon, as is the history of this Far Eastern country. Anarchists played a prominent role in the liberation of Korea from Japanese colonial rule, which dominated the country from 1910 to 1945. Along with Korean nationalists and communists, they became the “third force” in the anti-colonial struggle, which has attracted the interest of historians. A close connection with the issues of the struggle against the colonial power of Japan gave special features and direction to Korean anarchism, which was forced to oscillate between the demands for restoring the country’s independence and the anarchist tradition of denying any state as such. Unfortunately, the history of Korean anarchism remains virtually unexplored in Soviet and Russian academic literature. This article is intended to make the first steps in researching this topic. The article analyses the initial period in the development of the anarchist movement in the country, the time of its birth, drawing on original texts and publications by Korean socialists and anarchists of the early 1920s and taking into account the study of the issue in Korean and foreign historiography. The article shows that, as in other East Asian countries (Japan and China), anarchism in Korea was not initially identified as a special current in the socialist movement, and elements of anarchism, Bolshevism and social reformism were often mixed in the ideas of early Korean socialists. The separation of anarchism as a movement from this general socialist “conglomerate” occurred under the influence of disappointment in Russian Bolshevism and the results of the Great Russian Revolution.

Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Korea: History and Modernity

The article is devoted to the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Korea (hereinafter RoK, Republic). The authors examine the history of the creation in the Korean government of the department responsible for the implementation of laws, law enforcement personnel, and judicial processes. The Ministry of Justice functioned until the Japanese occupation in 1910. The new history of the Ministry began after the liberation of Korea. In 1948, the Korean Constitution came into force. Currently, the system of executive authorities of the Republic is determined by the Law on the Organization of Public Administration. In accordance with this law, the Ministry of Justice is an independent structure. The Presidential Decree on the Ministry of Justice and its subsidiaries regulates the structure and competence of the department. Certain powers of the Ministry of Justice are regulated by the laws on the prosecutor’s office, on probation, on immigration, on lawyers, on notaries, on civil servants and other regulations. A wide range of issues fall within the scope of the Ministry. The Ministry of Justice is responsible for the execution of laws, the prosecutor’s office, migration, correctional institutions, prosecutorial and legal personnel, legal assistance in civil and criminal cases. The article analyzes in details the provisions of Korean legislation on the structure and competence of the Ministry of Justice. The authors examine closely the status of Ministry employees and holding them accountable. Contemporary issues related to the activities of the Ministry of Justice are revealed. The role of the Ministry of Justice in the supervision of the prosecutor’s office, the legal profession, correctional institutions and probation is highlighted. The powers of the Ministry of Justice in the field of execution of punishment, rehabilitation of off enders and immigration are analyzed. The authors show how the Ministry is involved in international cooperation. Particular attention is paid to the importance of the Ministry of Defense in the process of improving Korean legislation.

해방 이전 정운수의 생애와 독립운동

The primary focus of this paper is to illuminate the life and contributions of Chung Woonsoo(鄭雲樹) to the Korean independence movement and explore its significance. The period that this study focuses on is from 1903, when he was born, to right after the liberation of Korea in 1945. Chung was educated predominantly at Protestant schools during the Japanese colonial era and further pursued theological studies in the United States.
 His activism gained prominence during the Asia-Pacific War. Chung discerned the intricate link between the culmination of World War II and the restoration of Korean sovereignty. As a response, he fervently engaged in independence efforts in both America and China.
 In Washington, D.C., Chung played various roles in the Korean Commission, aiding Syngman Rhee. He embarked on campaigns to secure support and empathy from Americans for the Korean independence cause and spearheaded initiatives to highlight Korea’s quest for autonomy within the American public sphere.
 In 1944, Chung was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army. Subsequently, he was dispatched to China via Burma and assigned to the U.S.
 14th Air Force in 1945. During this tenure, he took part in ‘The Eagle Project’, a collaborative endeavor between the Korean Independence Army(KIA) and the U.S. Office of Strategic Services(OSS). His responsibilities fostering KIA-OSS military collaborations, training communications for KIA’s Second Detachment members, and orchestrating advance operations into Korea.
 Chung’s dedication to the independence movement was unwavering. Heemployed a gamut of strategies(from diplomacy and propaganda to direct armed resistance) in his relentless pursuit to end Japanese oppression and reinstate Korea’s sovereignty. Even though the anticipated advance operation into Korea did not materialize, Chung’s instrumental role in bolstering the collaboration between the KIA and OSS undeniably elevated the stature of both the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea and the KIA.

