This Korean family in Seoul donated their metallic tableware in February 1943 to help Imperial Japan's war effort, including their brass Sinseollo (신선로, 神仙爐), a prized cooking vessel that was passed down the generations from their ancestors in the Korean royal court

This article shows a Korean man and his maidservant donating 32 brass items for Imperial Japan's war effort, including a brass Sinseollo (신선로, 神仙爐), a traditional Korean hot pot cooking vessel which was apparently passed down the generations from his ancestors. Since this type of cooking vessel was traditionally only used in the Korean royal court, it seems that this Korean man came from a privileged family background. The fact that he had a maidservant attests to his wealth. Countless other historical cultural artifacts were likely donated in this way or confiscated and then melted down to make armaments for the Imperial Japanese military.

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) February 7, 1943

Brass items donated one after another

"In times like these, it is shameful to keep such extravagant things stored away. Please use this Sinseollo, wash basin, and tableware to make torpedoes for destroying our hated enemies, the U.S. and Britain," said Ms. Katayama Tamae (44 years old), a resident of 6-103 Jongno-gu, Seoul. Upon her request, her eldest son Mitsuo (25 years old) and her maidservant took 32 items including one brass Sinseollo, which had been passed down from her ancestors, a wash basin, and tableware and donated them at the main office of this newspaper on the morning of February 6th. [Photo: a mountain of brass items in front of Mitsuo and the maidservant]

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-02-07

(Transcription)

京城日報　1943年2月7日

相踵ぐ”鍮器献納”

『この時局にこんな贅沢なものを死蔵しては申し訳ないことです。どうぞこの神仙爐も盥も食器も憎い憎い敵米英撃滅の魚雷としてお役に立てて下さい』と京城鐘路六の一〇三、片山玉恵さん（四四）は祖先伝来の真鍮製神仙爐一対をはじめ盥、食器など三十二点を長男光男君（二五）と女中に持参させ六日朝本社へ献納方を依頼した。【写真＝真鍮の山と光男さんと女中さん】

The metal collection campaign was escalated in March 1943. This March 28, 1943 Keijo Nippo news photo shows metal pots and tableware being loaded onto a cart driven by oxen.

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-03-28

 

This March 30, 1943 Keijo Nippo news photo shows more scenes of the metal collections. The upper right photo shows the collection at the Patriotic Women's Association on Hangang-daero in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-03-30

Colonial police warned residents about police impersonators who detained passersby in the streets and stole cash and belongings, or flashed fake business cards to shoplift and dine for free; thefts and rapes were rampant in the complete darkness during wartime light dimming exercises (Seoul, 1943)

One bizarre thing that I noticed in this newspaper is the recurrence of stories about police impersonators who detain passersby in the streets and then steal their cash and belongings. These two public service announcements from February and December 1943, respectively, warn the public about them, but only the one from December has any real concrete advice for anyone who encounters them: call the nearest police station when someone is using police business cards to shoplift and dine for free, and ask to be accompanied to the police station when a fake policeman handcuffs you. If the fake policeman refuses to take you to the police station, then that is probably a tip-off that the policeman is not real.

Who were these police impersonators? I could think of three possibilities: They were (1) corrupt police officers; (2) common criminals; and/or (3) political activists who were raising funds for the overthrow of the colonial regime. It would be interesting to look into these possibilities further and see what the historical evidence says.

Other crimes that were mentioned are 'strong-arm robberies and obscene acts committed during wartime light dimming'. In wartime Imperial Japan, citizens practiced light dimming exercises during nighttime to make it more difficult for enemy warplanes to navigate, but all that darkness apparently made things easier for thieves and rapists.

By December 1943, the police were increasing reliant on Patriotic Groups (JP: aikoku-han, KR: aeguk-ban, 愛國班) for policing. They were neighborhood cells which functioned as the local arm of the Korean Federation of National Power (国民総力朝鮮連盟, 국민총력조선연맹). Every Korean living in Korea belonged to a Patriotic Group. It typically consisted of a few households, led by a Patriotic Group leader, who normally acted as a mini-tyrant micromanaging the lives of everyone within the Patriotic Group. That included things like rationing food and goods, enforcing mandatory State Shinto prayer times and shrine visits, ‘volunteering’ laborers upon the colonial regime’s request, arranging marriages, holding mandatory Japanese language classes, spying on each other, etc.

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) February 7, 1943

Fake Police Officers Feeding on "Darkness"

We are determined to exterminate them!

Interview with Police Chief Isozaki

Recently, there has been a relative increase in the number of malicious violations against strong economic controls which were put in place in response to the war. In addition, fake police officers have been taking advantage of this detestable trend by appearing frequently, exploiting the weaknesses of violators by imposing fines and confiscating money and illicit goods. The Police Department of the Governor-General's Office has decided to crack down on this situation by bringing down the iron hammer upon these unscrupulous criminals who are running rampant. On February 6th, an interview with Police Chief Isozaki was released, in which he vowed the firm determination of his police department.

The Governor-General's Office also made it clear that it would take this opportunity to take severe measures against unscrupulous criminals who dishonor the prestige of police officers by pretending to be police officers or their assistants and forcing people to give them priority in the distribution of hard-to-obtain goods.

Interview with Police Chief Isozaki

It is truly chilling to see that the number of economic crimes has been increasing day by day as a result of the recent tightening of economic controls, which has led to an ever-increasing police crackdown.

Police Chief Mr. Isozaki

However, the unscrupulous criminals skillfully targeted windows of opportunity amid these social trends of tightening regulations and increasing numbers of violations, taking advantage of them by playing various schemes. Various malicious cases have been frequently reported in which various vendors and offenders are exploited by taking advantage of their psychological vulnerabilities to extract preferential distribution of hard-to-obtain goods. The unscrupulous criminals pose as or openly misrepresent themselves as economic police officers or their assistants to seize money or illicit goods under the guise of collecting fines or confiscating illicit goods. As a result, the public often hears complaints about the arbitrariness and brutality of police officers, which is regrettable.

The police department sees such malicious crimes not only as crimes against the victims, but also as crimes that compromise the prestige of the police and disturb law enforcement. In addition to the various types of enforcement actions that are already in place, we will adopt a strict policy of severe punishment against fraudulent acts committed while posing as government officials, and we will make firm and thorough efforts to arrest and suppress such criminals.

In addition, the police themselves should prepare to deal with the secret activities of such criminals by taking measures to prove that they are real police officers whenever they engage in various types of enforcement activities in plain clothes. When using assistants, special guidance and supervision should be given. We hope that the public will fully understand these points and be vigilant not to be taken advantage of by unscrupulous criminals. In addition, if you are under any kind of enforcement action conducted by a person claiming to be a police officer or law enforcement official, please make sure to carefully confirm that the person on the other end is indeed a real police officer or a real law enforcement official. We sincerely hope that you will not be taken for a ride by these unscrupulous criminals.

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-02-07

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) December 10, 1943

Eradicating Crime in December

A message from Gyeonggi Provincial Police Chief Mr. Oka

In an effort to prevent the occurrence of crimes at the end of the year, including economic crimes committed due to the difficulty of obtaining all kinds of goods, and to make this year's holiday season a happy one, Gyeonggi Provincial Police Chief Oka issued the following message, requesting the cooperation of the general public:

Police Chief Mr. Oka

In mid-December every year, the police departments of Gyeonggi Province, with the cooperation of Patriotic Group members, have been making every effort to prevent crimes at the end of the year. This year is coming to an end amid this pathetically harsh war situation. It is deeply concerning that, as economic controls have been tightened, the difficulty in obtaining daily necessities has inevitably increased the public's appetite for goods. In conjunction with this, there has been an increasing trend in all kinds of malicious crimes. At the end of the year, when the purchasing power of the general public is strong, malicious crimes are usually committed in various fields. Economic criminals may commit crimes that disrupt economic controls on the home front, including some traders who are guilty of price gouging, profiteering, hoarding, and cheating in weights and measures. Consumers may also disrupt economic controls on the home front. There is no end to the number of consumers who are using their year-end bonuses and other unexpected income for panic buying and hoarding instead of cooperating in the implementation of national policies, such as saving and purchasing war bonds.

