Imperial Japan called Seoul residents the laziest people in the world when it came to paying their taxes, and unleashed patriotic 'Tax Collection Assault Units' to more aggressively collect taxes from 'delinquent tax collection districts' (February 1942)

 

Notes: This propaganda article from 1942 claims that 25 out of every 100 taxpayers in Seoul were delinquent in paying their taxes, blaming the laziness of the residents. However, I found a 1929 Keijo Nippo news article describing a Korea Simple Life Insurance meeting which mentions the economic hardships of the residents that led to such a high tax delinquency rate. 

(Translation) According to the Korean Thought News published in Seoul, there are a large number of delinquent taxpayers in Seoul: "In Seoul, people are unable to pay the business tax, national tax, house tax and miscellaneous taxes collected by the Seoul Office, causing miserable scenes between tax collection officials and citizens everywhere every day. Of the 113,000 yen due on the last day of December for the second fiscal term, half of it, about 60,000 yen, has already been paid, but within a few days the Seoul government will issue reminders for the uncollected 60,000 yen, or more than 21,000 people. If they still don't pay, they will be dealt with as delinquents. Most of these delinquents were Koreans, and the fact that 20,000 out of 40,000 were delinquent shows how difficult life is for Koreans in Seoul these days." If this is true, I think this is very serious problem indeed.

(Japanese Original) 京城で発行されて居る朝鮮思想通信に依りますと、京城府には非常に滞納者があると云うことであります。『京城市中には京城府が徴収する営業税や国税、又は家屋税、雑種税の如き税金を払うことが出来ず、毎日到る所に収税官吏と市民との間に悲惨なる場面を演出して居る。そして十二月末日を納期とする戸別割第二期分が約十一万三千円中、其半額六万円余りは既に納人されて居るが府庁にては数日内に此未収の六万円、即ち二万一百余名に対して督促状を発したる後、それでも払わない者には、納滞処分をするそうであるが、此滞納者の大部分は多く朝鮮人であって四万名中二万名も滞納して居る所から見て、京城の朝鮮人が昨今如何に苦しい生活をして居るかが分ると』ありますが、是か事実としたならば、実に非常な問題であると思う。

This article mentions the three main duties of an Imperial subject under the Meiji Constitution of Imperial Japan were 1. Military service, 2. Education, and 3. Taxes. The article claims that, as of 1942, Koreans in the Korean peninsula only have to fulfill the third duty (taxes) and not the other two: military service and compulsory education. However, from 1943 to 1945, Korean men did become conscripted into military service, and there were plans to implement compulsory education in Korea in 1946 after the war. In postwar Japan, the three main duties of a Japanese citizen were changed under the postwar constitution to 1. Work, 2. Education, and 3. Taxes. 

This article mentions patriotic organizations getting involved in tax payments. This refers to the Korean Federation of National Power (国民総力朝鮮連盟, 국민총력조선연맹), which functioned as the one and only political party that you could belong to in totalitarian Japan-colonized Korea, spreading the regime's Imperial Way ideology across Korea and reinforcing Imperial rule over Korea. The "Tax Collection Assault Units" deployed by the political party to increase tax compliance were likely deployed into poorer neighborhoods with higher tax delinquency rates, brutalizing the poor residents, increasing their suffering, and worsening their poverty.

This article includes some word play between 滞納 meaning (tax) delinquent, and 怠納 meaning lazy or slacker, both of which are pronounced "tainō". Apparently, stereotypes about lazy Koreans were common around this time. This is another article about Korean workers lacking a work ethic. 

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) February 21, 1942

Shame on you, slackers!

Tax collection assault units to redeem the reputation of the city

"Tax collection assault units" have been formed in the city of Seoul, the worst taxpaying city in the world, which may or may not be a story to boast about. Seoul's tax delinquency rate averages 25 percent, which means that as many as 25 out of every 100 people in Seoul are imprudent people who are delinquent in paying their taxes. The people of Seoul, who brag that their city is the "capital of Korea," have the distinction stuck on the tips of their noses of being the laziest people not only in Imperial Japan, but also in the whole world when it comes to paying their taxes.

In the past, the Seoul Tax Office has tried to encourage taxpayers to pay their taxes voluntarily by making things more convenient for taxpayers and by showing some leniency, but the more leniency they showed, the more delinquent the taxpayers became. At a time of great excitement when people are lining up to donate money to the Imperial Army and Navy for the Holy War in Greater East Asia, how can Koreans fail to fulfill their one and only duty that they have as Imperial subjects? Finally in desperation, the Seoul Tax Office reacted by increasing the number of staff to deal with the delinquent taxpayers in a straightforward and speedy manner. It is also moving forward with plans to establish patriotic tax collection districts and activate patriotic organizations to make tax payments an activity of the patriotic movement.

The patriotic tax collection policy has already been practiced for more than ten years in Japan proper. In the farming villages near Seoul, patriotic tax collection districts have been set up in the past few years, and good results have been steadily achieved, so it has been decided to apply this policy in Seoul as well. The tax authorities said the following:

"In Korea, the people need to fulfill only one of the three major duties of Imperial subjects: to pay taxes. If you can't even do that, then there is no way you should be allowed to eat white rice. You will be duly punished, since the lives of 100 million people are on the line as a Holy War is being waged for one billion people in East Asia. The idea is to allow the good tax collection districts to voluntarily pay their taxes first, and then gradually allow the delinquent tax collection districts to also voluntarily pay their taxes, but the point is to implement this as soon as possible, and the sooner the better. This is not the time to be dreaming of an idealistic plan that would be implemented uniformly throughout Seoul. Tax delinquency is more like laziness and comes from the lack of awareness on the part of the residents of Seoul. The proof of this is that they are able to pay their taxes when we go to collect them."

The Commander's Head as a Souvenir

Chongqing military commander returns home

[Nanjing February 19th] After the outbreak of the Greater East Asia War, the pessimistic atmosphere that prevailed inside and outside the Chongqing administration in the face of the retreat of the United States and Britain is gradually coming to the surface.

First Brigadier Kai Qingguang of the 18th Brigade of the 63rd Division, who was in the vicinity of Lake Tai on the 5th, returned to our garrison south of Hangzhou with 171 of his men, carrying heavy rifles, small arms, and ammunition as a souvenir for the killing of the Commander.

On the 11th, the Supreme Committee on National Defense, which had been disturbed by the recent rumors about peace in Chongqing, was desperately trying to prevent people from being unsettled, announcing on the radio that there had been no foreign aid for some time, that the Sino-Indian Road would be opened in the near future, and that the U.S. and Britain would continue to support it. A person who had recently returned to Hong Kong from Shaoguan reported that the people in the interior of China were all pessimistic about the inferiority of the U.S. and Britain, the soaring cost of living, and the shortage of military supplies, and that the refugees fleeing into the interior of China from Hong Kong were prepared for the peaceful posture of the Japanese military, and that a momentum of peace was on the rise.

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1942-02-21

(Transcription)

京城日報　1942年2月21日

恥じよ怠納者

名誉挽回に納税突撃隊

世界一税金を納めない京城の街に”納税突撃隊”が結成されるという自慢のような自慢にならないような話。京城の税金滞納率は平均二割五分を示し、百人中実に二十五人もの税金を納めない不心得者があって、”朝鮮の首都”だとお威張りになる京城の人達も納税の点では日本はおろか世界一怠慢者の刻印をべったりと鼻先に捺された形だ。

京城税務署でも従来は”まあ、まあ”と寛容なところを見せ種々納税者の便宜を図ったりなどして自主的な納税を促して来たが、甘くすればするほど滞納者は増えるばかり、大東亜の聖戦下に陸海軍への献金者がぞくぞく列をつくる感激時に、朝鮮としてたった一つの皇国臣民の義務さえが果たせないで何うなるかと遂にやっきとなった京城税務署では、滞納処分の係員を増員して今後滞納者を率直、迅速に処分するとともに愛国班組織を活用し、持参納税地区を設け、持参納税を愛国運動化する計画を進めている。

持参納税は内地では十数年前から既に実行しており、京城近郊の農村でも先年来、持参納税地区を設けて着々その成績を挙げているもので、京城でもこれを行うこととなったものだ。税務当局では次の如く語った。

”国民の三大義務は朝鮮ではただ納税の一つだけです。それさえ出来なくて白いご飯を戴こうなぞともっての外です。一億の命をかけて東亜十億のための聖戦が敢行されているのに罰が当りますよ。納税地区は先ず今までの優良地区に自発的にやってもらい、だんだん不良地区に及ぼそうというのですが、要は一日も早くこれを行うことで最早実行あるのみです。府内一斉に一律に行うべきだなぞと理想論を夢みている時ではないのです。滞納は寧ろ怠納というべきで、府民の無自覚から来ており、それが証拠にはこちらから取り立てに行くと揃って納税出来るんですからね。”

手土産に団長の首

重慶軍の営長が帰順

【南京十九日同盟】大東亜戦争勃発後、米英の退勢に重慶政権内外に弥漫する悲観的空気は漸次表面化しつつある。

一、去る五日太湖附近にあった第六十三師第十八団第一営長凱慶光は団長殺害を手土産に重機小銃弾薬などを携行して部下百七十一名とともに杭州南方のわが守備隊に帰順して来た。

二、重慶市内に最近和平の流言が伝わり狼狽した国防最高委員会は十一日ラジオを通じて外援の杜絶えもここ暫くである。之に代わるべき中印公路の開設遠からず米英は引きつづき援助するであろうと人心動揺防止に躍起となっている。最近韶関から香港に帰来した某は奥地民衆が挙って米英の劣勢、物価の高騰、軍需品欠乏に軍民ともに悲観していると伝え、香港より奥地への避難民は日本軍の平和的態度を構え、和平機運の台頭を伝えている。

Korean schoolgirls in 1943 mending military uniforms almost nonstop with minimal breaks from 8:30a to 4p as Imperial Japanese soldiers loom over watching

 

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) July 19, 1943

A heart of sincerity in every stitch

Repairing military uniforms at Gyeseong Academy

In their fiery training, the military maidens sewed damaged military uniforms with sincerity in every stitch. Under the guidance of Principal Sanshū and teachers Aikawa and Minami, fifty students from the Home Economics department and the Research department of Seoul Gyeseong Women's Academy have been working from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the school's workshop since July 18th mending piles of military uniforms. The maidens, sparing little time to eat, were covered in holy dust, and their needle points pulsed with gratitude saying 'thank you soldiers!' as they carefully applied cloth to the tears that told of the hidden military accomplishments of the soldiers. The hands that held the needles and the feet that operated the sewing machines were also filled with energy. The soldiers who came to instruct them were also grateful for the enthusiasm with which they made progress on the first day. This mending service will continue until the end of the 21st, sacrificing two days of summer vacation. Photo: Repairing military uniforms at Gyeseong Academy.

