Three American missionaries defied Imperial Japan’s order to worship at a Shinto shrine in Pyongyang in 1935: George McCune and Velma Snook refused to back down, while Howard Lee eventually gave in to the regime’s demands

In November 1935, three American missionaries defied Imperial Japan's order to worship at a Shinto Shrine in Pyongyang. George McCune and Velma Snook stood their ground and were subsequently expelled from Imperial Japan, but Howard Lee eventually yielded to pressure from the colonial authorities. 

George Shannon McCune

The incident took place on November 14, 1935, when colonial authorities demanded that the principals of various secondary schools in South Pyongan Province worship at the Heijō Shinto Shrine in Pyongyang. Three principals refused: George Shannon McCune, President of Soongsil University, Velma Lee Snook, acting principal of Soong Eui Girls' School, and Howard Milton Lee (also named "Hei Mau Ree",  이희만, 李希萬 in Korean), principal of Euimyung College. 

The principals who refused were given sixty days to reconsider, but when McCune and Snook again refused, the authorities revoked their authorization as principals, and they were subsequently deported from Imperial Japan.

On the other hand, Howard Milton Lee eventually capitulated by making this groveling statement: "I now clearly understand that attendance at the Jinja is quite different from religious worship and that obeisance by students at the shrine is quite indispensable to the Japanese national educational system. In view of this I have decided to cause all members of the faculty and students of my school to make obeisance at the shrine."

McCune was supported by a majority of the Korean Mission of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. and the Korean church. On the other hand, the American diplomatic establishment and many church organizations took the accommodationist position and accepted Imperial Japan's stance that shrine worship attendance and the required bow were civic or patriotic acts rather than actual worship, so Christian schools could comply without violating Christian conscience. 

In other words, the regime insisted that compulsory shrine observances were not religious at all, but merely patriotic civic ceremonies, even though they involved traditional Shinto rites performed at Shinto Shrines. This would appear to be extreme gaslighting, especially since the regime effectively told Christians that what they regarded as unmistakably religious worship was “non-religious” simply because the state had officially defined it that way.

It would seem that the accommodationist position hurt American interests in Korea, especially since it made them look weak and cowardly in the eyes of the Imperial regime. As church organizations closed schools and withdrew missionaries rather than comply with the shrine worship requirement, the regime turned this withdrawal into a triumphalist narrative. Propaganda articles would portray deceitful Americans retreating in shameful disgrace, while "pure" Imperialists advanced in their wake with a divine mission to take over the schools in all of Imperial Japan. This perceived retreat may have encouraged the regime to carry on in escalating their campaign to force the State Shinto religion and Imperial ideology on all of Korea.

Transcribed below are two contemporary English accounts of this shrine incident from the Christian religious perspective as reported in 1936 in Christianity Today and The Presbyterian Guardian. Links to the scanned PDFs are also provided below. I have also provided links below to translated and transcribed Imperial Japanese propaganda articles related to the Imperialist takeover of Korean Christian schools.

Note: "Pyengyang" is an old spelling of Pyongyang. "Heian Province" refers to Pyongan Province. "Heijo" is the Japanese word for Pyongyang. "Chosen" is the Japanese word for Korea.

[Transcription from THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN, March 2, 1936, pp. 188-189]

Shrine Obeisance Issue Brings Crisis in Korea

Perils of missionaries who teach Christianity as an exclusive religion when they labor in a "Totalitarian State" are strikingly illustrated by the long-simmering issue of "shrine obeisance," which has suddenly become acute in Japan-controlled Korea.

The Japanese Constitution guarantees religious freedom. However, certain government agencies made attendance at shrines, or "Jinja," compulsory as a part of all education in the Japanese empire. "Jinja" means "spirit house." These shrines are a part of the Shinto faith. They are supposed to be the abode of deceased and venerated Imperial Ancestors. Priests are in attendance, and long-time usage has accepted as a matter of course that obeisance at the shrines was an act of religious worship. The government, however, insisted that this obeisance to the Imperial Ancestors was a necessary part of Japanese education and morality.

However, vigorous objections were made by Christians to being compelled to do obeisance at Shinto shrines. As a way out, it was decreed that there is a difference between State Shinto and the Shinto religion-that any observances required by the authorities were State Shinto, while ordinary worship was religious.

Commenting upon this, the cautious Japan Weekly Chronicle, English language paper of Kobe, said, in its issue of January 30th:

"The conveniences of the distinction were obvious, and as it was declared that State Shinto, being merely a mark of respect towards the Imperial Ancestors and in no way religious, did not in any way interfere with the individual's religious beliefs, a large majority of the people accepted the explanation without protest. No small number, nevertheless, felt uncomfortable, and far from satisfied that obeisances at shrines were not religious exercises. Different Christian bodies have some variants in their doctrines, but very few of them would be prepared to recognise the reality of the tutelary deities of shrines, or, indeed, if any kind of spiritual existence not mentioned in the Bible. For the time being, the missionaries, who felt the difficulty most, were concerned rather with their flocks, especially when they were engaged in educational work, than for themselves. The Japanese pastor or student who evaded the order to make mass visits to shrines was in a very invidious position, He was liable to be charged with disloyalty-a charge greatly dreaded by Japanese even when their loyalty is so famous as to make the accusation ridiculous; and, where missionaries found shrine-visiting inconsistent with their beliefs, they still shrank from advising Japanese co-religionists to invite obloquy and court punishment when such penalties were not likely to fall on the givers of such advice. So far as foreign missionaries themselves were concerned, they could generally refrain from the obeisances by simply staying at home.