In addition, recent trends such as fraudulent acts to facilitate the purchase of such illicit goods, break-ins at night, thefts, and strong-arm robberies have been increasing as the year-end draws near. Recently, we have witnessed the emergence of malicious crimes such as so-called fake detectives who run rampant, physically searching the bodies of passersby and stealing their cash or threatening to commit fraud. This autumn, in this decisive battle, we are all pushing forward with the reinforcement of our military power on the home front. In order to exterminate such criminals who disturb the stability of the people's lives, we will launch an early enforcement action this year. In addition to our efforts to thoroughly investigate and arrest these unscrupulous criminals, those who dare to commit crimes, such as strong-arm robberies and obscene acts committed during wartime light dimming, will be punished with particularly severe penalties in accordance with the Law Concerning Special Provisions for the Punishment of Wartime Crimes.

Needless to say, it is extremely difficult to prevent all kinds of crimes, no matter how strictly the police officers alone exercise control and vigilance, and so we must rely on the righteous cooperation of all members of the Patriotic Groups. I sincerely hope that each household will be more devoted to the true meaning of wartime life, that you will exercise self-restraint and refrain from ugly behavior including panic buying and hoarding at the end of the year, and that you will fully practice the guidelines regarding home security that were announced for Patriotic Group members in December, so that you can live a clear and solid wartime life at the end of the year without any impurities and greet the third new year of the Greater East Asia War with hope shining in your hearts. [Photo: Police Chief Mr. Oka]

Cooperation in Crime Prevention is Desired

A message from Yongsan Police Chief Mr. Wakita

As the year draws to a close, crimes that disrupt the stability of life during wartime, such as burglary, snatching, breaking and entering, and illicit trafficking of wartime necessities, are on the rise. This December, the Yongsan Police Department is making every effort to ensure that all members of the department are perfectly prepared to prevent crime and ensure a pleasant end of the year. On December 9th, Yongsan Police Chief Mr. Wakita requested the cooperation of Seoul residents in actively self-policing and eradicating wartime crimes, as follows:

The end of the year usually sees a conspicuous increase in the movement of cash, and the psychologically vulnerable who are involved in it are taken advantage of by the unscrupulous criminals who are always on the lookout all year for a chance to make money. What attracts particular attention these days are their increasingly sophisticated methods. They use counterfeit business cards to impersonate detectives and then eat, drink, and enjoy entertainment without paying. They also swindle merchandise. Most serious of all, they use handcuffs to restrain passersby and seize money from them after physically searching them. Economic crimes are also on the rise, not only among open air street vendors, but also among those who have set up stores trafficking black market goods to take advantage of the increased demand for New Year's goods. I believe that burglaries and thefts can be largely prevented through vigilance on the part of Seoul residents. To avoid being victimized, I would like to ask you to take the following two points into consideration, especially at the end of the year:

Real detectives do not show their business cards and then shoplift, eat, drink, and enjoy entertainment without paying. If you see such a suspicious person in the future, immediately report him to the nearest police station. Similarly, if a criminal is wielding binding rope or handcuffs, it is essential that you always ask to be accompanied to the police station, and that you remain calm and timely in reporting the incident.

Next, as for the prevention of economic crimes, first of all, each of you must remember the hardships of the generals on the front lines and never purchase unnecessary goods to welcome the New Year. There are some who criticize black market prices, but who themselves are good at black-market buying. In general, if you are aware of black market prices, black market deliveries, or unauthorized distribution of goods, please feel free to report them to us without hesitation. The police will take a strictly punitive approach against these insolent people who are indifferent to the current war situation, and will work to stabilize the lives of Seoul residents.

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-12-10

(Transcription)

京城日報　1943年2月7日

”闇”を喰う偽警察官

断乎一掃に乗出す

磯崎警務課長談

戦争に対応する強力な経済統制を蹂躙。最近悪質の手段を弄した経済違反が比較的に増加。またこの憎むべき傾向を悪用して一方には偽警察官がしきりに出没し、違反者の弱点に乗じて罰金、没収などに名を藉り、金品や違反物件をまきあげるなどの不徳漢が横行しているので、総督府警務局では断乎これを一掃。鉄槌を下すことになり、六日磯崎警務課長談を発表。当局の断乎たる決意を表明した。

さらに総督府では、これを機に警察官或いは補助者の如く装って入手難物資の優先的配給を強要して警察官の威信を汚す不良徒輩に対しても厳罰主義を以て臨む旨を明かにした。

磯崎警務課長談

最近経済統制の強化により警察の取締はますます拡大強化せられ、これに伴い各種の経済事犯も日を逐うて増加の傾向にあることはまことに寒心に堪えない次第である。

然るにこのような取締の強化、違反の蔟出というが如き社会情勢の間隙を狙いつつあった不良徒輩は巧みにこれに便乗して種々なる奸計を弄し、取締を受ける各種業者や違反者の心理的弱点に乗じて経済取締の警察官、若しくはその補助者の如く装い、或いは公然とこれを詐称して入手難物資の優先的配給を受けたり、或いは違反者の弱点に乗じ罰金没収などに名を藉りて所持金や違反物件を奪取したりする各種の悪質事案が随所に頻発しつつある。そのため民衆より警察官の専恣、横暴の声を頻々と耳に致すのはまことに遺憾とするところである。

当局と致してはかかる悪質犯罪がただに被害者に対する侵害であるのみならず、これがため官の威信を失墜し取締の秩序を紊すこと極めて大なるものであるのに鑑み、今後各種の取締と併行し、これら官名詐称による不正行為に対しては厳罰主義を以て臨み断乎として検挙強圧の徹底を期する方針である。

また警察自身においてはかかる不良徒輩の暗躍に備えて、警察官が私服をもって各種取締に従事する場合は、必ず警察官たることを証明する措置を講ぜしめ、補助者などを使用する場合は、特に格別なる指導監督を加うる筈であるから、一般におかれてもこの点充分の理解を願うと共にかかる不良徒輩に乗ぜられることのなきよう自戒せらるるは勿論、万一警察官若しくは取締当局者と自称する者より、各種の取締を受くるが如き場合は、必ず相手方が真の警察官であり、取締当局者であることを慎重に確認せられ、不良徒輩に乗ぜられるが如きことのなきよう特に切望して已まぬ次第である。

京城日報　1943年12月10日

師走の犯罪撲滅へ

京畿道岡警察部長語る

年末における各犯罪の発生は勿論あらゆる物資の入手難による経済事犯の発生を未然に防止し、今年こそは明るい年末を送ろうと京畿道岡警察部長は次の如き談話を発表し、一般道民の協力を要望した。

例年十二月中旬より道内各警察署の総力を挙げ、愛国班員各位の御協力を得て歳末時の犯罪の予防警戒に努めて来たのでありますが、本年も亦凄愴苛烈な戦局の裡に年末を迎え、熟々世相を案じますに経済統制が強化徹底せらるるに伴い、生活必需物資の入手難は必然的に一般民衆の物欲を旺盛にし、之と結びつき各種の統済事犯益々増加の傾向に有りまするのみならず、年末に於いては一般購買力の旺盛なるに乗じ各方面に悪質事犯が敢行せらるるを常とし、先ず経済事犯としては一部業者の価格違反を初め暴利、売惜、規格量目の誤魔化し等銃後の経済統制を攪乱する犯罪発生の虞ある一面消費者側におきましても年末賞与等の不時の収入を貯蓄債券の消化等国策の遂行に協力せらるることなく物資の買占め、買い漁りに狂奔せる向も跡を断たないのであります。