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) March 13, 1943

Mending military uniforms

"Let's give thanks to the soldiers who protect our country," said the courageous maidens, expressing their gratitude on the home front and dedicating themselves in sweat to their labor service, their gratitude wrapped in pure white work clothes. "When it comes to mending military clothes, we can handle it", insisted the maidens. Here at Baewha Girls' High School, under the guidance of sewing instructors Shimizu and Yoshihiro, they have been at work since March 10th meticulously repairing the military uniforms that have been in the line of fire. Without a second thought, and with sincere gratitude, they are sewing up the tears and reattaching the buttons to give new life to complete military uniforms. The girls said, "When we think of the soldiers who wear these military uniforms that we mended going to the front lines, our hearts dance and our fingertips tremble with joy as we hold our needles." (Photo: Maidens mending military uniforms)

Source 1: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-07-19 

Source 2: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-03-13

(Transcription)

京城日報　1943年7月19日

一針にも赤心

啓星女学院の軍衣修繕

一針一針に誠をこめて、火の出るような訓練に、いたんだ軍服縫い込む軍国乙女たち。京城啓星女学院家政科、研究科生五十名は三州校長、相川、南両先生指導の下に十八日から同学院作業場で朝八時半から午後四時迄山と積まれた軍服の繕い作業に奉仕。食事を摂る時間も惜しんで聖塵にまみれ、秘めた武勲を物語る破れ目に丁寧に布を当てて縫いつける乙女達の針先には”兵隊さん有難う”の感謝の念が脈動する。針持つ手、ミシン動かす足にも思わず力がこもる。指導に来た兵隊さんも初日の進捗振りの熱き心に感謝するのだった。この繕い奉仕作業は夏休みを二日食い込んで二十一日一杯まで続ける。【写真＝啓星校の軍服繕い】

京城日報　1943年3月13日

軍衣の繕い奉仕

”国を護る将兵に感謝の念を捧げましょう”と銃後の感謝を純白の作業衣に包んで勤労奉仕に汗する乙女達の姿は甲斐甲斐しい。ここ培花高女では”軍衣の修理ならわたしらにやらせて戴きます”と去る十日から清水、義弘両裁縫先生指導の下に火線を超えて来た軍衣の修理に細心の針を運んでいる。脇目もふらず、ひたすらに感謝の誠をこめて、破れを縫いつけたり、ボタンをつけなおしたりして、完全な軍衣に更生させて行く。”このつくろった軍衣が再び兵隊さん方に着られて第一線に征くのかと思うと、こうして針を運ぶ指先が踊る心にふるえます”と女生徒達は語るのであった。【写真＝軍衣繕う乙女たち】

Korean comfort women interviewed after whirlwind 1943 Japan tour visiting wounded Imperial Japanese soldiers who 'showed us again and again with their bodies, not with their words, that Japan and Korea were to be unified as one' and 'we were often moved to tears because we did not feel worthy'

 

Notes: This article contains an interview with the Korean comfort women who were part of a 'comfort team' which went on a whirlwind tour of Japan in 1943 visiting Imperial Japanese soldiers throughout the country. I highly recommend reading the related 'wipe out the Korean language' editorial, which I posted last month. This notorious editorial essentially says, to paraphrase, "These comfort women were not the brightest or the best educated, but look at how well they learned Japanese once they served Imperial Japanese soldiers! We should expand this out to all of Korea, so Korean women can learn Japanese faster." 

This is the horrific truth that almost no one mentions about Korean comfort women for some reason - their sexual exploitation was just a trial run as part of a much larger plan to wipe out the Korean language and ethnic identity and thoroughly instill the Japanese language and culture in all of Korea. The network of concentration camps for the young Korean girls was also going to be greatly expanded. The model of linguistic and cultural assimilation carried out in Korea was to be eventually replicated in all other territories occupied by the Imperial Japanese military. The only thing that prevented this grand plan from being carried out in its entirety was defeat in World War II. 

There is an editorial which I posted under the title, Editorial says the unity of god and man realized by the Japanese Imperial Way cannot be found anywhere else in the world, so Imperial Japan must 'turn the world into a single realm, let all nations take their places, and let all people rest in peace' starting with the colonization of Korea. It essentially says that the model of governance developed in Korea will be exported to all parts of the world that are occupied by the Imperial Japanese military. I won't link it here, because it contains some hateful language that led to me being banned from the r/badphilosophy subreddit, despite previously posting other Imperial Japanese editorials without any problems - apparently the content was so disturbing and distressing that the mods decided to ban me. If you still want to read it, you can find it on this blog by going to the 'philosophy' label. 

This article refers to Kisaeng, or Korean female entertainers who sing, dance, play musical instruments and write poems to entertain upper-class men. In earlier times, their work did not necessarily always involve sexual service, but during Japanese colonial rule of Korea, they were more closely associated with sex work. By the 1940s, the vast majority were involved in prostitution. One prominent former Korean comfort woman, Kim Hak-soon, went to a Kisaeng school before her abusive father took her to China to find her a job. That was where she was detained by Imperial Japanese authorities and then forced to work as a comfort woman for the Imperial Japanese military. 

This article is also significant in that Imperial Japan proudly and shamelessly publicized the fact that its soldiers were seeing comfort women. In fact, it celebrates the encounters between the Imperial Japanese soldiers and the comfort women as happy encounters. To an outsider who knows about the war crimes and atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese military, it may sound patently absurd and delusional, but sadly enough, there are still Japanese people in prominent positions of power in the Japanese government, businesses, and universities who still believe this unbelievable propaganda. I have described this intractable problem in a long essay here.

This article mentions the daily 7 am and 12 noon prayers that all Koreans in the Korean peninsula had to participate in. There were usually loud sirens marking those two times of the day, and you had to immediately stop what you were doing and perform the prayers. The 7 am Kyūjō Yōhai ritual (宮城遥拝) involved bowing several times in the direction of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo while standing, almost reminiscent of the Muslim salah prayer in the qibla direction of Mecca. The noon prayer was a moment of silence in honor of the Imperial Japanese soldiers.

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijō Nippō), August 15, 1943

Mother and son have a good time together

Heart-struck by the pure innocence of the heroes in white

A round-table discussion on the return of the performing arts comfort team

Moon Young-ja (문영자/文英子): "We were made to feel that the soldiers were really great men. The reason for this is that they showed us again and again with their bodies, not with their words, that Japan and Korea were to be unified as one. The pure and frank soldiers thanked us from the bottom of their hearts when we comforted them in Korean clothes, and they vowed to serve us again. We were often moved to tears because we did not feel worthy. It became clear to us why our heroes are the strongest in the world on the battlefield.

We, too, were made to realize that this was a 'divine country', and we were given a silent reminder that, soon, the Korean peninsula was also going to do its part on the home front. We saw a group of soldiers and their mothers at the Red Cross Hospital, where they were to be photographed after the comfort visit. One seriously wounded man said, 'I really want to join in,' and he invited an elderly woman who looked like his mother to go join him in the photo shoot, and they looked very satisfied. According to what we heard, the brave warrior had written to his mother from the distant countryside to invite her to come to the event, and he had been looking forward to it for several days, counting down the days with his fingers. Knowing what had happened, we were all touched by the news."

Kim Sook-gyeong (김숙경/金淑瓊): "It was twelve o'clock at night when we arrived in Hiroshima, and everyone was very tired. Our manager, Kim Geum-hong (김금홍/金錦紅), collapsed due to her chronic beriberi disease. However, she insisted on carrying on and forcing herself to perform by giving herself an injection, saying that she couldn't take a break seeing just how happy the soldiers were. But we implored her to take a break, since we could all work together to compensate for her absence, and she relented and took a break. That was how we all felt."

Kim Gang-chun (김강춘/金剛春): "I was completely pessimistic when I was asked what kinds of performances a kisaeng does, but once the performance was over, my attitude suddenly changed as I was inundated with soldiers holding autograph books (laughter). At times like these, I became happy and felt that it was worth it. In Shimonoseki, a soldier with a limp said, 'Thank you so much for today, please drink a little of this...' and offered us two bottles of Homare Sake. We tried refusing this sincere gift several times, but eventually we accepted it."