"There has been a marked increase in the inclination to insist upon State Shinto observances since the Manchurian adventure was embarked upon, largely because since that time it has become more necessary, politically, to demonstrate Japanese unity to the world, and in part because the increase in military influence has brought with it the desire for discipline and uniformity, to the detriment of too fender a regard for the rights of the individual. Some time ago the Japanese Press was much occupied with the case of the Catholic University in Tokyo, where the prescribed visits to the Yasukuni Shrine had not been made in full strength. As the military were particularly interested, the shrine being dedicated to those who have fallen in the service of the country, they took the remedy in hand. In the higher places of learning, there is a course of military instruction supervised by officers appointed by the military authorities, and the taking of this course excuses the student from his service as a conscript. It was intimated to the University authorities that the military instructors would be withdrawn, thereby subjecting the students to the serious interruption of their studies that must result if undergraduates on reaching the age for service are called to the colours. It was announced thereafter that this step had cured the obstinacy of the priests connected with the Catholic University.

"In conforming to the requirements. most Christians-or most foreign Christians at all events-satisfy themselves with the argument that as the ceremony, according to the official interpretation means nothing religious to them, they may perform it, since doing so saves a great deal of trouble. There may be some Japanese officials who entertain doubts as to whether this is the correct attitude of mind; but generally speaking they are satisfied that the requirements are carried out and that in the eyes of all men, especially of the students, authority is unquestioningly recognized; besides, they cannot know what any man is thinking, and the most that can be required is obedience to the regulations. However, there are some missionary educationists (they are really the only class of foreign Christian affected) who have conscientious objections to performing what seems to them, notwithstanding the official explanation, to come within the bounds of religion, as they understand the word."

The present crisis was presaged in November, 1935, when, after a conference of principals of middle grade schools of the province of South Heian, Korea, those present simultaneously paid respects at the Heijo Shrine. Three persons refused: Dr. G. S. McCune, President of the Sujitsu (Sung-sil) or Union Christian College of Seoul; Miss O. R. Swallen, principal of the Seung-eui Girls' School; and Mr. Hei Mau Ree, principal of the Eui-myung School in Jun-an. The first two named are Northern Presbyterian missionaries, the last a Seventh Day Adventist.

The Seoul Press reports that "all missionary educational organs in all parts of Korea except the three institutes referred to have to date been voluntarily yet faithfully observing the government policy in connection with obeisance at the shrine."

Since November, the authorities have attempted to make the three persons change their minds, "explaining" that the observance was not religious. Finally, an ultimatum was issued. Thereupon, on January 17th, Mr. Hei Mau Ree "caved in" with a face-saving statement:

"I now clearly understand that attendance at the Jinja is quite different from religious worship and that obeisance by students at the shrine is quite indispensable to the Japanese national educational system. In view of this I have decided to cause all members of the faculty and students of my school to make obeisance at the shrine."

At the same time he submitted to the Governor a note pledging obeisance at the shrine, which was written in English. Governor Yasutake, greatly satisfied with the school, warmly shook hands with him as with others present.

This interview, after lasting for more than an hour, was thus brought to an end satisfactory to the government.

Dr. McCune, accompanied by Dr. S. A. Moffett, veteran missionary, founder of the College, appeared before the Governor the next day. Despite pressure, they would not yield an inch, and submitted a note in English clarifying their position. (This statement is not yet available.)

After this refusal, Governor Yasutake immediately cancelled government recognition of Dr. McCune as principal of the Sung-sil school and college. Miss Swallen being home on furlough, the issue concerning the Seung-eui Girls' School was placed in the hands of acting principal Miss V. I. Snook. Miss Snook likewise refused to make obeisance, and her acting principalship was also terminated. In the Japanese empire all educationists must possess official recognition in order to function.

After the government action, Mr. T. Watanabe, director of the Educational Bureau for the Government General of Korea issued a statement which contained thinly-veiled threats of strong-arm action. Excerpts:

"The Educational authorities of the Government-General in elucidating the outlines of our national system and the Government-General Policy with reference to education and religion, calls for some self-reflection from a portion of those missionaries and others concerned with school education. Dr. McCune, the Principal of the Sujitsu School, who is directly responsible for this affair in Heijo, should now understand the intentions of the authorities in view of his responsibility as Principal of the school, and should change his attitude promptly, make obeisance at the Jinja himself, and clearly state his intention to cause his students to make obeisance at the Jinja. Otherwise the solution of the affair will be prolonged in vain. It will badly affect the national education and also may disturb the peaceful religious life of the Christian people in general.

"Therefore if Dr. McCune do not understand his responsibility as School Principal and not go himself to make obeisance at the Jinja and not make clear his intention to do this, the authorities will be obliged to take the necessary measures, which fact I now make clear to you."

The Japanese Constitution guarantees religious freedom, but the state reserves the right to decide what is religion and what is not religion. This acute situation strikingly resembles two instances in Church history, one ancient, the other modern. Ancient: Christians in Rome, under the early Empire, were ordered to burn a little incense before an image of the Emperor. They were assured by the authorities that it was a mere ceremonial act, did not interfere with their religion, for all religion was free in Rome. Some obeyed, thousands did not and paid for their refusal to bow to any but the true God by torture and death.