신라 군사제도 연구의 현황과 과제

This article reviews the results of research on the Silla military organization and summarizes future research issues. Silla's military organization can be found in the Bumgunho record of Mugwan section, in the 『Samguksagi(History of the Three Kingdoms)』. Mention of the Silla military organization began in the late Joseon Dynasty. In the late Joseon Dynasty period, the Silla military organization was mentioned in order to organize the military system of the past or to reform the military government and military system. Actual research on the Silla military organization with modern historical research methods was began after the 1900s. The interest in Korean history during this period led to empirical research on historical and geographical aspects, and also for the Silla military organization. After the liberation of Korea in 1945, the study of the Silla military organization intensified. Studies were published that provided an overview of the Silla military organization from an institutional perspective, and studies were also conducted that linked the military organization to the local system. These studies became the basis for later research on military organizations. From the 1970s, research on Silla's military organization became more detailed, with studies focusing on individual military organizations or specific military offices based on the results of previous studies. From the 1990s to the present, researchers have research achievements in military organizations that have been difficult to identify due to very sketchy records, and studies have been published to trace the process of change in military organizations and the operation of military organizations in connection with the Silla defense system. As a result of the constant efforts of researchers in the face of absolute scarcity, both qualitatively and quantitatively research on the Silla military organization has been greatly advanced and accumulated. However, there are still many things that need to be resolved. It is hoped that more research on military organizations will be conducted in the future and much will be revealed about the Silla military organization.

이용악 시 주제의 연속성 문제 진단

This paper aims to analyze Lee Yong-ak’s poems written during the wartime period in the Japanese colonial era, raise a question about the continuity of Lee Yong-ak’s literature, and investigate the phenomenon. The thematic criterion of literary continuity assumed in this paper is Lee Yong-ak’s political stance on social reality, and the periodic category is the wartime period (1937-1945). This setting implies that some of Lee Yong-ak’s poems written during the wartime period deviated from the flow of consistency in Lee Yong-ak’s entire literature. Lee Yong-ak, who used poetry to give shape to Korean people’s suffering in the Japanese colonial era through the life history of northern immigrants, faces the wartime period’s writing situation that forces wartime mobilization and the unity of Japan and Korea. It can be summarized that Lee Yong-ak evades the subjectification mechanism of the Japanese Empire by means of three methods. The first one is a versification error in poems themselves. By writing such poems, Lee Yong-ak achieves the purpose of publishing his works in pro-Japanese media as part of his survival and at the same time sets his works free from the field of evaluation. The second one is to list both pro-Japanese content and content that denies it in one work. The so-called “included outside” subjects camouflage each other inside and outside. Censorship approves the subjects of Lee Yong-ak’s poem as tools for the wartime mobilization system, but the subjects themselves slip from the net of such a mechanism in his own strategy. The third one is the arbitrariness of the subjects of ‘Orangkaeggot (Violet)’, which were utilized in Lee Yong-ak’s own consciousness, in the political group he belonged to, and also posthumously in the criticism pursuing the continuity of Lee Yong-ak’s literature. After the liberation of Korea, Lee Yong-ak chooses the subjects who are attacked and oppressed by attackers among the various characteristics of identification that ‘Orangkaeggot (Violet)’ makes possible. With this strategy, Lee Yong-ak’s literary world, which advocates nationalism after the liberation of Korea, secures the minimum justification for taking nominally nationalistic continuity. He restores the former northern locality and strengthens the literary continuity during the liberation period and in the North Korean literary circles after going to North Korea. By literary continuity diagnosis, this paper intended to say that the duality of Lee Yong-ak’s literature should be revealed in the horizon of evaluation rather than defining Lee Yong-ak’s literature in a certain direction.

1945년〜1980년대 한국 유도의 재도약기와 전성기의 역사적 가치

The purpose of this study is to examine the developmental aspects of Korean judo from 1945 to 1980, and to present the historical value, implications, and identity of the heyday of Korean judo in the 1970s and 1980s, which contributed to the enhancement of national prestige by overwhelmingly winning Japanese judo at the Olympics, Asian Games, and various international judo championships. The purpose of this study is to suggest the historical implications of Korean judo in the heyday of the game. On September 15, 1945, after the liberation of Korea, the Korean Judo Federation was formed at the YMCA Hall at the erection meeting for the formation of the Judo Central Organization.,In the late 1970s and 1984, based on the LA Olympic Games, in 1985 World Judo Championships and 1986 Asian Games, Korean Judo dominated Japan, the suzerain of Judo, with a gold medal of 6-2. At the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, Judo ranked first overall, with two gold and one gold and three gold. This has contributed to the enhancement of national prestige by providing a pivotal role for the leaders and players of Korean Judo as a massive dimension for national interest. In conclusion, after the liberation in 1945, the Olympic Games and Asian Games through the development of Korean judo in the 1980s overwhelmed Japanese judo and left a great footprint.,Furthermore, the systematic training based on the skills, physical strength, muscular strength, mental strength, and strategic tactics of Korean judo became the driving force.