Kim Jeon-wang (김전왕/金田旺): "As I mentioned earlier, this was my third time in Japan proper, but it was my first time visiting a Shinto shrine. When I stepped into the shrine, I felt that I was touched by the nobility and beauty of Japan. I couldn't help but think that Japan is a divine country and that it is natural for strong soldiers to be born there, so we were compelled to adopt a more serious attitude. We Koreans, who have a low level of spiritual life, felt inadequate and ashamed of ourselves everywhere we went. We were determined to become strong and respectable mothers as soon as possible and raise our children to succeed us in the next generation. I have no parents or siblings, and if circumstances allow, I would like to become a volunteer battlefield nurse in the future."

Kim Wol (김월/金月): "When I came to Japan proper, I noticed something strange. In Korea, we pray at 7:00 a.m. bowing to the Emperor's palace in the Kyūjō Yōhai ritual, and at noon, we hold a silent prayer for the Imperial Japanese troops, but this is not the case in Japan proper. I wondered why. However, I gradually came to understand the reason. There are shrines all over Japan, and people worship at them with reverence in the morning and evening. You can even see them from the windows of the train.

This is why the people of Japan proper know that the gods are always with them, and they don't have to worship at set times like in Korea. I felt that we Koreans need to move forward to the point where we are always living with the gods in our daily lives."

Ahn Chun-il (안춘일/安春一): "When we went to a hospital in Japan proper, we saw women who were not nurses washing the soiled clothes of the soldiers. Asking around, we learned that there was a variety of women's groups performing labor service. We also began to feel like going to some hospital and helping out."

Keijō Nippō Reporter: "I see. I'm sure you've made yourselves mentally prepared as Korean women in a variety of ways."

Kim Geum-hong (김금홍/金錦紅): "I am amazed at how gentle and kind the local women are in Japan proper. This is something that I think Korean women should learn from. Unlike Korean women, the upper-class women in Japan are not pretentious, but are kind and sincere, and I enjoyed spending time with them wherever I went. Mrs. Takamiya, the wife of the president of the company who rode with us on the train to Yokosuka, paid special care to look after the luggage of people like us. We completely bow our heads in gratitude for all the help that we have been given. The kindness was so sincere, and we were so engrossed in our conversations on the train on our way home, that we even rode all the way to Tokyo Station, missing our stop (laughter). Even though Korean women are sometimes very stiff and formal, I think we need to train ourselves to be a little kinder to each other.

At any rate, in Tokyo and everywhere else in Japan proper, on the electric trains and on steam locomotives, we were very sorry to see so many brave men with the wounded soldier insignia on their chests. Fortunately, a conscription system has been established in Korea, and I believe that now is the time for Korean men and women of all ages to really rise up this autumn as Imperial people."

Keijō Nippō Reporter: "Thank you very much for spending so much time with us." 

Photo: The team comforting the seriously wounded soldiers in white clothes at the First Army Hospital.

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-08-15

(Transcription)

京城日報　1943年8月15日

母子揃って楽しい一時

胸搏たれる白衣の勇士の純情

芸能慰問隊・帰還報告座談会

文英子：兵隊さんはほんとに偉いと感じさせられました。内鮮一体を言葉でなく身をもって度々示されたからです。純真で率直な兵隊さんは朝鮮服で慰問する私共に心から感謝し再起奉公を誓って下さるのです。勿体なくて泣かされた事も度々でした。勇士が戦場に出て世界一強い理由がハッキリしました。

私共もこれこそ”神の国”だと悟らされ、半島の銃後も愈々これからだ、との無言の暗示を受けました。或る一組の兵隊さんとお母さんを見ましたが、やはり赤十字病院で慰問の後、記念撮影することとなり、一人の重傷者は『自分も是非入りたい』。それから、その日見えたお母さんらしい年老いた方をも差しまねいて一緒に入って、とても満足そうでした。聞く處によりますと、その勇士は半島慰問団が来るというので遠い田舎から手紙で母親を呼び寄せ、自分も幾日も前から指折り数えて充分楽しむことが出来たと非常な喜びようでした。事情を知って私達一同も今更胸をうたれた次第でした。

金淑瓊：広島に着いたのは夜中の十二時で、みんなも相当疲労して監督格の金錦紅さんは持病の脚気がつのって遂に倒れましたが、あんなに喜んで下さる兵隊さんの様子をみると休むことは出来ないと注射を打って無理に舞台を勤めようとするのを姉さんの分はみんなで勤めますから、どうか休んで下さいと無理に頼んで休んで戴きました。そんな風に一同張切りました。

金剛春：妓生の芸なんてどんなことをするんですかーと言われた時は全く悲観しましたが、講演が終ると俄かに態度を改めて『やあ全く素晴らしい』とサイン帳など持って殺到されるんです（笑声）。こんな時には、やはり甲斐があったと愉快になりました。下関では、足の不自由な兵隊さんが『今日はほんとに有難う、これは少しですがみんなでのんで下さい．．．』と”ほまれ”二個を差し出された誠意に何度もお断りましたが、結局戴きました。

金田旺：私は先程も申し上げましたように、内地は今度で三度目ですが、神宮参拝は初めてです。神域に一歩足を踏み入れると日本の気高さ美しさに触れた気がしまして、日本は神の国だ、強い兵士の生れるのは当然だと襟を正さずにはおれません。精神生活活程度の低い半島の私達は何処に行っても引け目を感じて全く恥ずかしい思いをしました。私達も一日も早く強い立派な母になって次代を継ぐ子供を育て上げねばと決意しました。それから親兄弟の無い私は境遇が許せば、将来は篤志願看護婦を志願して働きたい念願です。

金月：私は内地へ参りまして、不思議に思ったことがございます。それは朝鮮では午前七時に遥拝し、正午に黙祷をするのですが、内地ではそれが行われ居りません。何故であろうかというのが私の疑問でございました。ところが、それが段々分かったのです。それは内地では到るところに神社がありまして、人々は朝夕心から敬虔の念を持っておがんでいるのです。汽車の窓からもこれを見ることが出来るのです。

だから内地の人々は神様といつでも一緒に居るのだということが分かり、殊更朝鮮のように定められた時間にしなくともいいのではないかということが分かったのであります。私達も毎日の生活の中にいつでも神様と一緒に生きているのだというところ迄進まなければいけないのだと感じました。

安春一：内地の病院へ行って見ますと、看護婦さんと違った婦人達が兵隊さんのよごれたものを洗って居りましたので、よく聞いて見ますと色々の婦人団体の方々が勤労奉仕をして居られるのだと聞きまして、私達もこれからどこかの病院へ行って御手伝いして上げたいと思いました。

本社側：そうですね。半島女性としての覚悟も色々とできたことと思います。

金錦紅：内地婦人の淑やかで親切なことは驚くばかりです。これは半島婦人は是非学ぶべきだと思いました。半島婦人と違って、上流婦人といってもたかぶらず、優しく誠意があって何処へ行っても楽しく過ごすことが出来ました。横須賀行きの列車で御同車願った高宮社長婦人など私等の如き者の手荷物にまで気を配られて、何くれとなく御世話下さったのには全く頭が下りました。御親切が身に沁んで帰りの汽車中では話に夢中になって、東京駅まで乗り越した程です（笑声）。半島婦人は堅苦しい点があるのでも、少し親切を尽くし合う様お互いに修練を積む必要があると思います。

兎に角内地では東京初め何処に参りましても電車の中、汽車の中、到る處に傷痍徽章を胸に付けた勇士の姿に数多く持して、ほんとうに相済まなく存じました。半島にも幸い徴兵制が布かれましたので、青年も婦人も老若挙って今こそ皇国民として真に総起ちの秋だと存じます。

本社側：長時間に亘って色々と有難うございました。

【写真＝第一陸軍病院で重傷の白衣勇士を慰問する一行】

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/korea/comments/sy6iuk/korean_comfort_women_interviewed_after_whirlwind/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

Korean father and sushi chef boasts that his two children ages 3 and 7 not only don't know a single word of Korean, they don't even know yet that they're Korean, he doesn't let his 20 employees speak Korean, he hopes 'all Koreans will become true Japanese people as soon as possible' (Seoul 1942)

 

Left-to-right: father Umeyoshi (42), daughter Hideko (7), mother Tokuko (40), son Yōzō (3). 

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) May 22, 1942

Unification between Japan and Korea starts with the Japanese Language

Without the "Imperial Spirit", You Cannot Make Sushi, says Mr. Kaneko Umeyoshi

The family of Kaneko Umeyoshi (42) lives at 2-90 Motomachi and operates a well-known sushi restaurant called "Sakura Sushi" that everyone in the Yongsan neighborhood knows about. This family also regularly speaks Japanese and wears Japanese clothes like few others.

Mr. Kaneko is wearing Japanese clothes on a huge body of more than 20 kan (OP note: equivalent to 75 kg or 165 lb). It is hard to believe this uncle from "Sakura Sushi" when he says with a friendly smile that he is Korean-born. Fellow Koreans would dubiously ask themselves "What?" without thinking as they see how he impeccably wears his Japanese clothes and speaks Japanese so crisply. His wife and two children all love to wear Japanese clothes as well.

The Kaneko family lives by the spirit of the Imperial people and are Japanese people in body and soul, which is rare to see these days even among regular Japanese speakers. In 1925, at the age of 15, Mr. Kaneko went to Tokyo and worked hard at learning how to make sushi until he was 19. Then he returned to Korea and soon married his wife Tokuko (40). Since then, he has been at his current location for 20 years, gaining a reputation for his Japanese clothes and his Japanese language skills, and his restaurant "Sakura Sushi" has become widely known.