Modern: the attempt of the 146th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. to turn the church into a totalitarian organization, demanding implicit, conscience surrendering obedience to man by members of the Independent Board and the whole church. Same in principle as these cases are, observers predicted that those most actively pushing un-Christian tyranny at home would be loudest in commending the brave and Christian stand taken by Dr. McCune and Miss Snook, abroad.

[Transcription from CHRISTIANITY TODAY March, 1936, p. 236.]

News of the Church

Dr. G. S. McCune, Mission College and Academy President, Deposed

The Union Christian College, together with the Presbyterian Boys' Academy and Girls' Academy in Pyengyang, Korea, is now "faced with serious trouble on account of its refusal to comply with instruction, issued by the provincial government authorities concerned, to make obeisance at the shrine for the reason-obeisance at the shrine runs counter to the spirit underlying the Ten Commandments," according to a news item in the Seoul Press, a daily paper published in English and an organ of the Japanese Government General of Chosen.

Missionaries have been very reluctant to write of this problem with which they have been faced lest they should unnecessarily prejudice the officials against the difficult stand that they have been led to take. Nor would the writer wish to create such a prejudice, but he believes that now Christians in America have a right to know of the situation, that they might be able to pray intelligently for those under fire and he will try to keep largely to the information which has been released to the public by papers which have passed the Japanese Government censor.

"True causes of trouble," according to the report, began when "a conference of principals of middle schools, both public and private, throughout South Heian province, was held in Heijo (Pyengyang) on November 14, last year.

"Following close of the conference those present simultaneously paid respects at the Heijo Shrine. On the occasion Dr. G. S. McCune, president of the Union Christian College and principal of the Sung-sil School (Boys' Academy); and the principal of the Seung-eui Girls' School (the three above institutions are under the Presbyterian U.S.A. mission work) and Mr. Hei Man Ree, Principal of the Eui-myung School in Jun-an (Seventh Day Adventist school) respectively flatly refused to follow example for the reason … they still mistake Jinja (shrine) for institution set apart for religious worship, which is quite different from actual fact according to the Japanese Constitution."

When it is said that missionaries "mistake Jinja (shrine) for institutions set apart for religious worship," one should have before him, among other things, the quotation from the "Annual Report on Administration of Chosen, 1932-33," compiled by Government-General of Chosen, Keijo, December, 1933, page 85, where, in speaking of Jinja, it says: "The deification of her illustrious dead and erection of places of veneration to their memory have for ages been the custom of Japan, and the ceremonies held in those are treated by the Government as absolutely distinct from those of a purely religious nature." Deification means to make a god, and the first commandment says, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

According to the report "Dr. McCune formally declared to the authorities concerned, that it was quite impossible for him as head of a school to respect ancestors at the shrine and to cause even his students to do so." We are sure Dr. McCune is supported by a majority of the Chosen Mission of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. and the Korean Church in this stand.

To go on with the narrative as given in the newspaper report "For the past three months the issue has so far been hanging fire-the South Heian provincial authorities-inviting on several different occasions representatives of the said three schools to the provincial offices, did everything in their power to sincerely and clearly bring home to them the fact that in Japanese national education obeisance at the shrine is sine qua non-to which the latter respectively turned deaf ears."

"In view of this the South Heian provincial authorities-issued strong ultimatum to representatives of the said three schools to make clear by the middle of this month their definite attitude regarding the issue as to whether their schools would make obeisance or not."

As a result of this "at 11.30 A. M. on January 17," Mr. Ree, principal of the Seventh Day Adventist School, "accompanied by Rev. E. J. Urquhart of the Chosen Union of the Seventh Day Adventists Mission-called on- the Governor of South Heian province and sincerely declared as follows":

" 'I now clearly understand that attendance at Jinja is quite different from religious worship and that obeisance by students at the shrine is quite indispensable to the Japanese national educational system. In view of this I have decided to cause all members of the faculty and students of my school to make obeisance at the shrine.' "

"On the other hand, Dr. G. S. McCune, principal of the Sung-sil School, accompanied by Dr. S. A. Moffet, founder of same, called on Mr. Yasutake at 2.30 P. M. on January 18, at the South Heian provincial offices with regard to the same issue."

"In the course of the interview Governor Yasutake for the last time most logically and sincerely explained to the two North Presbyterian missionary educationists true purport of obeisance by students at the shrine. To this the latter categorically declared they could not yield an inch in this connection and at the same time submitted to the Governor a note written in English March, 1936 clarifying their refusal to make obeisance at the shrine."

"Such being the case Governor Yasutake - put into execution the-drastic policy of the South Heian provincial government by at once cancelling recognition of Dr. McCune as principal of the Sung-sil School (Boys' Academy). The same day Governor Yasutake took necessary procedures with the educational bureau of the Government General for cancelling recognition of Dr. McCune as president of the Sung-sil College which procedures the Educational Bureau under date of January 20 has formally approved."

The "Case of Seung-eui Girls' School (Girls' Academy), Presbyterian U.S.A., remains unsettled owing to absence of Miss O. R. Swallen, principal of the school,-now on furlough. Miss V. I. Snook is at present acting principal of the school. It is understood the South Heian provincial authorities are determined to request her to clarify her final attitude in regard to this issue within this week."