조선총독부의 민족종교 탄압과 제주도 무극대도 사건

The Mugeuk Daedokyo Incident on Jeju Island was a significant incident that occurred on Jeju Island in 1937 when Japan was moving toward militarism. According to the verdict, 20 people were convicted in this case. The most common crimes they were charged with were “impiety to the Japanese Emperor” and “National security law.” ‘Impiety to the Japanese Emperor” consisted in the fact that they foresaw that the Japanese Emperor would soon be dethroned, and “National security law” was invoked as they said that Japan’s imperialism would soon collapse and Joseon would become independent. Additionally, Military penal law and Navy penal law were involved as Japan said that it would lose in the Sino-Japanese War. This incident was part of an independence movement that desired the defeat of Japan and Korea's independence. To block the support of the general public for the religious leader Kang Seung-tae, the Japanese government played on social issues such as “fraud,” “rape,” and “violation of doctors’ rules.” charged with immorality.
 The Imperial Japanese divided the religions of colonial Korea into two types. Japan’s state religions, “Shinto” and “Buddhism,” and “Christianity,” were classified as religions and administered by the Religious Division of the Academic Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Government-General of Korea. Ethnic religions that desired human liberation, national liberation, and national independence were classified as “similar religions,” and were controlled by the Government-General’s Police Bureau, which suppressed independence activists. Religions classified as pseudo-religions were all ethnic religions that dreamed of national liberation.
 Even after the liberation of Korea, this religious classification made by the Japanese was accepted as it was, and those involved in the Mugeukdaedo incident were excluded from the national conferment of a decoration. Kang Seung-tae, the leader of the Mugeuk Daedokyo, was treated as a person of interest to the point that even after serving his six-year sentence, the Japanese Empire would not release him, because the view of the Japanese Government- General, who treated him as a pseudo religious leader, was maintained even after liberation.
 Now is the time to frame the Mugeukdaedo incident on Jeju Island as one of the fiercest national liberation movements of the 1930s.

Spectatorship and Subversive Potential of Choson Film in Colonial Korea: Reviewing Sweet Dream(1936) in Affect Theory

This paper analyzes the affect of Choson’s (before the liberation of Korea) film and audience in colonial Korea, focusing on the film Sweet Dream (1936). Films in Korea have been used to edify Koreans since their first introduction to the Korean Peninsula for propaganda and enlightenment during the Japanese colonization period. However, when a film is regarded as an affective medium and the audience is assumed to be a subject who actively watches the film, the film can be interpreted differently. This paper analyzes the modern landscapes shown in Sweet Dream and the factors that hinder the audience from being perfectly sutured into the narrative. This analysis takes note of the subversive potential that enables the Korean audience to recognize themselves as economic and sexual subjects in colonial Korea and cause a rupture in the colonization policy.

The Soviet Military Administration and the Creation of the North Korean Police in 1945

The liberation of Korea by the Red Army in August 1945 brought an end to the Japanese colonial rule and opened a new page in the history of Korea. However, the circumstances in which Korea met its liberation played a fateful role in the developments after the liberation. Division of the country into Soviet and American occupation zones became an essential background for the creation of two different political regimes. Their confrontation eventually led to the devastating Korean war, the consequences of which still vividly felt today across the 38th parallel. This article focuses on the creation of the North Korean police force by the Soviet military administration. The police would become an important tool for establishing control over North Korea and will play important role in its political unification. Drawing from the Soviet archival evidence as well as several Korean-language sources this article argues that the creation of the North Korean police was not initially driven by political goals or goals of creating a military for the future North Korean regime. The evidence suggests that despite the direct nature of the Soviet control over North Korea, the creation of the police was primarily guided by the practical need of the Soviet command to overcome a number of serious issues that plagued North Korea from the very first days after the liberation. One of the primary tools for the creation of the North Korean police force was the commandant offices. As the grassroots level organisation of the Soviet military administration tasked with implementing its policies, the commandant offices were directly responsible for monitoring and controlling the work of the police. Equally important, however, was their role in fighting the crimes committed by the soldiers and officers of the Red Army.