Since then, Mr. Kaneko says he has never spoken any other language than the Japanese that he learned in Tokyo. "It's funny. Nowadays, it is more difficult for me to speak Korean," he says with a wry smile. Of course, he doesn't own any Korean clothes, but he has never worn them even once since he was a child.

He adopted a Japanese name when he was in Japan proper. He considered his children's future prospects and reasoned that he should raise his children to become true Imperial people, so he should give his children Japanese-style names. First, his wife adopted a Japanese name. Then he named his eldest daughter Hideko (7), a first-grade student at Motomachi Elementary School (present-day Seoul Namjeong Elementary School). Next, he named his eldest son Yōzō (3). He raised his children speaking only Japanese and wearing only Japanese clothes. These days, his children not only don't know a single word of Korean, they don't even know yet that they are Korean. This resulted in an not-so-funny incident where he sweated quite a bit over how to enroll Hideko in school, and she was finally allowed to enroll even though he was told that there was no more room.

"I currently have about 20 employees, but I don't allow them to speak Korean at all. Two years from now, more and more men will become soldiers, even here in Korea, so it would be a pity if they cannot speak Japanese well", said Mr. Kaneko.

Mr. Kaneko really hopes from the bottom of his heart that all Koreans will become true Japanese people as soon as possible. (Photo: Kaneko's family)

A donation of prize money

Mr. Yoon Eung-Byeon, a fourth-grade student at Kyodong Elementary School, visited the Jongno Police Station on May 21 to donate the prize money that he received when his light control shading device was selected to receive a special prize in the "Air Defense Product Exhibition" held by the police station.

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1942-05-22

(End of Translation)

This article is part of a series published by the government of Japan-colonized Korea in 1942 to highlight Korean families that were considered "households of the Japanese language" and exclusively spoke Japanese at home. Here are three other Korean families that were featured in this series:

• In 1942, pro-Imperial Japanese Korean parents boasted that their six children born and raised in Korea could not understand a word of Korean, because they 'bit to death' any Korean words which might accidentally slip out of their mouths, for which they were laughed at by other Koreans
• In 1942, one pro-Imperial Japan Korean family went to great lengths to force Japanese on their children, scolding a son for informally learning some basic Korean at school, making sure their Korean-speaking grandmother visiting them in Seoul from Kaesong did not influence them too much
• As a child, one Korean father was tormented by Japanese teachers who berated him as 'an idiot who can't understand Japanese', so he and his wife imposed the Japanese language on their six children to make sure they did not suffer the same trauma that he did 

Why am I posting this kind of content? Read my reasons here.

The Sakura Restaurant was located at Motomachi 2-90, as shown in this map of Seoul from 1933:

This is the same location in Seoul today as shown in Google Maps:

There appear to be an apartment building and some small shops where Sakura Sushi Restaurant used to stand - the restaurant appears to have disappeared.

(Transcription)

京城日報　1942年5月22日

内鮮一体は「国語」から

『皇民魂』無くして”すし”は握れぬよ
金子梅吉さん語る

龍山界隈で「桜ずし」といえば誰一人知らぬ人もないほど”おすし専門店”として有名な元町二ノ九〇金子梅吉（四二）一家も亦挙げて他に劣らぬ”国語常用と和服”の家だ。

二十貫余の巨躯に愛想のいい笑みを湛えた和服姿の「桜ずし」の親爺さんが”半島生れですよ”と云ってもちょっと信じかねるくらい板についた着物の着こなしから、歯切れのいい国語に同じ半島人でさえ思わず”？”と反問したくなるほどで、奥さんも二人の子供さんもみんな和服愛用者だ。

皇民精神に生きる金子さん一家には国語常用など今更ない、心身ともに日本人だ。大正十四年、十五歳のとき東京に赴き、十九歳までみっちり「おすし」の握り方に精を出して来た金子さんは帰鮮すると間もなく夫人徳子さん（四〇）と結婚。それ以来現在の場所に二十年間和服と国語で評判をとり、”桜ずし”として広く馴染まれて来た。

その後は東京仕込みの国語以外話したことがないという金子さんは「どうもなんですよ。今ではかえって朝鮮語の方が使いにくいんですよ」と面映ゆく笑っている。鮮服だって勿論持ってもいないが、子供の時分からただの一度だって着たことはないとのこと。

創氏なんかも内地にいるときからのことで子供の将来を考えると子供達の名前だって内地風につけていなくちゃ将来、真からの皇民には育てて上げられないと。先ず奥さんから創氏を始め、長女の秀子ちゃん（七つ）＝元町国民学校一年生＝長男の洋三ちゃん（三つ）と名付け、育児も一切国語と和服だけで押し通し、今では子供さん達は一つも朝鮮語を知らぬばかりか、半島人であるということすら知ってないそうだ。そのため秀子ちゃんの入学問題に就いては随分頭を悩まされ、定員で駄目だというのをやっと入学を許可して貰ったという笑えぬ挿話もある位だ。

「現在私のところには奉公人が二十人ほどいますが、これも全然朝鮮語は使わせないんですよ。再来年からは朝鮮からも、どしどし兵隊さんになって行くというのに国語を十分話せないようでは申し訳ありませんよ」

金子さんは本当に一日も早く半島人全部が真からの日本人になり切って呉れにやいかんですからね．．．と心から希うように語った。【写真＝金子さんの一家】

御褒美を献金

校洞国民学校四年生尹應變君は二十一日鐘路署を訪れ、同署主催の「防空作品展覧会」に灯火管制遮光具を出品し特選さた際貰った賞金をそっくり献金寄託した。

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/korea/comments/sv0kw4/korean_sushi_chef_boasts_that_his_two_children/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

Simon Young Kim (김영근), a South Korean violin virtuoso and disciple of famous violinist Jascha Heifetz, Simon was once my teacher and mentor, and his son was my best friend in elementary school

Simon Young Kim is a violin virtuoso who is apparently somewhat of a celebrity in the South Korean classical music scene. When I was in elementary school, he was also my mentor and violin teacher. His son, whom I will call 'Alex' in this post, was my classmate and best friend at school (not using his real first name to respect his privacy). This post is my recollections of my time spent with Simon and Alex as a child in the late '80s.

Simon Kim is well known as a disciple of famous violinist Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987), and he has played for many symphonies and taught countless students throughout his long music career. You can find videos of his performances and articles about his life by Googling "Simon Young Kim" or "김영근 바이올린" ("Kim Young-geun violin" in Korean). However, I believe the articles forgot to mention one important aspect about his work: that he was not only a good violin teacher, but also a great ambassador for Korea, in that taught his students about his homeland. In this way, he had a big influence on my own attitudes about Korea and the Korean people.

Simon Kim started learning violin when he was seven years old. As a child prodigy and as a young man, he performed at concerts touring all over the world. One day, he had a rare chance to audition for Heifetz, who then accepted him as a student. However, he could not immediately go to the US to study under Heifetz, since he did not fulfill his military service in South Korea. In 1973, Mrs. Yook Young-soo, the wife of South Korean dictator Park Chung-hee, intervened to let Simon Kim leave to go to the US. Mrs. Yook was subsequently assassinated the following year in 1974. Since then, his long music career has taken him to San Diego, Honolulu, and Boston, with performances all over Japan, Korea, the United States, and Canada. A few years ago, Simon moved back to South Korea to teach top music students in Seoul. Source: 하이페츠 연주법으로 고국에 보은하고 싶다! (m-economynews.com)

But when I first met him and his family in the late '80s, I was a Japanese kid in elementary school living with my parents and my sister in a small New England town. I was unhappy at the time, because I got to personally see both the US and Japan by traveling back and forth between the two countries, and I felt that life in the US sucked in comparison to Japan. I missed the food, the anime, the manga, the TV programs, the music, the toys, everything it seemed. This was before the Internet as we know it today, so I even used a shortwave radio to listen to crackly Japanese radio programs. I was that desperate to listen to any spoken Japanese that was not from my family, even boring news programs.  My grandparents took pity on us and sent us occasional packages of textbooks, magazines, video tapes, and cassette tapes with recordings of our favorite animes, but we still missed Japan. We often resented our parents for moving us to the United States for work. 

I also didn't like my elementary school very much. This was the late '80s, so some Americans felt threatened by the rise of Japan as an economic superpower, and some teachers directed that hostility towards me to some extent. When classmates learned I was Japanese, their reaction was like, "You're Japanese? You eat sushi? That's raw fish, right? Gross!" The student body was not very diverse, and I was one of only a very small number of minority children in the school.

So, I was glad to find that there was one other Asian kid in my class, Alex Kim. Alex and I became best friends almost immediately. Alex, who had lived in Hawaii before coming to New England, told me that there were lots more Asian people in Hawaii, and most Americans knew about Asian food there. I was very jealous and wondered why my family didn't move to Hawaii. We were in agreement that a lot of our classmates were racist and prejudiced. 

One time, he actually brought a large lunch box to school full of what looked to me like Korean-style sushi. I was very impressed by his bravery, since I would not have had the guts to bring a traditional Japanese bento box for lunch and risk ridicule by my classmates. But Alex really didn't care what other kids thought of him, and he generously offered to share his lunch with his classmates to let them taste some homemade Korean cuisine, but there were almost no takers. Indeed, the other kids thought he was a weirdo and shunned him in the cafeteria, except me. I was curious about his food, since I had never seen anything like it, but when I tasted it, I thought it was the most delicious food I had ever tasted. It sure beat the peanut butter and jelly or bologna sandwiches that my parents packed for me, or the stale chicken nuggets, cheese pizza, overcooked green beans, and baked beans that we would normally eat in the hot lunch line for a dollar. Those other kids had no idea what they missed out on.