The report says further that "Recently it has appeared that impressions have been entertained by people connected with the Northern Presbyterian mission in Heijo (Pyengyang) district that there might be certain interferences with the propagation of Christianity and the religious belief of the Christian adherents, caused by the South Heian Provincial Government and centering round the Jinja problem with relation to the Principal of a Private Secondary School. This, however, may be attributed entirely to the confusion of education and religion." The Director of the Educational Bureau of the Government-General asserts "Freedom of Belief is assured by our Constitution. It is unnecessary to repeat that neither the South Heian Provincial Government nor the Government General of Chosen, has no slightest intention of attempting to interfere with the Propagation of Christianity or with the religious faith of the Christian adherents." One is thankful for this assurance and yet he wonders what the closing words of the article mean when it says "Dr. McCune-who is directly responsible for this affair in Heijo-should change his attitude promptly, make obeisance at the Jinja himself, and clearly state his intention to cause his students to make obeisance at the Jinja. Otherwise the solution of the affair will be prolonged in vain. It will badly affect the national education and also may disturb the peaceful religious life of the Christian people in general."

Christian people in this country should be praying for this crisis, which will have its effects in the whole Empire of Japan, that God's people may remain true and that the Christ may be glorified.

BRUCE F. HUNT.

Related Imperial Japanese propaganda articles:

• In 1938, an Imperial Japanese ideologue took over Chungshin Girls' High School in Seoul and replaced prayers with moments of silence for the Imperial military, replaced bible readings with Imperial vows, and scrubbed foreigners from school portraits (link)
• Despite Pastor Underwood's heroic refusal to worship the Emperor, Korean churches were eventually forced to worship at Shinto Shrines and announce "we shall forsake the evil thoughts from our past dependence on the West, and strive for purification… towards a Japanese-style Christianity" (link) [correction: it was McCune, not Underwood, who refused to worship at the Shinto shrine]
• Imperial Japan purged Korean schools of ‘pro-American’ professors, abolished Christian prayers, and labeled the English language as the ‘product of the enemy’, expelled Western missionaries (Dec. 1942) (link)

Seoul residents bowing their heads in compulsory Moment of Silence for fallen Imperial Japanese soldiers (news photos from 1943 and 1944)

These two photos from 1943 and 1944 capture scenes inside Seoul streetcars during the Japanese colonial period, as passengers bow their heads for the mandatory daily noon Moment of Silence honoring fallen Imperial Japanese soldiers.

The news articles present the scene as an expression of wholehearted Korean devotion to the Imperial war effort: according to the article, passengers reverently prayed for the fallen soldiers, wished for the Imperial forces' continued success, and renewed their determination to “fight until the enemy is destroyed.”

Of course, the photograph itself cannot tell us what these passengers were actually thinking. What it does show is ordinary people participating in one of the public rituals imposed on daily life in wartime Korea. Whatever their private feelings may have been, compliance was expected.

People from Britain and other Commonwealth countries might see a superficial resemblance to the two-minute silence observed on Remembrance Day at 11 a.m. on November 11. The difference is that this wartime ritual was performed every day at noon, rather than once a year.

Another compulsory daily ritual was Kyūjō Yōhai (宮城遥拝), performed at 7 a.m., in which people faced the direction of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo and bowed deeply in reverence toward the Emperor. By August 1943, wartime regulations had become so intrusive that vehicles were required to stop on roads and streetcar tracks at 7 a.m. and noon while these rituals were performed.

[Translation]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) January 15, 1944

Sacred Prayers for the Heroic Spirits

◇ … Quietly bowing their heads and offering reverent moments of silence, the hearts of the twenty-five million Korean compatriots fly in unison to the battlefronts where the guns are thundering. Now, more than ever, the Korean home front burns with hostility toward the United States and Britain and with the fierce resolve to obey the Imperial command and destroy the enemy.

◇ … At this time today, when we are preparing to send our own sons and younger brothers to the very front lines, everyone on the Korean home front, old and young, men and women alike, whenever passing before the Gokoku Shrine, where the heroic spirits who gave their lives for the nation are enshrined, unfailingly offers a silent prayer of gratitude to those spirits resting in peace, while praying for the everlasting fortunes of the Imperial Forces in battle. Even if they are aboard a streetcar or riding in an automobile, they reverently observe a moment of silence and pledge, with a determination like red-hot iron: “Fight until the enemy is destroyed! Fight until the enemy is destroyed!”

◇ … Truly, for the twenty-five million Korean compatriots to offer their unvarnished, fervent prayers for the enemy nations’ surrender is the sacred embodiment of obeying the Imperial command to destroy the enemy. To carry that spirit into our everyday lives, to devote ourselves completely to a wartime way of life and devote ourselves completely to production as though the enemy were right before us - that is the duty of those on the home front.