The political economy of agricultural trade liberalization in Northeast Asia: comparisons with the West and between Japan and Korea

This paper contrasts agricultural protection of Japan and Korea with the West and identifies major differences between them. It characterizes agricultural protection of Japan and Korea (net heavy food importers) as “tariff-based and scarcity-sensitive” aimed at promoting survival and the West (net food exporters) as “subsidy-based and surplus-inducing” aimed at enhancing farm income. We then identify factors underlying the coevolution and divergence in the extent of agricultural trade liberalization between Japan and Korea since the launch of the Uruguay Round in 1986. Korea accepted deep cuts in agricultural tariffs in bilateral FTAs with the US and EU during the 2000s while Japan continued to protect farm interests by concluding low levels of FTAs with politically sensitive products excluded from tariff concessions. The two countries’ stances reversed since 2013 with Japan becoming proactive in pursuing high levels of FTAs with major agricultural exporting countries and Korea decelerating its opening of agricultural markets. To explain such divergences, this paper develops a political economy framework in which the incumbent political leadership would consider both national interests and sectoral (farm as import competing industries and business/manufacturing as exporting industries) special interests. Our analysis shows that President Roh (2002–2007)’s embracing of neoliberal paradigm in formulating foreign trade policies that would promote national interests underlies the unprecedented level of agricultural trade liberalization in Korea during the 2000s, while Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s determination not to be outcompeted by the rising China and Korea’s ambitious FTA strategies underlies Japan’s proactive bilateral and mega-FTA drives since 2013.

The Land Reform in North Korea Right after Liberation of Korea and How It is Portrayed in Novels—Focusing on Farmland “Nongto” by Lee Tae-joon

The Land Reform in North Korea Right after Liberation of Korea and How It is Portrayed in Novels—Focusing on Farmland “Nongto” by Lee Tae-joon

Introduction of Golf to Korea during the Japanese Occupation

Golf was developed in Korea between the late nineteenth century and the early 20th century. This was a dark period for the country, during which its name was changed from the Joseon Dynasty to the Korean Empire, and the nation subsequently entered the Japanese colonial era after losing its national sovereignty. The game of golf, which was first introduced by the foreign maritime customs staff at the end of the Joseon Dynasty, spread across upper class society during the Japanese colonial era, as golf courses were being built in major cities and vacation spots around the country. The construction of the courses was undertaken by foreign missionaries, Japanese, and Koreans. The introduction and development of golf in Korea was initially led by the Japanese, as well as by foreign commissioners and missionaries; thereafter, Koreans began to participate in golf. However, golf courses completely disappeared from the Korean Peninsula over the course of the Pacific War and the Korean War after the liberation of Korea from Japan. Korean golfers who survived the Japanese colonial era began to rebuild the golf courses, thereby creating the cornerstone of what has today become a global golf powerhouse.

광복 이후 광주 선교스테이션의 의료활동과 대 사회적 역할

광복 이후 광주 선교스테이션의 의료활동과 대 사회적 역할

해방 후 경상북도 영덕군의 군경토벌 작전과 민간인 학살

해방 후 경상북도 영덕군의 군경토벌 작전과 민간인 학살

해방 직후 반공 교육과 국사교과서에서 사회주의 관련 서술 삭제

해방 직후 반공 교육과 국사교과서에서 사회주의 관련 서술 삭제

Trade-employment linkage of FTAs in Korea

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the link between trade liberalization and employment through the export channel under Korea’s FTAs by distinguish firm heterogeneity (i.e. size) as well as sector-level international competitiveness (i.e. comparative advantage). Design/methodology/approach Using the firm-level data during 2000–2009, the authors drive the difference-in-difference-in-difference model on Wagner (2007) with the dependent variables of labor productivity and employments and the independent variables of free trade agreement, revealed comparative advantage, firm size and payroll costs. Findings The authors find that the economic benefit of FTAs in Korea is not concentrated in large enterprises or firms with comparative advantage. Accordingly, the authors conclude that FTA or trade liberalization brings positive effects to business as a whole, rather than to specific industries or group of firms. Research limitations/implications The Korean Government has continued its policy of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for a long time by recognizing them as socially underprivileged. According to the results of this study, an increase in export through FTAs improves firm’s labor productivity and increases employment, especially for SMEs, which can be a practical and efficient support for them. Originality/value The paper provides the empirical evidences that how the effects of trade liberalization on labor depend on firm heterogeneity, industrial competitiveness and/or both and thus how labor is reallocated in response to trade liberalization in Korea.