Alex's example helped me build my self-confidence and not care so much about what other people thought of me. I think we gave each other confidence to be more openly Asian in school. So one day, Alex and I gave presentations to our classmates about our respective countries, and we explained the differences between Japan and Korea. I talked about the Japanese educational system, the clean and efficient Tokyo subway system, and the bullet trains. Alex talked in length about the Seoul 1988 Olympics, which had happened only a year or two before at this point, and how South Korea rapidly developed in the past few decades. After that, I believe that our classmates' attitudes toward us slowly started to change for the better.

National Geographic article about South Korea in 1988: https://imgur.com/gallery/hIQKHmX

My old Reddit post featuring the above article: https://www.reddit.com/r/korea/comments/iengmt/south_korea_in_1988_national_geographic/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

One day, Alex invited me over to his house, where I got to meet his father Simon. I listened with interest as Alex spoke Korean to his father, the first time in my life that I ever witnessed Koreans speaking Korean to each other. My first impression listening to spoken Korean was that the endings of Korean sentences sounded somewhat Japanese-like with "-nida", "-nika", etc. 

I noticed that there was no TV set in the house. Simon explained that he did not find it necessary to have television in the house, because then his son could concentrate on reading books instead. The Kim family did not have beds in the house yet, but they did have mats and Japanese-style futon bedding which looked just like the ones that our family used in Japan.

Naturally, the conversation turned to music. I explained to him that my sister and I were playing both the piano and the violin. My sister was much more talented with the violin, preferring it over the piano, whereas I tended to like the piano more than the violin. 

Simon asked me how I felt about living in the US. I feel kind of embarrassed about it now, but I gave a rather extreme answer, telling him that I thought that the United States was hell, and Japan was heaven. I contrasted Tokyo and New York City, drawing from my own personal experience of living in both cities. I argued that Tokyo's subways were clean, safe, modern, and efficient while New York subways were dirty and scrawled with graffiti everywhere, crime-ridden, antiquated, and inefficient. I went on to say that Japan was clean, safe, orderly, efficient, polite, with better food, TV, anime, music, and toys. 

Simon Kim patiently listened to my rant with some bemusement, but then he expertly pivoted our discussions to my dreams. What do I personally want to do with my life? He said that the best country for you to live in is the country that offers you the most opportunities to pursue your dreams. He told me about his own life and asked me if I knew what a military dictatorship was. I didn't know what it was. He explained and told me that he grew up in a country under a military dictatorship, where his opportunities to pursue his dreams were limited. He was only able to leave South Korea with much difficulty to pursue his dreams in the United States, study under Heifetz, and teach music to students. 

I was only an elementary student at the time, but it did sort of make sense for me then. He did mention his Christian faith and the fact that Christian missionaries did not complain when they went to third world countries that were very inconvenient to live in, because they were pursuing their dreams of helping people. I still missed Japan, but Simon Kim helped me think a little more about the different possibilities about my own future, and be a little more grateful about my educational opportunities now. After all, unlike my counterparts in Japan, I was learning fluent English, which could help me in all sorts of different career paths, especially since I already knew my native Japanese. 

Simon then told me that his parents also spoke Japanese. I was surprised, and I questioned him some more. Then he told me that there was a time when the Japanese controlled Korea, so that's how they learned Japanese. I asked him, what do Koreans think of the Japanese language? Simon explained that, since the Koreans were forced to learn it under Japanese rule, many Koreans didn't have good feelings about the Japanese language.

I thought about it, then it made sense for me in a certain way, analogizing the Japanese language with the piano. I enjoyed playing the piano, even though my parents initially had to force me to practice. But other kids might not necessarily grow up enjoying the piano like I did, no matter how many times their parents forced them to practice the piano. 

Growing curious, I asked my parents what Japan did to Korea when it was a Japanese colony. My parents struggled to answer this question, but answered to the effect that the Japanese government forced Koreans to do things they didn't want to do, like speak Japanese, worship the Shinto religion, adopt Japanese customs, and that the Koreans were still mad about it. My curiosity stoked even more, I asked for more details, but my parents shut me off, ordering me to stop being so obsessed with lurid subjects. 

I went back to my friend Alex and asked him if he knew about this history. Alex reassured me that, since his family was Christian and practiced forgiveness, he didn't hold a grudge against me or Japanese people in general. But Alex told me that the Japanese in Korea were pretty bad. How bad? Alex and I headed to the library. We used card catalogs to look up some books, and then we found an old historical book that had some old black-and-white photos of the aftermath of the Sam-il Korean independence uprising in 1919. Particularly disturbing were the photos showing the Imperial Japanese soldiers standing guard as Korean rebels were crucified and burned. I was not supposed to see these as an elementary student, but here I was, looking at them. Don't these guys look like the Romans crucifying Jesus? Yeah, it was that bad, Alex whispered.

Later, Simon Kim took me in as a music student very briefly to correct my bad habits with my posture, but then he accepted my sister as a violin student. Today, she is quite an accomplished amateur violinist. I eventually gave up the violin and concentrated on the piano. I improved enough that, by adulthood, I could play some decent jazz pieces to sheet music, and I recently played the piano accompaniment to my sister's violin performance. After finishing elementary school, Alex and I went to separate middle schools, and I lost touch with Simon and Alex after we moved away from New England. But throughout the years, I would still reminisce about those days I spent in New England with Alex and his family.

Those fortuitous meetings with Simon and Alex kindled my interest in history which continues to this day. I cultivated my Japanese-English bilingualism over the years, and I also learned other languages, like Spanish, German, and Mandarin Chinese. As a college student, I studied in Germany and marveled at the frank and open discussions that Germans could have about the dark aspects of their history under totalitarian regimes. I researched my own family history and learned about my grandfather's military service as an Imperial Navy doctor in China, Indonesia, and the Pacific Islands during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. I visited Northeast China to examine the traces of its history under Imperial Japanese occupation. I read a lot about the experiences of Zainichi Koreans in Japan and the discrimination that they experienced.

I also followed with much concern the international flash points that have made the news in recent years and inflamed tensions between Korea and Japan, like Dokdo and comfort women. Many Japanese right-wing commentators observing the passionate anti-Japanese protests in South Korea would dismiss these protesters as all having a mental illness called Hwa-Byung, being unable to properly deal with their own personal anger issues. I found such racist caricatures of Koreans very troubling, since I knew that their anger was legitimate, especially given my increased knowledge of the history of Imperial Japan and my personal friendship with Simon and Alex. 

However, as I closely followed what the protesters were saying, I noticed that no one was saying things like "you committed cultural genocide on us!" or "you tried to wipe out our language!" I was confused as to why the Korean protesters did not also protest the cultural and linguistic genocide that Imperial Japan attempted on the Koreans, which I thought would be the overarching issue that not only covers Dokdo and Korean comfort women, but also many other abuses under Imperial Japanese colonial rule. To me, it was almost like if the Jews neglected to mention the genocide of their people, and instead just focused on the confiscation of their property and the rape of their women. But then it occurred to me: maybe those protesters really don't know about these aspects of their own history that well, and that's way they weren't being brought up in the protests.  

The Imperial Japanese authorities believed in a totalitarian ideology called the Imperial Way (皇道, kōdō) as they colonized Korea. Motivated by the Imperial Way, Governor Koiso put Korean girls in concentration camps to marry them off to Imperial Japanese soldiers. Motivated by the Imperial Way, Governors Minami and Koiso tried to eradicate the Korean language. Imperial Japan attempted cultural and linguistic genocide on Korea.

Yet these basic historical facts are not as well known or talked about as much as the basic facts about the Holocaust. Hitler believed in a totalitarian ideology called National Socialism, or Nazism. Motivated by Nazism, Hitler put Jews in concentration camps. Motivated by Nazism, Hitler tried to eradicate the Jews. Many more people in the world know these basic facts about the Holocaust than about the Imperial Japanese colonization of Korea.

It was clear to me that, among Koreans in general, there was a deep reserve of unresolved anger that was not far beneath the surface, because they all knew that they were somehow wronged in a profound way by the Imperial Japanese who colonized them. However, while Koreans generally know about some colonial policies, like Sōshi-kaimei (創氏改名, pressuring Koreans to adopt Japanese names), the imposition of the Japanese language, and the exploitation of Korean comfort women, few knew about Minami (the self-proclaimed Father of the Korean Peninsula) or Koiso and their key roles in the attempted cultural and linguistic genocide of the Korean people. If they did, there would probably be more effigies of them burning in the streets and more defaced images of their faces on posters alongside Shinzo Abe's effigies and defaced images. 

I believe that, without sufficient knowledge about how the ideological belief system of Imperial Japan worked and how the decisions of the key political leaders of Japan-colonized Korea led to these oppressive colonial policies towards the Korean people, it's hard to channel anger effectively. What would things be like, if the Jews didn't know that Hitler put them in death camps, that Hitler tried to eradicate them, that Hitler believed in a totalitarian ideology called National Socialism? I venture to guess that, if the Jews didn't know any of this, they would probably just aimlessly blame the entire German people for what happened to them. That's why I believe that proper historical knowledge is an important first step towards a proper Vergangenheitsbewältigung, or properly dealing with the past.