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) August 25, 1943

A Great Moment of Silence Pledging to Win the War

100 million people march to take up the spirit of the Founding Fathers of Ancient Japan

When the sirens sound at noon, the city and the countryside immediately stop and become quiet. Workers stop working, pedestrians stop walking, trains and cars stop driving, and everyone inside vehicles stand up in silence for this solemn moment. At this moment, they offer infinite gratitude for the blood-soaked toil of the generals who are fighting valiantly to destroy the United States and Britain on the pathetically brutal front lines. They pray in this moment, "May the heroic souls, who have become the demons of national defense, rest in peace forever". They also make a firm pledge of victory to further increase production capacity and fight hard at their workplaces to win this decisive battle. The silent prayer at noon is a building block of wartime life, and people on the home front should not neglect this holy moment, and they should offer a solemn and pious silent prayer that emanates from their patriotic hearts. [Photo: Silent prayer in a train]

[Transcription]

京城日報　1943年8月25日

必勝誓う大いなる沈黙

肇国の精神を承け一億の進軍

正午のサイレンが響き渡ると一瞬にして街も農村も動かず静かに籠る。職場に挺身する者は仕事を止め、道路を歩行する者はピタリと足をとどめ、電車も自動車も運転を停止して車中の者は静かに此の厳粛なる一刻に起立。凄愴苛烈な前線に思いを致し生死を超越して米英撃滅に勇進力闘している将兵の血のにじむ労苦に無限の感謝を捧げ、「護国の鬼と化した英魂よ、永久に安かれ」と祈念するこの一瞬間。さらにさらに生産力増強に職場に敢闘して断じて決戦を勝ち抜かんとする必勝の誓いを固めるのだ。正午の黙祷は決戦生活の建設であり、戦う銃後国民は一人としてもこの聖なる一刻を忽せにすることなく、愛国の熱い赤心からほどばしり出る厳粛敬虔な黙祷を捧ぐべきである。【写真＝電車内の黙祷】

京城日報 1944年1月15日

英霊に聖なる祈り
◇．．．静かに頭を垂れて敬虔な黙祷を捧げる半島二千五百万同胞心は斉しく砲声轟く戦線に馳せる。いまこそ銃後半島は米英撃滅の敵愾心を燃やして奉詔滅敵の気魄は猛る。
◇．．．我が子我が弟を最前線へ送らんとする今日頃のこの銃後半島は老も若きも男も女も護国の英霊神鎮まる護国神社の前を通るときは必ず静かに眠る英霊に感謝の黙祷を捧げるとともに皇軍の武運長久を祈る。例えそれが電車の中でも自動車の中でも敬虔な黙祷を捧げ”撃ちてし止まむ””撃ちてし止まむ”熱鉄の決意を誓うのだ。
◇．．．真に半島二千五百万同胞の赤裸々な敵国降伏の熱祷を捧げることが奉詔滅敵の聖なる姿であり、その精神を我々の日常生活に生かし敵前生産、戦争生活に徹することが銃後の責務である。

Source: Digital Newspaper Archive, National Library of Korea 

Edit: Corrected "solemn hour" in translation of 1943 article to "solemn moment" (厳粛なる一刻).

In just three hours, Japanese colonial authorities rounded up 466 Seoul residents for black-market trading, sentenced them on the spot, and sent them by streetcar to Seodaemun Prison (July 1945)

This article illustrates an example of the brutal “summary trials” carried out in connection with mass police sweeps against black-market sellers, just one of the ways the authorities in colonial Seoul appear to have been resorting to extraordinarily harsh measures in the streets of Seoul in July 1945 during the last weeks before Imperial Japan's surrender.

Judges and prosecutors left the courthouse and went directly to the sites of the crackdown, backed by plainclothes police. Police rounded up suspected black-market sellers, questioned them at the local police stations, and prosecutors immediately brought charges. Judges then conducted further questioning and handed down sentences on the spot. There was apparently no mercy. According to the article, not a single person was let off with a warning: everyone processed at Dongdaemun Police Station received between six months and one year of imprisonment.

The speed is staggering. The operation began at about 1 p.m. By 4 p.m., 466 people arrested across Seoul had already been sentenced and were being transported by streetcar to the notorious Seodaemun Prison. The entire process (from arrest, to questioning, prosecution, conviction, sentencing, and being sent to prison) took only around 3 hours. It is difficult to imagine how anything resembling a meaningful defense or fair trial could have taken place under such conditions.

The article itself proudly presented this as the first use of this wartime summary-trial procedure anywhere in Korea, made possible by the Wartime Special Criminal Law. About 90 percent of those arrested were women and girls, and the most common goods involved were vegetables.

Unfortunately, substantial portions of the original article have been lost. The newspaper page scanned by the National Library of Korea is extremely badly damaged, with pieces missing from several parts of the page. I previously asked ChatGPT to examine the damage pattern, and its assessment was that rodent gnawing was the most likely cause, based particularly on the curved, scalloped “bite” contours and the way the damage appears to progress inward from several exposed edges of the sheet.

Rodent-gnawed newspaper page from July 3, 1945

What survives, however, gives a remarkable glimpse of just how extreme wartime policing had become in Seoul in the final weeks of Japanese colonial rule.

Japanese colonial propaganda tended to portray black marketeers as greedy profiteers getting rich at the public’s expense. But when you look at the actual cases behind the rhetoric, many seem much more mundane: ordinary people running businesses and trying to buy and sell scarce goods in an economy increasingly strangled by wartime price controls and shortages.