해방 직후 한국사 교과서 발행과 삼국 통일에 관한 서술 검토

해방 직후 한국사 교과서 발행과 삼국 통일에 관한 서술 검토

Dissemination of Japanese Swordsmanship to Korea

In this article I explored the dissemination of Japanese swordsmanship to Korea. A series of fight books compiled in Korea, Muyejebo (1598), Muyejebo Beonyeoksokjip (1610) and Muyedobotongji (1790) shows the influence of Japanese fencing. Japanese Kage-ryu was introduced to the Korean military training methods as a form of kata and pattern training of sword combat, which features typical Koreanisation of Japanese fencing. During the 18th century, four different Japanese fencing methods were documented in the Muyedobotongji including Toyu-ryu, Ungwang-ryu, Cheonryu-ryu, and Yupi-ryu. The efforts to introduce Japanese fencing to Korea continued in modern times. Especially during the Japanese Rule (1910-1945) gekkiken and Kendo were introduced to Korea and widely spread. However, after the liberation of Korea, Kendo in Korea encountered harsh criticism from nationalism and anti-Japanese sentiment. In attempts to 'erase' the Japanese signature, Kendo was transformed into a Korean style sword art. Militarism gave birth to Japanese Kendo, nationalism evolved it to Korean Kendo.

『남양군도귀환자명부』를 통해 본 해방 직후 조선인의 남양군도 재류현황

『남양군도귀환자명부』를 통해 본 해방 직후 조선인의 남양군도 재류현황

해방 이후 조선총독부청사의 변천과 그 의미

해방 이후 식민지 건축물은 대부분 현실적인 이유로 도시공간에 존속하였다. 식민지 건축물의 존속은 단지 물리적 공간의 연속에 그치는 것이 아니라 건물이 가진 상징성 또한 연속되는 것이었다. 1926년 준공된 조선총독부청사는 일제의 식민권력을 상징하는 핵심적인 건축물이었다. 조선총독부청사는 해방 이후에도 군정청, 중앙청, 국립중앙박물관으로 50여 년간 활용되었다. 그동안 조선총독부청사를 다룬 연구는 주로 건물의 준공과 철거라는 특정 시기에 집중하였다. 본 연구에서는 식민지 건축물의 변천을 해방 전후에 걸쳐 유기적으로 살펴볼 필요가 있다고 보고, 해방 이후 조선총독부청사의 활용에 주목하였다. 이를 통해 식민권력을 상징하는 근대건축물이 해방 이후 어떠한 논리를 통해 활용되고 철거되었는지 살펴보고자 하였다. 해방 이후 조선총독부청사는 경제적 효율성이라는 현실적 이유에서 계속 활용되었다. 조선총독부청사는 해방 직후 미 군정청으로 활용되었고, 정부 수립 이후 중앙청이 되었다. 한국전쟁으로 건물이 훼손되면서 조선총독부청사의 경제성이 떨어졌지만, 여전히 대체할 건물을 신축하는 것보다 조선총독부청사를 복구하는 것이 경제적 이점을 가졌다. 1980년대 이후 경제성장과 함께 ‘민족성 회복’의 문제가 사회 전면에 대두되면서 조선총독부청사는 국립중앙박물관으로 개편되었다. 권력획득 과정의 정당성이 취약했던 전두환 정권은 대중적 지지를 유도하기 위해 중앙청을 국립중앙박물관으로 개편하였다. 김영삼 정부는 역사바로세우기 사업의 일환으로 조선총독부청사 철거를 정책적으로 추진하였다. 조선총독부청사의 개편과 철거 과정은 모두 ‘민족성 회복’을 목적으로 하였다. 그러나 그 과정에서 건물의 역사적 의미에 대한 논의보다 가시적인 행위에 사회적 관심이 집중되었다. 현재 대부분의 근대건축물은 중앙 혹은 지방정부의 정책적 판단으로 건물의 존폐가 갈리고 있다. 근대건축물의 보존을 위해서 무조건적인 보존이나 철거 논리에서 벗어나 근대문화유산을 종합적이고 장기적인 관점에서 바라볼 수 있는 기준을 정립해야한다. 한국의 근대건축물은 해방 이후 현실적 필요에 따라 계속 활용되면서 개별 건축물이 다양하게 변용되었다. 따라서 근대건축물은 보존과 철거 결정에 일괄적인 기준을 적용하기 어렵다. 각각의 근대건축물이 상황에 따라 해방 전후 다양하게 활용되었기 때문에, 건물의 특정 시기에 국한하지 않고 전체 존속 시기를 아울러 해당 건물의 역사성을 살펴보아야한다.