Smiling Korean family gives “profound thanks” to Governor Abe Nobuyuki for increasing their rice rations, vowing to repay his “parental concern” with increased production for Imperial Japan’s war effort (August 18, 1944)

 

This propaganda news photo, published in August 1944, shows a Korean family beaming with happiness and expressing gratitude to the newly installed Governor-General Abe Nobuyuki for increasing their rice rations. The accompanying articles show how a totalitarian regime used scarce food supplies as a political tool to manufacture support for Abe, who had assumed office as the colonial ruler of Korea only a month earlier, in July 1944. By increasing rice rations at the outset of Abe’s tenure, the regime appears to have hoped to give his administration a strong start by pairing fuller stomachs with heightened public goodwill.

Han Sang-ryong (한상룡, 韓相龍), a prominent Korean collaborator and head of the League of Mobilization in Korea, the regime’s single ruling political party in colonial Korea, is featured urging Koreans to support Governor-General Abe and repay his favor by “increasing production” for Imperial Japan’s war effort.

Han also praises Takenaga, a Korean collaborator appointed by Abe as Director of the Academic Affairs Bureau, presenting that appointment as proof that Abe understood the Korean people. Takenaga appears to have come from a privileged background, judging from his address in Gahoe-dong, an area traditionally associated with the yangban elite. His daughter-in-law invokes the story of the samurai Shima Kiyooki, who entered the service of the warlord Ishida Mitsunari during Japan’s Sengoku period, and presents it as a model for Koreans to follow in devoting themselves to their new Governor-General.

[Translation]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) August 19, 1944

“Come on, little one, put your hands together and give thanks”
The Nagata family bursts into happy cheers

“Little one, we are going to get more rice.”

“Yes, Mother? Really? That makes me so happy!”

At supper time on the eighteenth, bright smiles were already gathering around dinner tables in households across Korea, as the cheerful news of extra rice rations gladdened one family after another.

“We heard it just a little while ago on the radio news. I am truly grateful. I was just telling the children about it now,” said Mrs. Kin Nagata, wife of Masanobu Nagata. The Nagata family lives at 1-104, Asahi-machi, Seoul.

“I think children nowadays know far too little about how precious it is to receive rice. People in the old days were taught to say itadakimasu with a heart that truly bowed in gratitude, and they naturally came to feel that way as well.”

With gratitude for rice itself, Mrs. Nagata also expressed thanks for this increase in rations.

“For families like ours with many children, this increase in rations will be an enormous blessing, and that truly makes me happy. I was just saying to my husband that the best way to repay this favor, for the time being, is to work diligently every single day.”

The bright atmosphere continued to envelop the whole family, and from that cheerful feeling there seemed to well up a fresh strength: "Now, on to greater production!" And this bright feeling was not confined to that one household alone. All at once it burst forth in Korea’s cities, farming villages, and fishing villages alike. On the eighteenth, the fighting Korea peninsula rejoiced and shouted with delight like soldiers who have just received a resupply of ammunition, and its determination to increase production burned more fiercely than ever.

[Photo: the cheerful evening meal at the Nagata home]

Words alone cannot express this parental concern!
Bow your head before the blood and sweat of the farmers!
Statement by Director-General Han Sang-ryong (한상룡, 韓相龍)

This decision to increase each person’s rice ration is due entirely to the warm parental concern of our new Governor-General Abe Nobuyuki. We, the twenty-six million compatriots of the Korean peninsula, are filled with emotion and offer our heartfelt gratitude.

In these fierce final battles, if we are to win at all costs, both the strengthening of productive war power and the raising of fighting spirit depend first of all on the people not going hungry. Of course, to fight through to the end, we must endure many hardships. But as I recently traveled through cities and regions across Korea, what I most often heard from people of every social class was concern over the food problem.

The new Governor-General understood the problem well and implemented the increased rations. The amount may be small, but even so, increasing food rations under these conditions of decisive war is extremely difficult. Yet he did so out of deep concern for the Korean people. We must therefore give profound thanks for the Governor-General’s compassionate parental concern, and at the same time bow our heads deeply before the blood-and-sweat efforts of the farmers.

Since taking office, the new Governor-General has one after another carried out benevolent policies for us, the Korean people, and this is truly moving for the Korean peninsula at war.

His strong parental concern has manifested in many areas, beginning with the appointment of a Korean as Director of the Academic Affairs Bureau. This shows that he has understood well the hearts of the Korean people. From this point on, while giving thanks for the Governor-General’s parental concern, we must devote that gratitude wholeheartedly to strengthening production, endure hardship and want, and press forward toward the completion of the Holy War.

A major effect on labor power
Statement by Dr. Itō, Director of Seoul Imperial University Hospital

This is above all else a gift from the new Governor-General, one that answers the surging spirit of the home front, newly resolved to win the decisive battle.

Under the absolute and supreme demand for increased production, the foundation of everything is labor power, and labor power is, after all, energy. The source of energy is calories. I believe that the calories contained in this increase in rations will have no small effect on production.

From a medical and health standpoint alone, I as a student of medicine cannot but feel deeply grateful. But psychologically the effect is even greater. We consumers should take this occasion to renew our sincere gratitude to the farmers. At the same time, we must not think of the calories in the added rations as merely so many calories. We must reflect on all the hardship, affection, and sacrifice contained within them, and pour our whole strength into efforts for increased production many times greater.