又最近の傾向としては之等物資の購入斡旋に藉口する詐欺行為、夜間の忍び込み、窃盗乃至は強力事犯等歳末の切迫と共に益々増加し、尚最近所謂偽刑事が横行し、妄りに通行者の身体を検索して所持金を巻き上げ或いは詐欺脅迫する等の悪質犯罪の発生を見つつある状勢にありますが、この決戦下斉しく銃後の戦力増強に邁進しつつあります秋。之が基調をなす国民生活の安定を阻害する之等事犯の絶滅を期しまする為、本年は特に早目に取締警戒を開始し、之等不良徒輩の徹底的検挙に努むるは勿論灯火管制下に於ける強窃盗、猥褻等の事犯を敢行したる者は戦時犯罪処罰の特例に関する法令に依り特に厳罰を以て処断する方針であります。

申す迄もなく各種犯罪の予防は独り警察官のみが如何に取締乃至は警戒を厳重に致しましても到底其の万全を期することは至難でありまして、愛国班各位の道義に立脚した御協力に俟たなければならないのでありますから、各家庭におかれては此の際一層戦時生活の真義に徹せられ、お互いに自粛自戒して従来の歳末風景たる買占め、買い漁りの醜状の一掃に努めらるると共に十二月愛国班員の実践事項として示達されましたる家庭防犯に関する各事項を充分実践せられ、以て一点の穢れなき明朗堅実なる歳末の戦時生活を営みつつ希望に輝く大東亜戦争下第三回目の新春を迎えられんことを切望して已みません。【写真＝岡警察部長】

防犯へ協力望む

脇田龍山署長は語る

年の暮れをひかえて空き巣、掻っ払い、忍び込みをはじめ戦時必需品の不正売買など決戦生活の安定を紊す犯罪が激増の一途を辿る傾向にあり、龍山署ではこの師走にあたり全署員水も洩らさぬ防犯完璧の布陣に遺憾なきを期して年末の明朗化に努めているが、九日脇田龍山署長は歳末時防犯に関して次の如く府民の積極的自警と戦時犯罪根絶の協力を要望した。

『例年歳末期には現金の動きが目立って多くなり、これに携わる人達の心の緩みを狙って不逞徒輩が年中の稼ぎ時として鵜の目鷹の目で横行。最近では特に注意を惹くのは方法が巧妙化して居ることで、たとえば刑事肩書の名刺を偽造使用して無銭飲食遊興したり、商品を騙取したり、甚だしいのは捕縄手錠を使って通行人を束縛し、身体検査の上金銭を奪取する類である。経済事犯についても露店行商人のみならず店舗を構えながら正月用物資の需要増加につけ込んで闇の横行が増加の傾向にある。空き巣や窃盗の犯罪は府民各位の自警によって大部分予防出来ると思うから、特に年末に際しては次の二点に留意して、各自の被害を予防して戴きたい。

偽刑事の防止であるが、之は真の刑事は名刺を見せたりして無銭購買、遊興飲食はしない。若し今後こういう不審な者が居たら、見付け次第直ちに最寄りの派出所に届け出ることである。同じく捕縄や手錠を振り廻す者に対しては必ず派出所まで同行を要求し沈着を失わず届け出の時機を失わぬことが肝要だ。

次に経済事犯の防止については先ず各自が前線将兵の労苦を偲んで正月を迎えるために不必要な物資を絶対に購入しないことで、中には闇値を非難しながら自身が得意然と闇買いをする者を見受けるが、一般は闇値、闇搬入、不正配給等の事実を現認したら遠慮なくどしどし告発して戴きたい。警察はこれらの時局を弁えざる不埒者に対しては厳罰主義でのぞみ、府民生活の安定を期するものである』

Korean farming family weaving straw bags known as ‘gamani’ (가마니) in Korean or ‘kamasu’ in Japanese, traditionally used to transport manure, coal, salt, grain, etc. (Haeju, February 1943)

In this story, the reporters covered an impoverished farming family in Haeju (in present-day North Korea) which was using traditional techniques to make sturdy straw bags known as 'gamani' (가마니) in Korean or 'kamasu' in Japanese. They were traditionally made in the winter, and used to transport everything including manure, coal, salt, and grain. First, the straw is weaved into rope, and then the rope is used to weave the fabric that forms the bag. Nowadays, there are companies that make biodegradable bags out of jute or hemp instead.

Top photo: mother Ok-soon (33-years-old) and son Jun-seok (15-years-old) weaving straw bags. Bottom photo: sisters Bok-soon (8-years-old) and Nam-soon (6-years-old) weaving rope for the straw bags.

This farming family may have been compelled by colonial authorities to become propaganda props for the newspaper. This fits the pattern of this newspaper taking photos of Korean farmers in awkward poses. Here are some examples:

Korean farmers performing morning bow towards the rising sun and the Emperor before the Japanese flag. (Keijo Nippo, January 24, 1943)

Korean farmers at Yongdeungpo, which is now a part of Seoul. (Keijo Nippo, January 25, 1943)

Example of a gamani/kamasu bag.

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) February 13, 1943

Even the young sisters are rope weaving

The whole family is working feverishly

[Haeju Telephone Report] In wartime, when the expansion of production is strongly desired in all sectors, there is a touching, elegant story of a farming family in a remote village on our Korean peninsula, which is devoting itself to production and national defense through the hard work and sweat of the whole family.

Mr. Takashima Ju-byeon (주변, 柱變) (46-years-old) of Yibam-ri, Gosan-myeon, Byeokseong-gun (벽성군, 碧城郡), Hwanghae-do, has a family of six, including his wife, Ok-soon (억순, 億順) (33-years-old), his eldest son Jun-seok (준석, 俊石)(15-years-old), his eldest daughter Bok-soon (복순, 福順) (8-years-old), his second daughter Nam-soon (남순, 南順) (6-years-old), and an infant.

They are a poor farming family, but they make their living diligently by doing small farm work, and they are known in the neighborhood as a hard-working family. As the family entered the off-season in the winter, they decided that idleness and inactivity were the basis of laziness. Therefore, the entire family mobilized as a straw bag weaving team to work from early in the morning until late at night. Ju-byeon is the guerrilla unit which purchases the materials and supplies the products, Ok-soon and Jun-seok are the mother-and-son bag weaving team, and sisters Bok-soon and Nam-soon are the young school-aged rope-weaving team. They all sincerely work very hard. Nam-soon, who is only six, can reliably produce rope for one bag in one day. Bok-soon can easily produce rope for four or five bags in one day by herself. They are attracting admiration by displaying such dependable productivity.

Top photo: mother Ok-soon and son Jun-seok weaving straw bags. Bottom photo: young sisters Bok-soon and Nam-soon rope-weaving.

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-02-13

(Transcription)

京城日報　1943年2月13日

幼い姉妹も縄ない

一家挙って熱汗の勤労

【海州電話】決戦下、あらゆる部門に生拡が力強く切望されているとき、これはわが半島の僻村に一家挙って熱汗の勤労をもって涙ぐましい生産報国に精進する農家の佳話。

黄海道碧城郡高山面立岩里高島柱變さん（四六）は妻女億順さん（三三）、長男俊石（一五）、長女福順（八つ）、次女南順（六つ）のほか一人の乳児を合せて六人家族。

もともと貧農であるが孜々として小作をもって一家の生計をたて、『よく働く家だ』と近隣に評判されて来たが、この一家では冬の農閑期に入るや、不労無為は怠惰のもとであるとして、一家総動員叺織部隊となって早朝から夜更けまで製造に勤しんでいるが、その作業編隊は柱變さんが資材の購入、製品供出の遊撃隊、億順さんと俊石君の母子が叺織部隊、福順、南順姉妹の幼少部隊は叺織用の縄ないを引き受けてみんな真摯敢闘。わけても縄をなう僅か六つの南順さんが一日一枚分は確実、福順さんは一人前で一日四、五枚分を楽に仕上げるという頼母しい作業力を示して人々を感心させている。

【写真＝（上）叺を折る母億順さんと長男俊石君（下）縄をなう福順、南順さんの幼い姉妹】

In February 1943, a massive network of Imperial Way Training Institutes was launched in Korea to initially train 500,000 Korean ‘leaders’ in ‘character building’ based on the ‘pure Japanese spirit and worldview’, but not in Japan proper because of the ‘high national character’ of the Japanese people

In February 1943, Governor-General Koiso issued an executive order creating a vast nationwide network of 'Imperial Way Training Institutes' that would initially train over 500,000 Korean 'leaders' (about 2% of the Korea population at the time) in the 'pure Japanese spirit and Japanese worldview' for 'character building' and 'spiritual training'. Adopting the 'Japanese spirit' and 'Japanese worldview' would have not only meant adopting the Japanese language, culture, and national identity, but also converting to the State Shinto religion and submitting to the Japanese Emperor.

