Part 2 - Thousands of young Korean men were recruited to guard Allied POWs, who were called "masses of materialism with little spiritual cultivation" and "mentally retarded people" whom the guards had to "splendidly guide and subdue"

 

Notes: Some 3000 young Korean men were recruited by Imperial Japan as civilians to work as civilians to guard Allied POWs in Southeast Asia. The prisoners were mostly forced to build airstrips and railways for the Imperial Japanese military. These included the 415-km Thai-Burma railway, which was made famous with the movie "The Bridges on the River Kwai". One of the more notable Korean guards working on the Thai-Burma railway was Lee Hak-rae, the last surviving Korean Class-B/Class-C war criminal from World War II who died in Japan last year in March 2021. 

One term that was hard to translate into English in this article was gunzoku (軍属), which I translated as "civilian members of the military", but this classification refers to the lowest ranking civilian employees in the service of the Imperial Japanese military. So, the status of the ethnic Korean prison guards was quite low in the Imperial Japanese military hierarchy. A lot of former prison guards argued this fact before the war crimes tribunals with varying degrees of success.

This Asia-Pacific Journal article is a good overview of Lee Hak-rae's story.

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) May 24, 1942

Recruitment of guards for American and British prisoners of war
Mentally guide and subdue
Expectations for the applicants' mental readiness

Comments by Mr. Kuramo, Chief of the Military Press Department

As announced on the 22nd, the government has decided to recruit several thousand capable young Korean men to serve in the military to monitor American and British prisoners of war being held in various places. Mr. Kuramo, Chief of the Korean Military Press Department, issued the following statement on the 23rd:

Content of the Statement by the Chief of the Military Press Department

The number of American, British and Dutch troops taken prisoner by the Imperial Military in the Greater East Asia War was enormous. In the middle of all this, the colonial military forces, made up of indigenous people who were oppressed by the Americans, British, and Dutch under absolute discrimination, were sent back to their hometowns with a pledge to cooperate with the Imperial Military and its Divine Soldiers of Peace, and contribute to the establishment of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. The remaining prisoners of war of the American, British and Dutch forces were placed in prisoner-of-war camps in various places, where they were forced to work under the warm supervision of the Imperial Military.

It has already been announced by the Governor's Office that young Korean men were recruited as civilian members of the military to assist the Imperial Military in the camps for American, British and Dutch prisoners of war.

In view of the seriousness of their duties, these men were to be recruited as civilian members of the military and given about two months of preparatory training, most of whom were to serve in the south. Despite defeat, the Americans, British, and Dutch were still the ones who had ruled the world as if it had belonged to them. We must thoroughly train our mental readiness to deal with them. Winning the battles at long last, we must not let deficiencies arise in our management after the battles.

Although they may seem to be materially superior in some respects, they are actually masses of materialism with little spiritual cultivation, and it is no surprise that they were defeated in this war. In order for us to build a new order, we must absolutely denounce their European-American ideas.

Therefore, we should have the aspiration to splendidly guide these mentally retarded people and subdue them. For this reason, when selecting the personnel to monitor them, the emphasis should be placed on whether or not they have been trained in this mental readiness to deal with them. Other conditions should also be taken into consideration when asking them to proceed with seriousness.

We would like to focus on young people who are between the ages of 20 and around 35, and who have graduated from elementary school (National School). This is because they have at least learned Japanese etiquette and can speak their language well, which is the first factor to avoid being insulted by the British and the Americans. They will be treated as civilian members of the military, and when they go abroad, they will be given departure allowances and all the other benefits that come with being civilian members of the military.

Starting salaries are generally uniform across the board, but they are raised successively according to one's ability. They can rest easy about food, clothing, and shelter for an expected period of two years. Of course, enough considerations will be made so that they will not have to worry about family members.