The more I learn about the unresolved historical issues between Korea and Japan, the more daunting they seem. I have felt at times hopelessness and at times felt anger towards the Imperial Japanese leaders who committed these crimes in the first place, and also towards the postwar Japanese leaders who left these issues unresolved and passed them onto the younger generations instead. However, I always look back at my memories of my great friendship with Simon and Alex and remind myself that true reconciliation between Koreans and Japanese is still possible. 

The closest that the postwar Japanese government ever got to issuing a formal apology was the Kono statement of 1993, which specifically addressed the wartime comfort women issue, and the Murayama statement of 1995, which acknowledged that "Japan ... through its colonial rule and aggression, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations". However, it became clear that most of the key leaders of the Japanese government were not on board, and those statements were fiercely criticized. 

Those statements were ineffectual not only because they did not reflect the views of the majority of the leaders of the Japanese government, but also because it did not do enough justice to acknowledge the severity and seriousness of the crimes that were committed. Cultural genocide is a very serious matter. The crime victims were not statistical figures. Rather, they were families and individuals who each had their own stories of humiliation and degradation to tell. Korean schoolgirls who were ordered to rat out fellow students who spoke Korean. Korean farmers who sent off all the rice that they made to Japan, while only receiving Manchurian chestnuts in return. Countless Korean civilians who were killed during the suppression of the Samil independence movement of 1919. The list goes on and on, and some of their stories are documented on this blog.

I don't pretend to have the answers to these difficult questions. I'm just one individual, and there is little that I can personally do as one person. But the one baby step that I am taking on my own is maintaining this blog, which translates some contemporary Japanese news articles published in Japan-colonized Korea which document some disturbing things that I believe merited closer study. By making these articles more accessible to the international audience, I am hoping that I am moving the historical discussion in a productive direction. Ideally, a government or institution would be doing this work, but since no one else is doing this, I am taking the initiative and doing this as a private citizen.

Many of you will notice that this blog is ad-free, so I am not making any money off of it. This is a purely a nonprofit activity that I am personally paying for as my way of giving back to the community. Simon Kim, who has selflessly given back so much over his long music career, is my inspiration as I continue maintaining and expanding this blog. I hope this blog can continue to be a helpful resource to you as we continue to try to make sense of this crazy world.

Korean schoolgirls make improvised 'tadon' coal dumplings for the war effort, and they gang up on a dissenting girl who protested against the dirty working conditions, taunting her as being a weakling since before the battles in the Solomon Islands started (1943, Duksung Women's Vocational School)

 

Notes: The vocational students of Duksung Women's Vocational School were making improvised, handmade coal briquettes, or balls of coal dust that were kept together with some gluing agent. Coal/charcoal briquettes are known as 'Yeontan' in Korean and as 'Rentan' in Japanese, and their spherical form is known as 'Tadon' in Japanese. Fuel shortages were becoming more acute throughout Japan and its colonies as World War II progressed, so this must have been a desperate measure to salvage as much coal scraps as possible to increase energy production. Yeontan continued to be used in South Korea until they were mostly phased out by the 2000's. 

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) August 22, 1943

The spirit of the fighting maidens

Students of Duksung Women's Vocational School make coal briquettes

The sun-blackened maidens were rolling out 'tadon' coal dumplings in their hands.... This was the work of the students of Duksung Women's Vocational School making coal briquettes, trying to cultivate the ingenuity of material production as warrior maidens. After much deliberation on how to make use of the more than ten tons of coal and briquette debris and detritus left over from the winter, Principal Fukuzawa turned to the labor of the students to make 'tadon' (coal dumplings), and every day since the beginning of the second semester, each grade has been working hard perspiring holy sweat to make 'tadon' dumplings.

There was a student who complained, "I don't want to do this kind of work, because it makes my hands dirty", but fellow students admonished her as being a weakling since before the ocean battles in the Solomon Islands started. The maidens silently worked hard to increase production, forgetting that their pure white work clothes and athletic caps were being stained black. Their tough appearance helped repel the midsummer heat. (Photo: Duksung Women's Vocational School students making coal briquettes)

Source: http://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-08-22

There are three other articles I previously posted of Korean schoolgirls keeping each other in line.

Correcting each other's spoken Japanese: 

https://tpjv86b.blogspot.com/2021/12/korean-residents-of-seoul-once-spoke.html

https://tpjv86b.blogspot.com/2021/12/in-japan-occupied-korea-koreans-often_16.html

Reporting each other for speaking Korean: https://tpjv86b.blogspot.com/2021/12/korean-high-school-student-uses.html

Why am I posting this kind of content? Read my reasons here: https://tpjv86b.blogspot.com/2021/11/nostalgia-for-imperial-japan-and-its.html

(Transcription)

京城日報　1943年8月22日

戦う乙女の意気

徳成女実生が練炭作り

赤黒く陽灼けした乙女達の手にいくつともなくタドンの団子が丸められてゆく．．．これは決戦乙女に物資生産の工夫心を啓培しようとして実施した徳成女子実業生徒の練炭製造作業である。一冬に使った石炭や練炭などの屑や燃え残りが十トン以上もなるのをいかに利用すべきかといろいろ考究した福沢校長はタドン作りをと忽ち生徒の勤労作業に振り向け、二学期の初めから毎日各学年別にタドン団子の製造に聖汗を流しているのだ。

”手が汚れるからこんな仕事はやりたくないわ”と不平を漏らす生徒はソロモン海戦以前の弱い生徒だとお互いに戒め合い、純白の作業服や運動帽子が真黒汚れるのも忘れて黙々と生産増強に励ましむ乙女達の逞しい姿は真夏の暑さを撥ね飛ばしている。【写真＝徳成女子実生の練炭作り】

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

British and Australian prisoners of war arrive in Seoul and Incheon on September 25, 1942

 

Notes: For the best experience, I recommend also reading the first-hand accounts of the Allied prisoners of war to get the perspectives of both sides.

Some links that I found showing the first-hand stories of the Allied prisoners of war in Korea:

Keijo Camp | RFHG (fepowhistory.com)

familyhistory-markkirk - AlfKirk1916 (google.com)

Microsoft Word - PAC-JINSEN CAMP (axpow.org)

In his blog, Professor Akizuki Nozomi of Meiji Gakuin University identifies the former location of the former Seoul (Keijō) Prisoner of War Camp at present-day Singwang Girls High School (신광여자고등학교) at 서울시 용산구 청파동 3가100: (Google Maps Link: https://goo.gl/maps/U2dmKCo5U7XvBBTK8)

His blog entry in Japanese: Part 1: https://ameblo.jp/onepine/entry-12449283025.html Part 2: https://ameblo.jp/onepine/entry-12449507571.html

Below is the route that the Allied prisoners of war took during their march from Yongsan station to Keijō Camp (credit to Professor Akizuki):

Why am I posting this kind of content? Read my reasons here: https://tpjv86b.blogspot.com/2021/11/nostalgia-for-imperial-japan-and-its.html

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) September 26, 1942

British prisoners of war in disgrace
Alas, their walking pace tends to be unsteady

Having dreams on the first night in the prison camp

British prisoners of war with faces as if they had swallowed lead marched in four lines from Yongsan Station to the Seoul (Keijō) Prisoner-of-War Camp in Aobachō at midnight on the afternoon of September 25. The streets were packed and lined with spectators who had come to see the living spoils of war, the British prisoners of war, walking from the train station along Hangang-daero, turning at Samgakji and then toward Kyōmachi, and then walking from Motomachi 1-chōme to Aobachō 3-chōme.

Protected by military guards and honorable POW monitors of Korean descent, the prisoners of war walked with the same disheveled gait as on the day they were defeated on the Malaysian front. For a while, the crowd gasped upon seeing the varied appearances of the prisoners of war, whose eyes were unashamed and unabashed: neatly trimmed faces, shaved heads, curled up mustaches in the shape of the Chinese character for eight (八), carrying rolled up blankets and military packs resembling rucksacks on their backs, messy clothes and demeanor, stylishly dressed Australian soldiers. "Oh my! You see, we must not lose the war," the crowd whispered to each other here and there.

The prisoners of war arrived at the prison camp at 1:30 p.m., and a military-style internal affairs team was immediately organized in the camp yard. British officers and enlisted men, and Australian officers and enlisted men were selected in separate groups, and the enlisted men joined their respective groups. Their movements were extremely slow, and in contrast to the disciplined demeanor of our Imperial troops, there was no sense of bravery to be found in the soldiers.

At 2:00 p.m., after the division of the prisoners had been completed with an interpreter, all the prisoners lined up for the solemn announcement and swearing-in ceremony by Colonel Nagano of the Seoul Camp. Lt. Col. Cardell (the highest ranking officer among the prisoners of war) received the title of commander and gave the order "Kiwotsuke! (Attention!)" which he had already learned. Then he saluted Colonel Noguchi with a "Kashiranaka" salute.

Colonel Noguchi, the Director, stood on the center stage and gave the following instructions in a solemn tone through the microphone. Simultaneous interpretation was provided.

"The following is an admonition to you on the occasion of your internment in this Korean prison camp. In the first place, the United States and Great Britain have oppressed East Asia and attempted to invade and overrun a billion people. At this time, the people of our nation of 100 million rose up springing into action. In less than a few months, the Imperial Army, the sons of the gods, defeated the United States and Great Britain with valor and fury, achieving unprecedented results in the world.