The second article features an interview with an exuberant Mr. Takeuchi, the colonial bureaucrat in charge of this vast network, who explained that mainland Japan did not need a similar program because the Japanese people already had a 'high national character', the implication being that the Korean people didn't.

Mr. Takeuchi, the Director of the Training Division in charge of the Imperial Way Training Institutes.

Mr. Takeuchi apparently drew some inspiration from a young farmers' boot camp run by the Imperial Army in northern Japan. He probably also got some ideas from the 'Yamato Cram Schools', which were founded in April 1941 to convert ideological criminals such as Korean independence activists. 

This vast campaign to dilute Korean ethnic and national identity and mold the Korean people into loyal Imperial Japanese subjects is arguably one of the most ambitious social experiments ever attempted in the world in the 20th Century.

The 'leaders' were trained in four different programs: an elite government leader program, a workplace-based program, a school-based program, and a rural-based program. These programs established the pattern of workplaces, schools, and rural villages 'volunteering' laborers to work for the colonial government in detachments as labor shortages became critical over the course of the war.

The elite program was attended by Koreans who were already fluent in Japanese, so they studied advanced Shinto philosophy and Classical Japanese literature, presumably so that they could read the ancient Shinto scriptures in the original Old Japanese. The general idea was that the graduates of these programs would eventually train others and then create a 'trickle-down' effect of converting all of Korean society from the top-down. I have previously posted articles showcasing at least one example from each program, with the exception of the elite program, but this article connects the dots by revealing that they were all part of one big network of 'Imperial Way Training Institutes'.

• Internment camps for young Korean schoolgirls
• Workplace training making employees run until they collapse from heat exhaustion
• Yuseong Farmers' training camp to train rural leaders

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) February 2, 1943

Spiritual Training Guidelines Established for the Groundbreaking Korean Peninsula (Effective March 1st)

"Imperial Way Training Institutes" to be established

Four different training programs to be implemented

The Governor-General's Office, in accordance with the aim of the New Year instructions given by Governor-General Koiso on January 4th at the opening ceremony of his administration, has instructed the leaders of the 24 million compatriots on the Korean peninsula, including government officials, executive staff at various private companies and organizations, male and female students attending junior high school and above, and young men with leadership potential, to thoroughly practice character building and spiritual training in accordance with the current decisive wartime system. These guidelines had been in the drafting stages for quite some time, but they were just recently finalized. On the first day of the month, the groundbreaking "Outline of Thorough Practice of Character Building and Spiritual Training" was announced along with Governor-General Koiso's message as follows.

According to the outline, the "Imperial Way Training Institutes," which will form the core of the various training institutes, will be newly established in Seoul to train leaders from all walks of life in the public and private sectors based on the pure Japanese spirit and Japanese worldview that the Governor-General has long advocated, enabling government officials and ordinary people from all of Korea to become leaders in providing character building and spiritual training. The training methods will be divided into four programs:

(1) Government leadership training program

(2) Workplace training program

(3) School training program

(4) Rural leadership training program

These programs are designed to train the mind and body to be strong and healthy enough to literally endure a bloody battle, by augmenting iron-like character building and spiritual training that are adapted to the trainees' academic level, age, and personal qualities. The "Imperial Way Training Institutes" will start this April.

As for the workplace training program and school training program, every Monday will be designated as a "Training Day" starting on March 1st, and the training will be conducted simultaneously all over Korea in accordance with prescribed training methods. In addition, this unprecedented training, which also deserves to be called 'battle training', will include not only government officials and leaders of private companies and organizations as targets for mobilization, but also about 195,000 members of the police, security, and railway patrol agencies in all of Korea, about 50,000 male and female students from junior high school and above, about 2,500 people undergoing training at various training institutes or re-education institutes for government officials, about 97,000 students at youth training centers, and about 110,000 youth at special youth training schools. Altogether, the total number of trainees will be well over 500,000.

The thoroughness of these training methods is a clear embodiment of one of the three major policies that Governor-General Koiso has long declared. At the same time, it is now the autumn of the year when our nation is risking life and death valiantly fighting on in the Greater East Asia War. This is truly a decisive kind of training that is immediately adapted to the current decisive wartime system.

Outline for the thorough implementation of character building and spiritual training

(1) The Imperial Way Training Institutes are to be newly established by the Governor-General of Korea by this April, and the affairs related thereto shall be placed under the jurisdiction of the Training Division of the Scholastic Affairs Bureau. The Imperial Way Training Institutes shall clarify the Japanese spirit and the Japanese worldview, directly train leaders, and lead the character building and spiritual training of government officials and ordinary people in general.

(2) The training is divided into the following four training programs, and they will be implemented starting on March 1st.

1: Government leadership training program: includes government officials, private executives, and those who deserve to become executive staff in both the central and outlying areas of the country

2: Workplace training program: includes the groups which are specified elsewhere in other paragraphs.

3: School training program: includes those undergoing training at schools and school-like institutions as specified elsewhere in other paragraphs.

4: Rural leadership training program: includes leaders from rural areas.

(3) The following are the main features of each training program

A: Government leadership training program (a) Location = the dōjō attached to the Imperial Training Institute (an alternative dōjō can be arbitrarily chosen until the Imperial Training Institute is newly built) (b) Training period = an average of two weeks per term, and depending on the trainees, it may be as short as one week or as long as one month (c) Training method = The trainees are required to stay under strict discipline. Taking into account the trainees and the length of their training period, they are required to take classes on the National Body, Classical Japanese literature, and the Japanese worldview as appropriate. They are also required to perform Seiza, Misogi, as well as martial arts training, calisthenics, and manual labor. (d) The actual cost of the meals provided at the executive leadership training dōjōs shall be deducted from the trainees' travel allowances.

B. Workplace training program: (a) Training days shall be scheduled every Monday throughout the year for all of Korea. However, if the training day falls on a holiday, or if training cannot be due to rain or other circumstances, then the training shall be postponed (b) Training shall be held 30 minutes to 1.5 hours before the start of work for government offices, public organizations, companies, banks, and various trade union offices. The training start time for factories, mines, and labor sites shall be set at an appropriate time as determined by their respective leaders. The following activities shall be performed: (1) National Worship Ritual (2) Calisthenic exercises and drills. Depending on the occasion, these may be replaced with character building talks, manual labor, and other activities. Girls shall be allowed to participate in the above events by performing the girls' ritual and learning how to use the Naginata sword. The police, security, and railway patrol agencies shall assemble on training day as much as possible, and generally perform the same activities.

C. School training program: In schools (including girls' schools), the appropriate time and day shall be set and activities shall be conducted in the same manner as in the workplace training program. However, the character building talks and the labor tasks, which are the mainstay for the training of government officials, shall be adapted in accordance with the age of the trainees. The activities performed on training day may derive from the workplace training program or the government leadership training program, and the training shall always be conducted in accordance with the trainees' personal qualities.

D. Rural leadership training program: At the training dōjōs in the rural areas, training shall be conducted in accordance with the government leadership training program.