We hope that you will consider these conditions carefully and apply for these positions, especially if you are a young man who has applied to become a special volunteer soldier but was not accepted, or if you are a young man who is eager to study Europeans and Americans with hopes of making great strides in the future. Don't miss out on this excellent opportunity.

The Chronicles of the Way of Japanese Wives

This is an inspirational read that depicts the noble way in which Japanese wives have protected and nurtured their families while hiding in the shadows of their husbands and children.　The serialization of this story in the June issue of Women's Club magazine has already been well received.

(The large slogan running vertically on the bottom left corner:) 

The Unification of Japan and Korea starts with the Japanese Language!

Source: http://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1942-05-24

Reddit Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/korea/comments/sbhogc/thousands_of_young_korean_men_were_recruited/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

(Transcription)

京城日報　1942年5月24日

米英人俘虜監視要員採用について
精神的に指導圧伏
応募者の心構え期待

倉茂軍報道部長談

政府は各地に収容中の米英人俘虜監視のため、有為なる半島青年数千名を軍属として採用することに決定。その旨、二十二日本府より発表されたが、右につき倉茂朝鮮軍報道部長は二十三日左の如き談話を発表した。

軍報道部長談内容

大東亜戦争において皇軍に捕虜となった米英蘭軍の数は莫大なるのである。その中、原住民によって編成されて米英蘭人から絶対差別待遇の下に虐げられていた植民地軍は平和の神兵たる皇軍に協力し、かつ大東亜共栄圏の確立に寄与することを誓ってそれぞれ郷里に帰らしめられたのであるが、残っている多数の米英蘭軍の捕虜は特に各地の捕虜収容所に入れられて、皇軍の温かい監視の下にそれぞれ勤労等に従事せしめられているのである。

さてこの度これ等米英蘭人捕虜の収容所において現地の皇軍に手助けして貰うため、半島青年を軍属として募集せられることになったのは、既に総督府から発表せられた通りである。

これ等要員はその任務の重大なるに鑑み、軍属として採用しはじめ約二ヶ月の準備教育を施し、その大部は南方において勤務せしめられるのである。彼等は敗れたりとはいえ、今まで世界をわが物顔に振り舞って来た米英蘭人である。これ等に対する心構えは余程練り鍛えておかなくてはいけない。折角戦闘に勝ちながら戦後に経営に欠陥を生じてはならないのである。

彼等は物質的には一部優れているが如く見ゆる点あるも、物質主義の塊りであって、精神的陶冶が薄いため、この度の戦争に惨敗したのは固より当然のことである。我々としては新秩序建設上、彼等の欧米思想は絶対に排撃しなければならない。

従って我々は精神的におくれた国民として彼等を立派に指導し、圧伏せしめて行くの抱負を持つべきである。故に監視要員の人選に関しては、先ずこの心構えに鍛えられているかいないかという点に重きを置き、その他の条件を考え併せて厳重にやって貰うように要求している。

現在二十歳から概ね三十五歳までの齢であって、小学校（国民学校）を卒業した程度以上の青年を主としたいのである。これは少なくとも日本人としての儀礼を習い、言葉も能く通じ、米英人等の侮を受けぬ第一要素であるからである。採用者は軍属として待遇し、外地に行く際には出発手当を支給し、その他総て軍属としての恩典を完全に与えられるのである。

なお初任給は概ね一律同様であるが、その能力に応じて逐次昇給せしめられるのである。又衣食住の点は安心してよく、期間は二年と予想されている。また家の方のことは充分心配ないよう考慮されることは勿論である。

これらの条件をよく考えて振って応募されたく、特に折角特別志願兵を志望しながら採用されなかったものや将来の飛躍を期して欧米人を研究しようとの熱意を持つ青年は、この絶好の機会を逃さぬよう希望する次第である。

日本婦道記

夫の蔭、子の蔭にかくれて、日本の家を守り育てて来た尊い姿を描いた感激読み物、夫人倶楽部六月号から連載早くも評判。

内鮮一体先ず国語から！