This is a testament to the fact that the heavens favor the righteous. You have been defeated by the divine army. It is a natural consequence of your actions. You have lost the power to fight now, but you did face us once. You must well understand that your defeat was by the divine army.

Some of you may still be troubled by your defeat. But since you surrendered to us, you must clear your mind of hostility and follow our rules. You must endure being placed in a different environment and experiencing inconvenience due to different customs. If you　do not wipe away your hostilities today and obey us, we will give you the warm treatment prescribed by our excellent, world-renowned Bushido (the Japanese way of the warrior)."

Upon listening to these words, they realized that tides of the Greater East Asia War were turning decisively, since their own British military was defeated on all fronts in the fighting to the south, and their moods thickened with resignation. Dark shades appeared on their faces for a moment, as if they were more troubled by homesickness than by thoughts of their country's military strength.

After the admonition, they signed an oath that they would not flee and would obey all orders. It was three o'clock in the afternoon when everyone had completed the forms. Then they went to the internal affairs team. Each person was provided with four warm blankets. The prisoners of war assigned to the cooking team worked diligently to prepare dinner. Brown-haired hands began to chop the vegetables that filled the aluminum dishes. There was also a liquor store. The signs here and there were written in both Japanese characters and English letters. Nervous Korean monitors were working actively.

A rare sight: "soldiers in women's clothing"

Headed to Incheon Camp in silence

Incheon Telephone Report: Defeated prisoners of war numbering (redacted) people, who had no courage in the face of our righteousness, arrived at Sangincheon Station by special train at 2:15 p.m. on the 25th. This marked the first step in their march to enter the camp. From the square in front of the station and from the second-floor windows, they were gazed at by the proud Japanese people. Prisoners of war numbering (redacted) people lined up in four rows and columns under the command of our Imperial Army, remaining silent under the "white flag of silence".

Some of them were carrying bags with the numbers "B42" or "B52" written on them, and some were carrying backpacks with water bottles and lunch boxes hanging from them. Some wore navy blue and red women's clothing, perhaps given to them as mementos of their wives, and some even wore red flowers in their hats.

There was also an old prisoner of war who looked like a tourist in khaki shorts and hat, carrying a large trunk with labels stuck all over it. There were some wounded soldiers who were carried away in trucks. This was the pitiful state of the British prisoners of war, who had always been proud of the British Empire with their immorality and cruelty. They marched from the train station for 40 minutes, and then entered the camp in front of the Port train station (Photo: Prisoner of war unit on its way to Incheon Camp)

Three photos of the British prisoners of war: [Top] Director Noguchi's speech, [Middle] Entering the camp headquarters, [Bottom] Signing an oath with tattoos exposed

Surrender is the only known gesture

A glossy note to be preserved for posterity

The British prisoners of war, who we can only assume had been educated to believe the motto, "If our enemy is strong enough, we should surrender, then our lives will surely be spared," were sent here with facial expressions that almost looked as though they had never been involved in war. The words and deeds of these captives, who were uneducated and had a false worldview imbued in them, were full of bittersweet smiles from ignorance. Here are a few glimpses that we caught at the landing scene.

The prisoners of war afflicted by ringworms were dangling canvas bags resembling first aid kits on their backs and in front of themselves, clinking aluminum lunch boxes and thermos cups made out of coffee cans clink, and carrying flour bags under their arms. A young military doctor disinfected them with a sprayer at the bottom of the ramp as the prisoners of war with the ringworms walked about. The young military doctor then made a hand gesture instructing them to show him the palms of their hands, but instead they let go of their luggage under their arms and raised both hands. It seems they were only taught to surrender.

Then came material inspection. Every playing card they showed us was soiled and worn. These were the tools of gambling. There were many letters sent from the delinquent young women at the ports. Their blue eyes were darting desperately throughout all this.

The whole city of Busan was filled with hundreds of thousands of spectators. When they saw the wartime Japanese national uniforms, the perms, the Korean chima skirts, and the Korean durumagi overcoats, their blue eyes lit up and they innocently asked their captors if they were charging admission fees.

Chasing the dream of history

Surprised by their conceit

Private First Class Funakoshi, who graduated from the University of Washington and returned to Japan in 1939 with dual nationality, is working as an interpreter for the British prisoners of war. He recounted the following regarding his first time interacting with the British.

This was the first time I had come in contact with the British people, and I was surprised at their strong self-esteem. They must be having dreams of history. The reason why the British and Americans are so confident of their final victory is that they say that the military power of the United States is increasing day by day, while the military power of Germany is getting weaker day by day, which is inconceivable. Among the British officers who said such things, many are of noble extraction. The Australian soldiers were generally pure-hearted.

To the farming villages at harvest time
Sending soldiers home

Reinforcement personnel for bereaved family farmers

(Tokyo Telephone Report) The Army and Navy are very concerned about securing food supplies during wartime, and have decided to give some of the enlisted troops in Japan proper some leave time to return to their villages during the harvest season this year, when a good crop is expected. They are taking some really precious time off to return home while the Army is extremely busy defending the homeland during the Greater East Asia War as well as taking care of affairs for the departed troops. We request that ordinary farmers take this point into consideration and work with an awareness of themselves as a collective of warriors, while not falling into useless dependency.

In addition, the Army and Navy will provide active support and cooperation to the farmers of the families of fallen soldiers.

The authorities of the Army and the Navy will soon issue a memorandum to each corps under their control regarding this matter.

Young Pioneer Corps

Visited Seoul on the 29th

One hundred and forty-eight members of the Manchurian Pioneer Youth Volunteer Corps, who had undergone intense training at the Naepo Pioneer Training Center in Gangwon-do for one month and at the Naewon Training Center for three months, respectively, gathered in Seoul at 10:00 p.m. on the 29th. At 9:00 a.m. on the 30th, a send-off party was held in front of the main entrance of the Governor-General's Office with Commissioner Tanaka in attendance. They will take the 8:10 p.m. train to Manchuria.

The Youth Volunteer Corps will enter the Ning'an Training Center in Mudanjiang Province, where they will undergo a refresher training for three months before constructing a model pioneer village in Manchuria.

Source: http://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1942-09-26

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) September 24, 1942

Defeated British prisoners of war
British POWs land in Busan
Arriving in Seoul tomorrow

The living spoils of the Imperial Army

The living spoils of the Greater East Asia War... British prisoners of war from the Malaysian front numbering (redacted) people have finally landed at Busan on the morning of the 24th. This will mark their dramatic first step in the Korean peninsula, the military logistics base of the Asian continent, showcasing our transport team's globally top-ranked iron wall. In the past, British troops were running rampant in the world, treating it as if they owned it, but once the Imperial Military arose, they raised their white flags and surrendered for their lives. Now, with their defeated bodies, they are clearly showing their defeat to the eyes of the 24 million people on the Korean peninsula. On December 8 of last year, upon receiving the Imperial Rescript, the Imperial Military conquered the Pacific Ocean in just nine months. The gratitude and excitement of the Korean peninsula in receiving the souvenir of victory grew even more intense, and the resolve to complete the Greater East Asia War was inflamed to the utmost.

On this day of excitement, the port of Busan was completely ready to receive the prisoners of war, and everywhere you went in the city there were stories about them. It was the first time that they were seen on the silver screen of the news programs. And although they had heard about the prisoners of war and wondered what they would look like, they were filled with the joy of being able to see them with their own eyes one night later, their imaginings now turned into reality.

At the Arai Ryokan (guesthouse) in front of the station, where Colonel Atsuchi of the Korean military press office was stationed, groups of newspaper reporters, photo crews, and news cameramen came and went, busy communicating with each other so that the excitement of the announcement of the landing of the prisoners of war on the 23rd would be known behind the front lines. The port of Busan was filled with the excitement of the century that night. (Censored by the Korean Army)

Source: http://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1942-09-24

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) March 1, 1943

Prisoners of war who arrived in Korea

Demons! Behold the raw remains of the U.S. and Britain's insidious defeat!

Published on March 8

Greatly Moving!

The day of rejoicing is coming for our 24 million compatriots!
Two great cultural films by Korean Films!

(Censored by Imperial General Headquarters, edited by Ahn Seok-yeong)

1944

Recommended by the Governor-General of Korea

Directed by Kenjiro Morinaga, supervised by the Korean Military Command and the Governor-General of Korea
Kenjiro Morinaga, Director
Akira Seto, Cinematography

Korean Film Distribution

March 1, all Korean red and white films are released simultaneously

Source: http://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-03-01

(Transcription)

京城日報　1942年9月26日

うらぶれの英人俘虜

哀れ歩調も乱れがち
収容所に第一夜の夢を結ぶ

鉛を嚥んだような面持ちの英人俘虜が四列の隊伍を組んで龍山駅から青葉町の京城俘虜収容所への市街行進に移ったのは二十五日の午後零時半、駅頭から漢江通、三角地を京町へ迂回し元町一丁目から青葉町三丁目までの俘虜通過の沿道は活きた戦果の英人俘虜たちを見んものと押しかけた観衆でギッシリと埋まっている。

警衛の兵隊と誉れの半島出身俘虜監視員に護られ、マレー戦線で敗れたその日を姿で歩調も乱れがちに往く俘虜の眼は恥ららいもなく臆する色もない綺麗に刈り込んだ顔、坊主頭、尻をピンと刎ねた八字髭、リュックに似た背嚢に巻いた毛布に肩にした雑然たる服装と風態、小粋な恰好をした濠洲兵ととりどりなこの俘虜の姿に観衆はしばらくは声をのんでいるが、”ああ！矢張り戦争は敗けてはいけない”とそこでもここでも囁き合っている。