The following shall receive training in accordance with the workplace training program:

(A) Employees at the following government agencies and public organizations: (1) Governor-General's Office (including quasi-governmental agencies), provincial governments, prefectural governments, county governments, island governments, police stations, eup offices, etc. (2) Provincial telecommunications agencies, savings management offices, main post offices, etc. (3) Provincial railway agencies, railroad offices, main rail stations, track maintenance districts, railway management districts, factories, etc. (4) Provincial monopoly agencies, main monopoly agency branches, factories, etc. (5) Customs Bureau and main customs branches, etc. (6) Tax supervision bureaus and taxation offices, etc. (7) Courts, prosecutors' offices, court branch offices, prosecutors' sub-offices, probation offices, prisons, etc. (8) Forestry offices (9) Branch offices of government agencies, inspection stations, and examination centers, etc. (10) Hospitals attached to provincial medical schools, etc. (11) Other government agencies and public organizations that are required to conduct spiritual training

(2) Police, security forces, and members of the railway patrol agencies: approximately 195,000 people

(3) Employees of major companies, banks, various trade unions, factories, mines, and other workplaces, etc. (Workers should also be spiritually trained as much as possible in a manner that is in accordance with their occupation)

The following shall receive training in accordance with the school training program:

(1) Students from junior high school and above: about 50,000 students

(2) Those undergoing training at the various training institutions for government officials, etc., as listed in the attached table, or those undergoing re-education as government officials: about 2,500 persons

(3) Students at youth training centers: about 97,000

(4) Students at special youth training centers: about 110,000

(5) Those who are enrolled at various training institutes such as farmers' training institutes, etc.

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-02-02

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) February 3, 1943

Training days are every Monday

The Establishment of the Imperial Training Institutes as explained by Mr. Takeuchi, Director of the Training Division of the Scholastic Affairs Bureau

At the opening ceremony of Governor-General Koiso's administration in the very beginning of 1943, when 24 million people on the Korean peninsula had risen up with iron determination, Governor-General Koiso raised up the three major principles of "thorough practice of character-building and training, decisive increase in production capacity, and epoch-making reform of general administration". He requested strong executive power under the banner, "Practice is better than theory!" Not long after the New Year, he announced the "Outline of Thorough Practice of Character Building and Spiritual Training". After a one-month preparation period, it will be to be put into practice as early as March 1 with great pomp.

The Imperial Way Training Institutes, the most organized government-run training dōjōs in Korea, are to be established ahead of other training dōjōs in mainland Japan, because iron-solid mental strength and power of execution should be the main road to complete victory in this decisive war. They are intended to give the people of the Korean peninsula (government officials, ordinary people, and students alike) the mental strength and power of execution made of indestructible diamond to fight through the Holy War of the Century. Mr. Takeuchi is busy right now with various preparations for the training programs, but let's listen to him talk about training the Korean peninsula.

Mr. Takeuchi, Director of the Training Division of the Scholastic Affairs Bureau

There are already dōjōs and training centers for various occupational groups throughout the country, but Korea will probably be the first country to have government-run dōjōs in every region of the country. It is said that the various programs of the Imperial Way Training Institutes were added by Director-General Eguchi after consulting with the Governor-General. Although spiritual training should naturally be conducted in mainland Japan as well, it is harder to organize from a geographical standpoint, and the Japanese people have a high national character. That is probably why we don't adopt such large-scale training programs in mainland Japan.

Training can be roughly divided into three main programs: the training of leaders, the training at workplaces, and the training at schools. The term 'rural leaders' refers to section chiefs, county governors, police stations, directors of financial institutions, school principals, etc. in each province. Training will begin at the same time in each area of the country and will continue nonstop throughout the year for many years. Those students who have been trained at the schools will graduate and undergo training in their respective occupational fields, and then become local leaders and undergo training at the Imperial Way Training Institutes.

The details have not yet been announced, but starting in March, every Monday will be designated as a training day, and there is really nothing difficult about it. All you have to do is to come to work an hour or 30 minutes early on that day, do some calisthenic training, physical exercises, listen to a character building talk, and do some manual labor. Not all of them are required to enter a dōjō to perform Misogi. There seems to be a misunderstanding on this point.

There are many people who are suspicious of entering a training dōjō. Everyone nowadays knows the gravity of the times. They know that they have to work hard. However, if you enter a training dōjō and continue a rigorous mental regimen for even one week, you will achieve an iron determination. Then you will feel the pleasure of putting things into practice without complaint. You will be inspired. That might be all there is to it. The other day, I visited the Rokuhara Farmers dōjō (Iwate prefecture, Japan), which strictly enforced the National Worship Ritual, the raising of the national flag, and proper eating habits, but the rest was just field work. However, when I saw those who were doing the work, I found that they had an incorruptible mentality. I believe that this spiritual life makes the can-do attitude penetrate strongly and deeply into one's heart and soul.

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-02-03

(Transcription)

京城日報　1943年2月2日

画期的半島の錬成要項成る　三月一日開始

『皇道修練院』を設置

四錬成型に分類実施

総督府では去月四日小磯総督が本府の御用始式においてなしたる初訓示の趣旨に則り、現下の決戦体制に即応して、全鮮の官公吏を初め、あらゆる民間会社、各種団体等の職員幹部、男女中等学校以上の学生、生徒など半島二千四百万同胞の指導者並びに中堅たるべき青壮年層に対し修養錬成の徹底的実践をなすべく、過般来立案中のところ、このほど具体案を決定。一日これに関する小磯総督談話と共に画期的な『修養錬成の徹底的実践要綱』を次の如く発表した。

要綱によれば各種錬成機関の中心たる『皇道修練院』を京城府に新たに開設して総督がかねて高唱する醇乎たる日本精神及び日本的世界観の透徹を基調として官民各界指導者の錬成を行い、かつ全鮮官民全般にわたる修養錬成を指導せしむると同時に他方錬成方法を

（一）指導者錬成

（二）職域錬成

（三）学校等の錬成

（四）地方指導者の錬成

なる四つの錬成型に分ち、被錬成者の学識、年齢、素質等に応じて鉄の如き修養錬成を加え、以って文字通り血の決戦にも堪え得る強健なる心身を鍛え上げんとするもので、『皇道修練院』は来る四月より開始。

職域錬成及び学校等の錬成については三月一日より毎週月曜日を『錬成日』と定め、所定の錬成方法に基づいて全鮮一斉に実施することとなっている。なお対戦錬成ととも云うべきこの未曾有の錬成に動員さるべき対象は官公吏、民間会社団体指導者などの外、全鮮の警防団員、鉄道愛護団員約十九万五千人、中等学校以上の男女学生、生徒約五万人、各種官公吏養成機関又は官吏再教機関に於いて修業中の者約二千五百人、青年訓練所生徒約九万七千人、青年特別錬成所生約十一万人等を加うれば、優に五十万人を超ゆべく其の規模。

其の錬成の徹底的方式に於いて小磯総督がかねて宣明せる三大施策の一を端的に具現せるものであり、それと同時に我国が生死存亡を賭して今や雄渾なる大東亜戦を戦い抜きつつある秋。正に半島の決戦体制に即応する決戦的錬成というべきである。

修養錬成の徹底的実践要綱

（一）朝鮮総督府に皇道修練院を新設（四月）し、之に関する事務を学務局錬成課の所管とす。皇道修練院は日本精神及び日本的世界観を究明し、直接指導者の錬成を行うと共に官民全般に亘る修養錬成を指導す。

（二）錬成を左の四に区分し、三月一日より之を実施す。

１：指導者錬成　中央及び地方を通じ官公吏及び民間の幹部並びに幹部たるべき者を対象とす。

２：職域錬成　別項の如き集団を対象とす。

３：学校等の錬成　別項の如き学校及び学校類似の機関に於いて修業中の者を対象とす。

４：地方指導者錬成　地方の指導者を対象とす。

（三）錬成の実施要目左の如し

１：指導者錬成　（イ）錬成の場所＝皇道修練院付設道場（皇道修練院新設迄は適宜選定の道場）　（ロ）錬成期間＝一期平均二週間とし被錬成者に依り一週間乃至一月間に於いて適宜之を定むるものとす　（ハ）錬成の方法＝厳格なる規律の下に起居せしめ被錬成者と錬成期間の長短を考慮し適宜国体学、古典、日本的世界観等を講習せしむると共に静座、『みそぎ』等の行い及び武道教練、体操、勤労作業を併課す　（二）経営、指導者錬成道場に於ける食費等は被錬成者の旅費手当中より実費を負担せしむ。