I'm sharing a 1942 article below as one example. Mr. Kunimoto, who ran a restaurant in Yeongdeungpo, bought a bull from a Mr. Jeong for 650 yen and later sold it to a Mr. Yi for 680 yen. In ordinary terms, he made only 30 yen on the transaction. But because the government-fixed maximum price for the animal was 360 yen, the newspaper declares that he had made an “illicit profit” of 320 yen—the difference between the legal ceiling and the price at which he sold it.

Then the story takes a much darker turn. While her husband was being subjected to a “rigorous investigation” by the police, his wife, Gye-jeong, secretly went to the investigating officer’s home. Crying, she begged him to treat her husband leniently. After she left, the officer discovered that she had left behind an envelope containing the enormous sum of 1,000 yen. He reported her, and she was immediately arrested for bribery and detained as well.

Why risk such a desperate measure? As we saw in the July 1945 article, people arrested for black-market offenses could be subjected to extraordinarily rapid prosecution and sent directly to Seodaemun Prison, an institution notorious for the brutal treatment of prisoners. A 1,000-yen bribe was not the action of someone treating the matter as a minor regulatory fine; she apparently believed that something very serious could happen to her husband.

And yet the newspaper has remarkably little sympathy for her. The headline mocks the episode as “A Woman’s Foolish Scheme Fails to Land Her Catch,” while the opening sentence calls her a foolish woman who unsuccessfully tried to “hook” a policeman with money. Her fear and tears become material for ridicule.

That misogynistic tone is something I have started to notice repeatedly in these newspapers. Women—particularly Korean women—are often presented not simply as people behaving badly, but as objects of mockery, scolding, or moral instruction. Other articles attack women for continuing to wear chima or other improper clothing, or chastise women who fail to volunteer for wartime labor as evidence of backwardness or selfishness. 

I'm also sharing a 1941 article below as another example. In this case, the business involved dog pelts. Employees connected with a dog-leather factory bought and sold pelts on the black market rather than supplying them through the channels designated for military use, and the police arrested those involved.

What is particularly striking is how closely part of this story resembles the 1942 case above. Once again, the wife of an arrested man apparently became desperate enough to try bribing the authorities to secure her husband’s release. According to the article, two police officers were each offered 1,000 yen, the same amount that was quoted in the 1942 case.

And again, punishment through humiliation seems to be part of the storytelling. On top of naming and shaming the buyers and sellers, the article ridicules one of the arrested men by quoting him worrying tearfully about his future: with an arrest record like this, how was he ever going to get married?

That detail has little relevance to whether he violated the price-control laws. Its purpose seems to be to make the defendant look pathetic and foolish for the entertainment and moral instruction of the reader. The police investigation becomes almost a cautionary tale: break the economic regulations, and not only will you be arrested, but your name, your family, your embarrassment, and even your fears about your marriage prospects may be printed in the newspaper for everyone to see.

Taken together with the 1942 article, there seems to be a recurring formula here. Wartime economic offenders are labeled as profiteers, their names are publicly exposed, their family members’ desperate attempts to help them are turned into sensational stories, and the defendants themselves are portrayed as ridiculous figures deserving humiliation rather than as ordinary people navigating an increasingly coercive and scarcity-ridden wartime economy.

[Translation]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) July 3, 1945

The Authorities Unleash Their Long-Reserved Powers Against the “Black Market”
Severe Measures: Prison Terms Imposed in Street-Side Summary Trials

Unable to stand by while markets of black-market peddlers disrupting wartime life operated openly in broad daylight, with goods changing hands at prices dozens of times the official rates, the Seoul District Court Prosecutors’ Office has now stepped up enforcement beyond fines and admonitions. For the first time, it invoked the Wartime Special Criminal Law on the spot. On July 2nd, judges and prosecutors took to the streets, conducted a severe mass roundup, and through summary proceedings sent the offenders directly to prison from the scene. Similar mass roundups will continue in waves, with the aim of wiping out the black market and securing a sound food supply for the people.

At 1 p.m. that day, judges and prosecutors deployed to several black markets within Seoul, and with the assistance of plainclothes police officers swept up the offenders en masse. After questioning at the respective police stations, sentences were pronounced on the spot. By 4 p.m., 127 persons from the Dongdaemun Police Station district, 65 persons from Seodaemun, 45 persons from Seongdong, 76 persons from Honmachi, 80 persons from Mapo, and 73 persons from Seongbuk had been taken by streetcar to Seodaemun Prison.

As many as ninety percent of the offenders were women and girls, and vegetables made up the largest share of the goods involved. At Dongdaemun Police Station, where the disposition of the offenders could be observed, police officers first conducted questioning. The visiting prosecutors Yamaguchi and Terazawa then reinvestigated the cases together with other officials and immediately filed charges. Judges Aihara and Iijima conducted still more rigorous questioning. Not a single offender was disposed of with merely an admonition; all were sentenced to prison terms ranging from a minimum of six months to a maximum of one year and were immediately taken away under guard. This was, in one respect . . .

First Use of the Measure Anywhere in Korea
Explanation of the Summary Trials

With the aim of eradicating black-market activity that is eating away at the home front, the mass crackdown carried out this time by the Seoul District Court Prosecutors’ Office featured, for the first time, summary trials under the Wartime Special Criminal Law at each enforcement site. Black-market offenders were sentenced at the police stations and immediately sent to prison.