俘虜たちが収容所に到着したのが午後一時三十分、収容所の営庭で直ちに軍隊式な内務班の編成が始められた。英人将校、下士官、濠洲人の将校、下士官が別班に選び出され、下士官班にそれぞれの兵隊が編み込まれる。動作は至極緩慢で、わが皇軍の規律ある態度と打って変わってどこを押しても勝ち目のない勇ましさの感得出来ない兵隊である。

通訳つきで班編成が終り、午後二時一同整列して京城収容所長野口大佐の諭告と宣誓式が厳粛に行われる。カーデル中佐（俘虜中最高官）が指揮官の名を受けて早くも覚えた”キヲツケ”の号令をかける。そして野口大佐に対し”カシラナカ”の敬礼を捧げる。

中央壇上に立った所長野口大佐はマイクを通じ荘重な口調で諭告をなす。逐条通訳が行われる。

汝らを朝鮮収容所に収容するに当り諭告を発す。そもそも今回の戦争は米英が東亜を圧迫し、侵略を企て十億の民を蹂躙せんとした。この時わが皇国一億の民は蹶然起ち上がった。神の子たる皇軍は勇猛を揮って米英を撃破し、数ヶ月を出でずして世界未曾有の戦果を挙げた。

これはまさに天は正義に与することを物語っているのだ。汝等は神軍に敵してしかして敗れたのである。当然の帰結である。汝等は今戦う力を失っているが、しかし一度はわれに立ち向かったのである。汝等が敗れたるは神軍に敵したことをよく了解しなければならぬ。

敗れてなは悩み続けている者もあろう。しかし、われに降伏した上は敵意を清算し、われの規定に従わなければならぬ。習慣の異なるため不自由なる環境に置かれることこれは我慢しなければならぬ。敵性をきょうこの日払拭して従いなば、われは世界に優れたる武士道によって規定されたる温かき取り扱いを与えるであろう。

と諄々と説けば自国英軍が南方各戦線でことごとく敗れ去り大東亜戦の戦局は既に決定的であることに気づき諦めの色が濃く動く。祖国の戦力のことを思うことよりも、望郷の念に虜われるのが重いのか暗い陰が一瞬顔を斑どる。

諭告が終ると次いで『逃亡を為さず総ての命に従う』宣誓書へのサインが行われる。全員が記入し終ったのが午後三時。それから内務班に入った。暖かい毛布が一人に四枚宛支給されている。炊事班にそれぞれ割り当てられた俘虜はせっせと夕食の仕度にかかった。アルミの食器に埋まる野菜が茶色の毛の手で切り始められた。酒保もある。そこここの標識には日本文字と英字が併記してある。緊張した半島出身の監視員が活発に動いている。

珍景”女服の兵隊”

黙々、仁川収容所へ

【仁川電話】わが正義の前には勇を語らぬ敗残捕虜〇〇名が二十五日午後二時十五分特別臨時列車で上仁川駅に到着。収容所入りの第一歩を印した。駅前の広場から二階の窓から射るような誇りだかい『ニッポン人』の視線を浴びて〇〇名の捕虜がわが皇軍の指揮にしたがい、四列縦隊に整列、”白旗の沈黙”をまもってなにも語らぬ。

彼らの中には『B四二』あるいは『B五二』の数字を記入したバッグを手に水筒、飯盒をぶらさげたりリュックサックを背負っているものもあり。また妻の形見に貰ったのか紺に赤の女服を着て帽子には赤い花までつけている。

またレッテルのべたべた貼りつけられた大きいトランクを提げてカーキ色の半パンツに帽子という観光客のような捕虜のじいさんもある。中にはトラックで運ばれる負傷兵もあった。これが不倫非道をかつてほしいままにし、大英帝国を誇った英捕虜のあわれな姿であった。駅前に四十分市中を行進。港駅前収容所に入った【写真＝仁川収容所に向かう俘虜部隊】

英人俘虜の三態：【上】野口所長の訓示【中】収容所本部に入る【下】入れ墨を覗かせて宣誓文にサイン

降伏しか知らぬ仕草

後世大事に守る艶文

”敵は強ければ降伏するのだ。命だけは確かに助かる”と教育されて来たとしか思えない英軍俘虜たちは凡そ戦争とは縁遠いといった顔つきで送られてきた。無教養な上に誤れる世界観をつめ込まれている俘虜たちの言動には無智からくる微苦笑ものの数々がある。これは上陸風景の中から拾い上げた一つ二つ。

救命袋のようなズックの袋を前後に吊るしコーヒー缶の湯呑、アルミの弁当箱をからから鳴らし小脇にメリケン袋を抱えた田虫だらけの俘虜がタラップの下で噴霧器の消毒を受ける若い軍医さんの消毒の恰好に田虫の俘虜は一廻りする。若い軍医さんが更にハンドという、手のひらを廻せばよいものを小脇の荷物を放って両手を挙げる。彼等は降伏することだけしか教えられなかったらしい。

物品検査だ。出されるどのカードも手垢でよれよれだ。これが賭博の道具なのだ。港の莫蓮女から送られた沢山の手紙。こればかりはと碧眼をきょときょとさせて必死である。

釜山市中は数十万の観衆で埋まった。国民服をパーマをチマをツルマキを見て碧眼がぱちり、入場料でもとっているのかとは俘虜の偽らざる質問。

歴史の夢追う

自惚たっぷりに驚く

ワシントン大学を卒業し、昭和十四年帰国した二重国籍をもつ船越一等兵は英人俘虜の通訳をしているが、同一等兵は英人にはじめて接して左の如く語る。

英人に接するのは今度はじめてだが、自尊心の強いのには驚いた。歴史の夢をみているのだろう。英米が最後の勝利を確信しているその理由に彼等は米国の軍事力が日毎に増大するのに反し独逸の武力が日毎に弱くなっているとあられもないことをいう英人将校には華族的素質を持つものが多い。濠洲兵は概して純情だ。

刈り入れ時の農村へ
在営兵を帰郷さす

遺家族農家へも援兵

【東京電話】戦時下食糧の確保に重大な関心を寄せている陸海軍当局では今年豊作を予想される刈り入れ時の農村へ内地在営下士官兵の一部に特に休暇を与え帰郷させることとなったが、陸軍としては大東亜戦争下国土防衛、留守業務など極めて繁忙な中から真に貴重な時間を割いて帰郷させるものであり、一般農家として、この点をよく考慮し、徒な依頼心に流れることなく農家自体が総力戦士としての自覚をもって活動するよう要望している。

また陸海軍としては出征遺家族農家の刈り入れに対しては特に積極的な援助と協力を示すことになっている。

なおこれに関しては近く陸海軍当局から管下各団隊に通牒が発せられる。

開拓の若人隊

二十九日に寄城

江原道洗浦開拓民訓練所で一ヶ月内原訓練所で三ヶ月それぞれ猛訓練を受けた満州開拓青年義勇隊百四十八名は二十九日午後十時京城着列車で集合。三十日午前九時から総督府正面玄関前で田中総監臨席して壮行会を挙行。同午後八時十分発列車で渡満する。

青年義勇隊は牡丹江省寧安訓練所に入所、三ヶ月間の再訓練を受けて満州に模範開拓村を建設する。

京城日報　1942年9月24日

敗残の英軍俘虜
港釜山へ”白旗上陸”
京城へはあす到着

皇軍の生きた戦果

【釜山にて大山、須山両特派員発】赫々たる大東亜戦争の生きた戦果．．．マレー方面の英軍俘虜〇〇〇〇名はいよいよ二十四日朝釜山に上陸。世界に冠たる我が輸送陣の鉄壁を誇示して大陸の兵站基地半島に劇的な第一歩を印すのだ。嘗ては世界も我もの顔に横行していた英軍がひと度起った皇軍の前に命欲しさに白旗を掲げて降伏。いま敗残の身を提げて凋落の表情を我が半島二千四百万の目の辺りにはっきりと見せるのだ。昨年十二月八日畏くも大詔を拝してより皇軍の征くところ敵なく開戦僅かに九ヶ月にして太平洋を征服。勝利の土産を迎える半島の感謝感激はいよいよ昂まり、ここに大東亜戦完遂への覚悟を爾が上にも煽らせるのである。

感激のこの日の玄関釜山の港は俘虜を迎える態勢全く成って街のどこへ行っても俘虜の話で溢れている。ニュースの銀幕に初めて観た。そして聞いた俘虜ではあったが『一体どんな恰好をしているんだろう』その想像もいまや現実と化して一夜経てばこの眼で見られる嬉しい感激で一ぱいだ。

朝鮮軍報道部厚地大佐が陣取っている駅前の荒井旅館には二十三日俘虜上陸発表の感激を銃後に知らせるようと新聞記者団、写真班、ニュース・カメラマンの群が足しげく出入りして連絡に忙しい。釜山の港はこの夜世紀の感激に更けて行った。（朝鮮軍検閲済み）

京城日報　1943年3月1日

朝鮮に来た俘虜

鬼畜！米英のうらふれた敗残の生々しき姿を見よ！

三月八日公開

大いなる感激！
二千四百万同胞の上に喜びの日は来る！！
炸裂する朝映二大文化映画

（大本営検閲済・安夕影編）

昭和十九年

朝鮮総督府推薦

朝鮮軍司令部・朝鮮総督府　指導
森永健二郎　演出
瀬戸明　撮影

朝鮮映画配給

三月一日全鮮紅白一斉封切

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