２：職域錬成　（イ）錬成日の設定全鮮を通じ毎週月曜日を錬成日と定む。但し当日休日なるとき又は雨天等の為め予定の行事を実施難きときは順延とす　（ロ）錬成の日の行事、官公署、公共団体、会社、銀行、各種組合事務所等に在りては出勤定刻前三十分乃至一時間半、工場、鉱山、事業場等に在りては指導者の定むる適宜の時限及び時分に於いて厳格なる規律の下に概ね次の行事を行う：（一）国民儀礼　（二）体操及び教練、時宜に依り訓話、勤労作業其の他の行事を以て之に代う。右の行事には女子を参加せしめ女子儀礼及び薙刀の習得等を以て男子の教練に代うことを得、警防団、鉄道愛護国は能う限り之を錬成日に召集し概ね同一の行事を行うものとす。

３：学校等の錬成　学校（女子を含む）に在りては職域錬成に関し定めたる錬成日に於いて適宜の時限及び時分を定め職域錬成に準じ行事を行うものとす。但し訓話又は勤労作業を主とすべし官吏等の養成機関及び之に準ずるものに在りては修業者の年齢に応じ、錬成日に於ける行事を前項学校等の錬成又は職域錬成方法に拠らしむるの外、指導者錬成に於ける『錬成の方法』を参酌し被錬成者の素質に応じ常時之に適応したる錬成を行うものとす。

４：地方指導者　地方錬成道場に於いて１の指導者錬成に準じ之を行う。

職域錬成を受くべき者

一、左の如き官公署及び公共団体の職員　（一）総督府（含外局）、道庁、府郡島庁、警察署、邑事務所等　（二）地方逓信局、貯金管理所、主なる郵便局等　（三）地方鉄道局、鉄道事務所、主なる駅、保線区、機関区及び工場等　（四）地方専売局、主なる専売局出張所及び工場等　（五）税関及び主なる税関出張所等　（六）税務監督局及び税務署等　（七）法院、検事局、法院支庁、検事分局、保護観察所及び刑務所等　（八）営林署　（九）官庁各種出張所、検査所及び試験場等　（十）道立医院学校附属病院等　（十一）其の他錬成を行うことを要する認むる官公署、公共団体等

二、警防団員、鉄道愛護団員、約十九万五千人

三、主なる会社、銀行、各種組合、工場、鉱山、及び事業場等の職員（労務者に対しても成るべく職員に準じ錬成を行うこと）

学校等の錬成を受くべき者

一、中等学校以上の学生、生徒、約五万人

二、別表の如き各種の官吏等の養成機関又は官吏再教育機関に於いて修業中の者、約二千五百人

三、青年訓練所生徒約九万七千人

四、青年特別錬成所生約十一万人

五、農民訓練所等各種訓練所に入所中の者

京城日報　1943年2月3日

錬成日は毎週月曜

皇道修練院の設置　竹内錬成課長談

半島二千四百万が鉄の決意をもって起ち上った十八年初頭の御用始式において小磯総督は『修養錬成の徹底的実践』、生産力の拡充、庶政執務の刷新の三大綱領を掲げ、”理念より実践へ”の旗幟も高らかに逞しい実行力を要望したが、新年度を待たずしてまず”修養錬成の徹底的実践要綱”を発表。一ヶ月の準備期間を置いて三月一日から早くも歩武堂々と実践に移すこととなった。

鉄石の精神力と実行力こそ決戦完勝への大道であらねばならない、と内地に先んじて最も組織的な官営修練道場『皇道修練院』を設置。半島官民学徒を問わず、この世紀の聖戦を戦い抜く金剛不壊の精神力、実践力を与えようとするものだが、錬成方法の諸準備に忙しい竹内錬成課長に半島を錬成する弁を聞いてみよう。

語る竹内錬成課長

各職域別による道場とか錬成所などは全国至る所にあるが全地域的な官営の道場を持つのは凡らく朝鮮が始めてだろう。皇道修練院の各種は江口総務局長が総督に相談されて付けたと聞いている。内地でも当然錬成を行なうべきだが、地域上からみてまとまりが悪いのと民度の高さからいってこうした大規模な錬成方法を採らないのであろう。

錬成は大体指導者錬成、職域錬成、学校等の錬成に三大別出来る。ここでいう地方指導者とは各道の課長級、郡守、署所、金組理事、学校長などを称する。錬成は各地とも一斉に開始し、年中無休で今後幾年でもやってゆく。早い話が学校で錬成された者は卒業して職域別の錬成を受け、更に地方指導者となって皇道修練院で錬成を受けるわけだ。

まだ実施細目を発表していないが、三月からは毎週月曜日を錬成日と定めて実践するが、別段難しいことはない。その日は一時間か三十分早目に出勤して教練とか体操とか時には訓話を聞くとか勤労作業を行うとかでよいわけだ。全部が全部道場に入って『みそぎ』を行うものだとは限らない。この点どうも誤解があるようだ。

錬成道場に入ることを不審がる人がよくある。今時の人なら誰しも時局の重大さを知っている。頑張らねばならぬことも知っている。然し錬成道場に入って厳しい精神生活を仮令一週間でも続ければ鉄の決意が出来る。それから文句なしに実践することの快味を覚える。発奮して来る。要するにそれだけかも知れない。過日、六原農民道場を観たが国民儀礼国旗掲揚、食事作法を厳重にして、その他は野良仕事だけだった。然しやっている人を見ると実に冒し難い精神力を持っているのだ。この精神生活によって”やらねばならぬ””実行だ”ということが強く深く心魂に徹するのだと信ずる。

Keijo Nippo (Gyeongseong Ilbo) was Korea's largest newspaper at its peak, boasting the best exclusive news access provided by the colonial regime, the best American printing equipment, correspondents stationed all over the world, printing from Sept. 1906 to Dec. 1945 under 3 different governments

In December 1938, Keijo Nippo newspaper published a self-promoting advertisement on a full-page spread boasting about how it is the number-one newspaper in Korea in every respect: the largest newspaper in Korea with the largest readership, the largest staff, the most financial resources, the best exclusive news access in every part of Korea, the best printing equipment with the latest state-of-the-art rotary presses imported from the U.S.A., longstanding relationships with international press agencies such as the International News Service, United Press International, and Associated Press, and correspondents stationed all over the world including in Paris, New York, Berlin, London, Davao, Hawaii, and Occupied China. Thus, the Keijo Nippo newspaper is a very valuable source of insight into the kinds of information from both inside and outside the country that Koreans might have known about during colonial rule.

In December 1938, Imperial Japan was in the middle of the vicious Second Sino-Japanese War, but it was not experiencing privations to the extent that it would experience during the Second World War, because it still managed to benefit from relatively normal world trade and foreign investment with relatively few sanctions, including from Western countries like the U.K. and the U.S. That would change over the course of the next few years, as relations with the U.S. deteriorated to the point of war. 

This photo montage has a lot of things going on, but let's parse them out. The newspaper building was a cube-shaped brick building just a block away to the north from the then Seoul City Hall (京城府庁). It housed not only Keijo Nippo, but also Maeil Sinbo, the last Korean-language newspaper to remain in Korea after Dong-A Ilbo and Chosun Ilbo were shuttered in 1940. On top of the building is the flag of Seoul, which looks like a black-outlined circle sandwiched between two clamps. On the left side of the building are some slogans: one says "Don't let your guard down after victory! (勝って兜の緒を締めよ)", while the other one says, "Long-term construction is just the beginning (長期建設はこれからだ)" On the right side of the building are the names of its three publications: the Keijo Nippo (京城日報), Keinichi Shinpo (京日新報), and Keijo Nippo Elementary School Edition (京日小学生新聞). On the left side of the photo, staff members are at their desks drafting articles, and a cameraman is taking a picture with his news camera. To the center-bottom of the photo, a man is transcribing a news report which he is listening to over the phone. Above him is a rotary press manufactured by R. Hoe & Co., and below him are bundles of printed newspapers and the delivery trucks which will deliver them to all parts of Korea. On the right side of the photo, there are some workers setting the typesets to print the newspaper editions.