These summary proceedings dispense with a formal trial and judgment in a courtroom and instead allow a judge, after reviewing the case in writing, to order the sentence carried out by summary order. Previously, this procedure had been applied to minor offenses punishable by fines and petty fees. Under the Wartime Special Criminal Law promulgated in March 1943, however, it was made applicable even where a prison sentence of less than one year was imposed. This crackdown marked the first time that this procedure had been invoked. It was also the first occasion anywhere in the Korean judicial system on which judges themselves went to the enforcement sites and issued summary orders there.

Crackdown to Continue . . .

The acts of black-market dealers constitute violations of the Enterprise Licensing Ordinance as well as the Price and Related Controls Ordinance. The former is punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment, while the latter is punishable by up to ten years’ imprisonment ...

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) July 24, 1942

A Woman’s Foolish Scheme Fails to Land Her Catch
A 1,000-Yen Bribe in a Plea for Mercy for Her Husband

There was a foolish woman who tried—and failed—to hook a police officer with the hefty sum of 1,000 yen.

Kunimoto Toshiaki, 46 years old, who operated an eating establishment at 106 Yeongdeungpo, Yangpyeong-dong, purchased a bull on March 15 from Cheong Yun-hwan (정윤환, 鄭允煥) of 132 Yanghwa-dong for 650 yen, although its officially fixed maximum price was 360 yen. On the 25th of the same month, he sold it to Yi Hak-sun (이학순, 李學順) of 121 Yangpyeong-dong for 680 yen, thereby making an illicit profit of 320 yen. The matter came to light at Yeongdeungpo Police Station. As he is suspected of having committed additional offenses, he is currently undergoing a rigorous investigation by Mr. Moriyama, an officer of the Economic Section.

One night, however, Kunimoto’s wife, Gye-jeong (계정, 桂貞), 36 years old, secretly visited Policeman Moriyama at his private residence. In tears, she pleaded, “If you would show particular leniency toward my husband for what he has done, I would never forget your kindness for as long as I live…” and then departed.

After she had gone, Moriyama discovered a thick envelope. When he opened it, he found that it contained 1,000 yen in a crisp stack of banknotes. Startled, Moriyama reported the matter to Chief Ishikawa the following morning. Gye-jeong was immediately arrested on a charge of bribery and detained at the police station.

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) May 18, 1941

A 1,000-Yen Bribe Hidden Beneath a Seat Cushion
Luck Runs Out at Last for a Gang of Three

[Cheongju] The trial of Takemoto Hiroshi, 45 years old, Kimura Takeo, 20 years old, and Nishihara Taizan, 20 years old, all of Yoshino-chō, Seoul, on charges of violating the Price Control Ordinance and bribery opened at 2 p.m. on May 13th in the courtroom of the Cheongju Branch Court, before Judge Nishiyama, with Prosecutor Mōri in attendance. After about an hour of examination of the facts, Prosecutor Mōri delivered a severe closing argument, seeking a fine of 80 yen for Takemoto, eight months’ imprisonment and a fine of 100 yen for Kimura, and six months’ imprisonment for Nishihara. Defense counsel Iwakiri then presented his argument, and the court adjourned at 3:30 p.m. Sentencing was set for the 16th...

The details of the case were as follows. Kimura was employed as a clerk at a leather factory in Sinseol-dong, Seoul, operated by his brother-in-law Takemoto. In July of last year, he purchased from a certain man surnamed Im (임, 林), of 138 Nambu-chō, Suwon-eup, 214 large dog pelts at two yen each and 66 small dog pelts at one yen 80 sen each, a total of 280 pelts, for 546 yen 80 sen. Instead of supplying them to the military, he resold them to Kim Myeong-su (김명수, 金明洙) of Chuncheon, Gangwon Province.

Then, on March 28 of this year, two workers from the same factory, Kiyomoto Dong-su (동수, 東洙) and Kunimoto Heung-ryeon (흥련, 興連), were arrested at the Shunkyō Inn in Gwancheol-dong in connection with another case by Detectives Itō and Shigeyama of Eumseong Police Station. After witnessing the arrests, Kimura received 2,700 yen from Kiyomoto’s wife, Su-myeong (수명, 壽明), as money to use in securing their release. Together with Nishihara Taizan, he followed the two police officers and arrived in Eumseong on the 29th.

The pair checked into the Toyofuku Inn. At about nine o’clock that night, after discussing what to do, Kimura and Nishihara visited Detective Shigeyama and slipped 1,000 yen beneath the seat cushion on which he was sitting. They then went directly to Detective Itō and, using the same method, placed another 1,000 yen beneath his bedding. After this foolish attempt at bribery, they returned to their inn. The next morning, however, the two officers discovered the respective bundles of banknotes while straightening their bedding. Kimura and Nishihara were immediately arrested that same morning...

After the prosecutor had finished his closing argument, Judge Nishiyama asked the defendants, “Do you have anything to say?” Takemoto and Nishihara merely hung their heads, but Kimura straightened himself and said, “As you know, I am an unmarried man. I can endure the hardship of going to prison, but who will give his daughter in marriage to a man with a criminal record? That is the one thing I cannot bear to think about.” He then broke down in tears.

[Transcription]

京城日報 1945年7月3日

『闇』を撃つ伝家の実力
峻烈、街頭裁判で体刑処分

戦時生活を乱す闇行商の市場が白昼公然と開かれ公定価より数十倍の高値で取引されるのを黙視出来ず京城地方法院検事局では罰金、説諭から今度は取締りを強化して初の戦時刑特別法の現地発動をなし二日判検事が街頭に進出して峻烈なる一斉検挙を行い即決裁判を以て其場から送監した。今後も一斉検挙を波状的に実施し闇の一掃を期し明るい国民食生活を確保する。

此日午後一時、京城府内数ヶ所の闇市場に出動した判、検事は私服警察官の応援を得て一網打尽し、各署で取調の上其場で刑の執行を宣言。之等現行犯は午後四時迄に東大門署管内百二十七名、西大門署六十五名、城東署四十五名、本町署七十六名、麻浦署八十名、城北署七十三名を電車で西大門刑務所に送った。

此違反者は九割までが婦女子、品物は蔬菜が一番多く犯罪者の処断を東大門署に見ると一先ず警察官が取り調べ出張の山口、寺澤両検事が他の係官と共に再調査、直に起訴。相原、飯島両判事が更に厳密な取り調べを行い一人の説諭処分もなく全部を最低六ヶ月、最高一ヶ年の体刑処分が言い渡され即時押送した。之は一面．．．

全鮮初の発動
即決裁判の解説

銃後を蝕む闇行為の剿滅を期し、今回京城地方法院検事局が行った一斉取締には戦時刑特別法による初の即決裁判が各現場で行われ、闇行為者は警察署で刑に服し直に送監された。之は法廷に於ける公判、判決を略し書面審議により判事の略式命令で刑の執行を宣する即決裁判。従来罰金、科料等軽微な犯罪に対して適用されていたが、昭和十八年三月公布の戦時刑特別法により体刑一年未満の場合にも適用することとなり、今回が初の発動であり、判事の現場進出による略式命令は全鮮司法界初めての事でもある。

今後も続行．．．

闇商人の行為は企業許可令違反並びに価格等統制令違反にかかり前者は懲役二年以下、後者は懲役十年以下に処せられる。

京城日報 1942年7月24日

釣り損じた女の浅智恵
夫の命乞いに一千円贈賄

大枚一千円で警察官を釣ろうとして失敗した浅墓な女がある。

永登浦楊坪町一〇六飲食店営業国本俊明（四六）は去る三月十五日楊花町一三二鄭允煥から牡牛一頭（公定最高価格三百六十円）を六百五十円で買受け同二十五日楊坪町一二一李學順に六百八十円で売却し結局三百二十円の不正利得をしたことが永登浦署に発覚。余罪もある見込みで目下森山経済係員の手で厳重取調べ中であるが、国本の妻桂貞（三六）は或る夜秘かに森山巡査の私宅を訪れ『夫の犯行に対し特に寛大な処置をして戴ければその恩は死んで忘れませんから．．．』と涙と共に懇願して立ち去ったが彼女が帰った後で中味の厚い封筒を見つけ開いてみると手の切れるような札束で金千円が封入されてあったので森山巡査は驚いて翌朝石川主任にその旨報告したので桂貞も直ちに贈賄罪として検挙そのまま同署へ留置された。

京城日報 1941年5月18日

座蒲団の下に千円の贈賄
悪運つき三人組遂に挙る

【清州】京城府吉野町武本寛（四五）、木村武雄（二〇）、西原泰山（二〇）の三名にかかる価格統制令違反及贈賄事件の公判は去る十三日午後二時より清州支庁法廷で西山判事係毛利検事立会の上開廷。約一時間に亘る事実審理ののち毛利検事より峻烈な論告があり武本は罰金八十円、木村は懲役八ヶ月及び罰金百円、西原は懲役六ヶ月を夫々求刑。

岩切弁護士の弁論が行われ同三時半閉廷したが判決言渡しは来る十六日．．．

因に事件の内容：木村は義兄武本が経営している京城府新設町皮革工場書記として雇われているうち昨年七月水原邑南部町一三八林某から犬皮（大）一枚につき二円ずつ二百十四枚、同（小）一枚に付一円八十銭ずつ六十六枚計二百八十枚を五百四十六円八十銭で買い入れて軍部に納めず江原道春川邑金明洙に買い飛ばしたほか、本年三月二十八日同工場職工清本東洙及び国本興連の両名が貫鉄町春興旅館で某事件のため陰城警察署伊藤、茂山両刑事に逮捕されたのを見て清本の妻壽明より金二千七百円を運動費として貰い西原泰山と共に前記の両巡査を尾行して二十九日来陰。

当地の豊福旅館に投宿し同夜九時頃木村、西原の両名は種々協議の上、茂山巡査を訪問して金一千円を自分の敷いている座蒲団の下に入れ、その足で伊藤巡査を尋ねて同様手段で敷蒲団の下に又も一千円を入れて浅墓な贈賄を企て宿へ帰ったが、右両巡査は翌朝寝具の整理中それぞれ件の札束を発見。同朝直ちにこれ等二名を逮捕したものである．．．

検事の論告が終って西原判事が被告等に向い”何かいうことはないか”と問えば武本、西原両名はうなだれているばかりであったが、木村は姿勢を正して”私は御承知の通り未婚者であります。懲役に行って苦労するのは辛抱出来ますが、前科者に誰が娘をくれるでしょうか。ただこれだけが残念でたまりません”と泣きくずれていた。

Source: Digital Newspaper Archive, National Library of Korea