I also included an advertisement for the Elementary School Edition of Keijo Nippo, which was marketed to Korean children, especially with its rather blatant use of the word "second-class national people of Japan" (日本の第二国民). It goes to show the militaristic brainwashing that Korean children received under the colonial regime. This newspaper may have also been read by Korean adults who were studying Japanese.

In September 1906, the Keijo Nippo newspaper (known as Gyeongseong Ilbo in Korean) was founded by Itō Hirobumi to be a mouthpiece of the Office of the Japanese Resident-General of Korea, which controlled Korean foreign diplomatic affairs from 1905 to 1910, when Korea was formally annexed into Imperial Japan. The newspaper was formed by merging two existing Korean newspapers together: the Hanseong Sinbo (한성신보, 漢城新報) and the Daedong Sinbo (대동신보, 大同新報). It started out as a bilingual publication printing both Korean-language editions and Japanese-language editions, but in April 1907, the Korean-language edition of Gyeongseong Ilbo was discontinued. After the annexation of Korea in 1910, Keijo Nippo became the mouthpiece of the Governor-General's Office, the Imperial Japanese colonial government which controlled Korea from 1910 to 1945. 

The newspaper managed to keep publishing for a few months after Korea gained its independence on August 15, 1945, printing its last edition on December 11, 1945. Its printing equipment was subsequently taken over by Hanseong Ilbo (한성일보, 漢城日報) in early 1946. If you look at the logo of Hanseong Ilbo, you can see that they reworked the old Keijo Nippo logo a little bit and kept a similar calligraphy style to come up with the new newspaper logo. The Hanja fonts are identical to the Kanji fonts used in Keijo Nippo.

Keijo Nippo's Korean-language sister newspaper, Maeil Sinbo, printed its last edition in November 1945, then changed its name to Seoul Shinmun and printed its first edition under its new name on November 23, 1945. Today, the Seoul Shinmun skyscraper stands on the site of the old Keijo Nippo newspaper building. 

Today, physical copies of Keijo Nippo are stored at the National Library of Korea and Seoul National University Library. Microfilm copies of Keijo Nippo can be viewed at the Newspaper Reading Room of the National Diet Library in Tokyo, but with no photoduplication available or allowed. In October 2021, an anonymous user uploaded an extensive archive of Keijo Nippo covering 1905 to 1944, appearing to be digital scans of old microfilm. I accidentally stumbled across them just as they were being uploaded. The moment I recognized their historical significance, I decided to slowly prepare transcriptions and translations of these articles and share them online. However, there are many limitations, as the entire year of 1945 is omitted, many scanned pages are in terrible shape with tears, burn marks, and holes in many places, the quality of the digital scans themselves is often bad and makes the text illegible.  The National Library of Korea does provide high-quality scans of Keijo Nippo to the public, but only for a select few issues from the early 1930s and earlier.

Currently, the copyright for Keijo Nippo is held by some murky entities. According to one bookstore website, the "Tokyo High Court and National Diet Library authorizes the reprinted The Keijo Nippo( Kyŏngsŏng Ilbo) only by the publisher, SIM Han Bo,Hanʼguk Kyohoesa Munhŏn Yŏnʼguwŏn". That is, 한국교회사문헌연구원(韓國教會史文獻研究院). The website also says that professors at Waseda University legally go after anyone who repeatedly sells pirated editions. Only the 1905-1918 issues are available for purchase, for an exorbitant 490,000 yen. When ordering, three months are required for copyright processing to be completed. Another bookstore site, Komabook, offers a 20 DVD set containing the September 2, 1915 to December 11, 1945 issues of Keijo Nippo for a grand total of 2,908,500 Japanese yen, which is about $22,000 US Dollars at current exchange rates.

It would seem to me that withholding the content of Keijo Nippo from public release behind such a high paywall and such tight copyright restrictions is not in the public interest, especially as the actions of the Imperial Japanese colonial regime in Korea is of interest to people all over the world. But maybe there is a reasonable explanation for all of this?

My hope is that more of these archives can be made digitally available online for free and then translated more widely so that viewers all over the world can learn more about this very interesting part of Korean history.

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) December 26, 1938

The Dignified March of Keijo Nippo

The Great Reform of Our Press Organization along the Lines of the Leap Forward for Korea and the Rebuilding of East Asia

Bathed in the dawn of the New East Asia Cooperative, the Holy Sino-Japanese War is now rushing forward into the third spring of brilliant construction. After 30 years of rule, our Korean peninsula, which has embodied the great spirit of Hakkō Ichiu of which we are proud in world history, is also in lock step with the great strides of the Holy War, and is now playing the role of a "logistics base" in both material and moral aspects as we greet the first spring of the third year of the war. Keijo Nippo, as the honored head of the press agencies of home front Korea based on Japanese-Korean unification, is mobilizing all of its functions and personnel. With the sound of its high-speed rotary press working tirelessly, Keijo Nippo is celebrating a new spring of victorious journalism together with its loyal readers.

The Keijo Nippo has walked alongside the New Korea ever since it was welcomed at the time of its annexation, and Korea has experienced thirty years of unyielding progress ever since then. We have challenged ourselves to overcome superimposed difficulties together with the Young Korea. We have fought for each day to be filled with the light of happiness and peace, and we have won the present-day by smearing on it the words: "Leap Forward!". The history of Keijo Nippo, which was inaugurated by the first Chief Superintendent Itō Hirobumi, is also the history of the new century of the Korean peninsula.

It is well known in the pages of this newspaper just how active we have been during the Second Sino-Japanese War, based on the precious past legacy of tens of thousands of Keijo Nippo staff. Needless to say, the complete coverage of the various parts of home front Korea is the exclusive domain of this newspaper alone. We have sent special correspondents to bring back blood-drenched news of frontline Imperial troops deployed on mainland China destroying Chiang Kai-shek's forces. We have established bureaus and a special telegraph network in key areas of new construction, while extending our full coverage on the situation of the dying enemy regime. In the heart of Europe and the United States, which are on the verge of being re-divided by the total collapse of the Treaty of Versailles and the outbreak of a second world war, we have established a powerful and extensive special telegraph team in cooperation with the Yomiuri Shimbun to provide vigorous and hot news. The political and economic situation in mainland Japan, which is being reorganized in various fields, is being reported to the Korean peninsula from time to time without fail by the news axes in Tokyo, Osaka, and Seoul.

Thus, Keijo Nippo, as the largest newspaper on the Korean peninsula, is preparing for a great epoch-making leap forward in 1939. Please look forward to the news reporting of Keijo Nippo, which is undergoing a great reform along the lines of the Leap Forward for Korea and the Rebuilding of New East Asia.

This photo is a montage of Keijo Nippo's news reporting activities. It shows how the news comes to the head office from all parts of Korea, mainland Japan, mainland China, and from all over the world by telegraph and telephone every moment. Then the collected news are drafted, typeset into editions, printed on a rotary press, and then delivered to loyal readers in all of Korea. Our printing plant is the best in all of Korea with respect to its functionality, and it boasts a printing capacity of 300,000 copies per hour on two customized electric high-speed presses, as well as a multi-color high-speed press (manufactured by R. Hoe & Company). Thus, our press organization, fully equipped with human and material resources, is constantly working to provide fresh news and demonstrate their power.

The best facilities in all of Korea!

The Forefront of Wartime Journalism

A powerful and unparalleled communication network

Sharing moment-by-moment world developments to loyal readers in all of Korea

A network is also in place to report on the Sino-Japanese War

In order to accurately and promptly report on the ever-changing political, economic, and social situation in the world, this newspaper has formed a communications alliance with the Yomiuri Shimbun, the leader of the Tokyo newspaper industry, to develop a special telecommunications network, and set up a lightning-like news network around the world. In other words, through a tie-up with Yomiuri Shimbun, we have bureaus (correspondents) in Paris, New York, Berlin, and London, and special correspondents in Davao and Hawaii. We have absorbed special telegrams from the International News Service, one of the world's three most prestigious news agencies, along with United Press International and Associated Press. Our communications network related to the Sino-Japanese War is as follows, and is unrivaled by any other news organization on the Korean peninsula.　

• Permanent military correspondent in Unit [redacted] Shanxi Area
• Branch office in Beijing

Keijo Nippo Elementary School Edition

No one can say, "I am an elementary school student of the shining New Year" without getting the New Year's Day issue of the Keijo Nippo Elementary School Edition. The splendor of the New Year's Day issue of the newspaper is the best New Year's gift for a growing second-class national person of Japan.

There is an assault on a pillbox with live bullets! There is a bombardment by a fighter plane! The invincible march of tanks! If we sing a military song in the red sunset and dream in a field tent, our dreams will lead us home, but if we take up our bayonets and attack in full force, the cheers of 'Banzai!' for peace in East Asia will be as high as the wind carrying the Flag of the Great Rising Sun. Don't you all want to raise Chiang Kai-shek's head with this amazingly beautiful picture Sugoroku printed in four-color offset? The New Year's Day issue is sixteen pages. That is four times the page count of a daily newspaper. It is interesting and informative. There are four times as many wonderful articles, photographs, and manga as there are in a daily newspaper.

• The Governor-General's Story
• A children's story by the famous Katō Takeo
• The two-page manga series is a kingdom of laughter!
• Chinese New Year, Mongolian New Year, a tablespread for the New Year
• What will the air battle of the future be like? It will surely be very awesome.
• New Year's Games
• The World of Science
• Test your academic ability with the New Year Achievement Test

We can only tell you just a little bit about the wonders of the New Year's Day issue. If I were to tell you about the even more beautiful colored pages, I would be in big trouble. Let's all have fun in anticipation for New Year's Day. On New Year's Day, please pick up a copy of the Keijo Nippo Elementary School Edition and be surprised at how wonderful it is, how great it is, and how much you'll love it.

Free gift: The Sugoroku of the Imperial Army's Great Victory

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1938-12-26

(Transcription)

京城日報　1938年12月26日

堂々京日の進軍

躍進朝鮮と東亜再建の線に沿い報道体制の大革新

新東亜協同体の黎明を浴びて、聖戦支那事変は、いまや輝ける建設の第三春へと突進している。統治三十年、世界史に誇る八紘一宇の大精神の体現をなし遂げたわが半島も聖業の巨歩に足並みをそろえ、物心両面において『兵站基地』の役割を果たしつつ戦捷三たびの年の初春を迎えんとしている。そして、わが京城日報は、内鮮一体を基底とせる銃後朝鮮の光栄ある報道部門の首位を担当し、機能総動員、高速度輪転機不休の響きは、戦勝ジャーナリズムのさらに新しき春を、愛読者諸賢とともに謳歌せんとしているのである。

京城日報は併合と同時に迎えた新しき朝鮮とともに歩いた。三十年不屈の前進。重畳たる困難に対して青年朝鮮と共に挑戦した。そして、幸福と平和の光りに充ちみちている今日を―各界躍進の二字にぬりつぶされた今日を闘いとったのである。初代統監伊藤博文公によって封切られた京城日報の歴史は、その儘半島新世紀の歴史である。

過去幾万の京日部隊の尊き遺産のうえに立って、事変下における本紙がいかに活発な活躍をなしているかはすでにその紙面においてよく知られたところ―銃後半島の各部面に対する取材網の完璧なる布陣はひとり本紙にのみゆるされたる独壇場であることは申すまでもなく、大陸に展開されている滅蒋の前線部隊には相次いで特派員を使いして血の滴るようなニュースを送り、新建設の要地には、支局並びに特電網を配するとともに、滅びゆく敵政権の情勢にも万全の触手を伸ばしている。ヴェルサイユ体制の全面的な崩壊によって再分割の地図を描きつつ第二の世界戦争の危機をはらむ欧米の各心臓部には、読売新聞との提携による強力拡汎なる特電陣を整備、溌剌たるホットニュースを提供している。また、各方面において再組織が行われつつある内地の政治経済情勢は、東京、大阪、京城のニュース枢軸によって刻々半島への報道に遺憾なきを期している。

かくてわが京城日報は、半島最高最大の新聞としてさらに昭和十四年における画期的な大飛躍を準備しつつある。躍進朝鮮と新東亜建設の線に沿い大革新を行いつつある京城日報の報道戦果を御期待下さい。

この写真は京城日報社の報道活動を現わしたモンタージュ写真。全鮮各地から、内地から、支那大陸から、さらに世界各地から、電信、電話に乗って刻々本社へ集まって来るニュースが原稿となり活字に組まれ、版となり、輪転機にかかって印刷され、全鮮の愛読者に新聞が配達されるまでを示しています。本社の工場機能は、全鮮一を誇るもので、二台連結の京日式電光超高速度輪転機は一時間三十万の印刷能力を有し、このほか、多色刷超高速度輪転機（アール・ホー会社製）もその能率を誇っております。こうして、人的物的に完備したわが社の報道体制は不断の活動によって、清新なるニュースを提供し、その威力を示しているのであります。

全鮮一を誇る設備！

戦時ジャーナリズムの最前線

強力無比の通信網

世界各地の動きを刻々全鮮愛読者へ

事変報道網も整備

本紙は、変転極まりない世界の政治、経済、社会情勢を正確に迅速にキャッチ報道すべく、同盟通信によるほか特電網を整備するため現在、東都新聞界の驍将読売新聞社と通信提携をなして、全世界に電光のようなニュース網を布陣しております。すなわち同社とのタイアップによりパリ、ニューヨーク、ベルリン、ロンドンに支局（特派員）、ダヴァオ、ハワイに特置員を配置するとともに、UP・APとともに世界三大通信として権威をほこるインターナショナル・ニュース・サーヴィス社の全世界各地の特電を吸収しております。また本紙の事変関係通信網は現在左の如くで、断然半島他社の追随をゆるしません。　

• 山西方面〇〇部隊に従軍記者常置
• 北京に支局

京日小学生新聞

京日小学生新聞の元旦号を手にしないで『ぼくは輝く新しき年の小学生』などとはいいません。そのすばらしさ、京日小学生新聞元旦号こそ伸びゆく日本の第二国民に贈る最上のお年玉です。

肉弾トーチカに迫る突撃あり。荒鷲の爆撃あり。戦車隊の無敵進軍あり。赤い夕日に軍歌を歌って露営の夢を結べば夢は故郷へも通うが銃剣をとりなおして総攻撃にうつれば東洋平和の万歳は大日章旗の旗風とともに高い。オフセット四色刷の驚くほど美しい絵双六で蒋介石の首級をあげたいとは、皆さん、思いませんか。元旦号は十六ページ。それは日頃の新聞の四倍の分量です。面白い面白いためになる。すばらしい記事が、写真が、まんががひごろの四倍ぶんもあるのです。

• 総督様のお話
• 童話は有名な加藤武雄先生の作
• 二頁一ぱいのまんがはこれこそ面白い笑いの王国
• 支那のお正月、蒙古のお正月。お正月づくし。
• 未来の空中戦はどんなものか？さあ、どんな凄いものでしょう。
• お正月の遊戯
• 科学の世界
• 新年学力テストで皆さんの学力をためしてごらんなさい。

元旦号のすばらしさはホンのチョッピリだけおしらせしてもこのとおりです。この上なお美しい色刷ページのことなどおしらせしたら大へんです。皆さん元旦を楽しく待ちましょう。そして元旦に京日小学生新聞を手にとって『すばらしいな』『すごいね』『だからぼくは京日小学生新聞が大好きなんだ』と、びっくりして下さい。

おまけ：皇軍大勝双六