The story of Ishida Mitsunari comes to mind
Let Shima Kiyooki’s emotion become our emotion!

Mr. Takenaga is Director of the Academic Affairs Bureau. A Korean native, he has been selected as the second holder of that post. His home in 33-16 Gahoe-dong, Seoul, is overflowing with joy as we hear someone cry “Banzai, Father!” But amid this further good news of “increased food rations,” the one who narrows her eyes with emotion as she speaks is Yasuyo, wife of his eldest son Yukichi.

“The parental concern of Governor-General Abe moves me to tears. All Koreans must all have felt profound emotion. It reminds me of an old story.

Ishida Mitsunari repeatedly showed every courtesy in trying to recruit Shima Kiyooki, but Shima would not agree. Even so, Ishida kept persistently visiting him. When Shima finally asked, ‘What, exactly, would my stipend be?’ Ishida answered, ‘Twenty thousand koku of rice.’ Shima was astonished. At the time, Ishida held only forty thousand koku of rice in Minakuchi, Ōmi Province, so that...”

[text missing in scanned newspaper page]

“...just as Shima devoted his loyalty to Ishida, I believe that the sincere loyalty of our Korean compatriots will blaze up no less, indeed even more. Agricultural warriors too, in order to repay the Governor-General’s great love, will surely strike sparks from the tips of their hoes, determined to increase production by at least the total amount of the added rations. The black market too will naturally disappear.

As for me, as the housewife in this household, even if it means reducing my sleeping hours, I intend to make every effort in the kitchen and in household management generally, so as to repay the Governor-General’s parental concern.”

Let us save the extra rice!
Statement by Seoul Mayor Furuichi

Thanks to the Governor-General’s warm parental concern, rice rations will be increased from September onward. This autumn, as the fortunes of war grow ever more critical, all those on the home front who receive this favor must equally turn their thoughts to the farming villages and the battlefront, firmly resolve with deep gratitude that they will shoulder the strengthening of the home-front war effort, and receive every single grain with thanks.

And yet among the city’s residents there are still many ill-disciplined persons who support “ghost populations” or skim off rice specially allotted to factory workers and other industrial warriors. At this juncture, such practices must be cast aside. Calling on the residents to establish an honest life based on rationed rice and to fight through to the end, Mr. Furuichi, mayor of Seoul and steward of this great household of 1.2 million people, appealed to the citizens as follows:

“Our soldiers at the front dig up grass roots and pluck tree buds, eating anything edible while fighting and meeting the enemy through self-sufficiency. Meanwhile, the farmers, resisting harsh natural conditions and overcoming fertilizer shortages, are devoting their precious blood and sweat to increasing production.

This autumn, we on the home front are to receive extra rice through the warm solicitude of His Excellency the Governor-General. Along with offering deep gratitude to the farming villages, we must remember the hardships of the officers and men at the front, and though...”

[text missing in scanned newspaper page]

“...as always, there will still be people who complain that their stomachs are empty. But this rice is precious. If possible, I would like people to store the added rice away and be prepared to use it as emergency defensive food in the event of some sudden contingency.

And as for ghost populations, if, even in the face of this parental concern shown by His Excellency the Governor-General...”

[text missing in scanned newspaper page]

“...those who still maintain ghost populations, ignoring the authorities’ concern to let people eat even a little more, will be dealt with firmly. I want all 1.2 million city residents to receive each and every grain of the increased ration with heartfelt gratitude.”

This is the pride of the farmer
We will strive still harder for even greater allotments
Statement by Supervisor Ide

As the vanguard of food supply and demand, taking up the plow and hoe with his own hands and treading the morning dew, Korean farmers...

[text missing in scanned newspaper page]

We asked Takayoshi Ide, agricultural leader and supervisor at the Oriental Development Company Agricultural Training Institute, for his comments regarding the appropriate increase in food rations to be implemented from September 1.

“Even if the amount of the increase is not necessarily large, it is only natural that farmers today must rouse themselves and exert themselves still more than before. For our part, for the sake of preserving the reputation of Korea as the granary of the Empire, and in response to Governor-General Abe’s parental concern, we are resolved to throw ourselves into securing and supplying food at all costs and to display the true worth of the farmer in strengthening productive war power. When all is said and done, increased yield begins first with building up the strength of the soil. For that purpose, increased production of compost...”

[text missing in scanned newspaper page]

[Transcription]

京城日報 1944年8月19日
坊や合掌していただきましょうね
可愛い歓声に湧く永田さん一家

『坊や、ご飯が多くなりますのよ』
『ええ、お母さん、それは本当、嬉しいなあー』
十八日の夕食どき全鮮の家庭には早くも明るい笑顔が食膳を囲み朗らかなお米の加配ニュースで一家を潤すのだった。
『先刻ラジオのニュースで知りました。本当に有難いと思っています。恰度いま子供達へ話している處です』と京城府旭町一丁目一〇四永田正信氏夫人キンさんは朗らかに語るのだった。
『いまの子供達は御飯を戴くことがどんなに有難いかということを余り知らなさすぎると思うのです。昔の人達は”戴きます”と心から拝む気持で戴くものと教えられ、また自然にそうした気持になったものです』と夫人は米に対する感謝と共に今度の加配に感謝するのだった。
『子供を多く持つ私達のような家庭がこの加配の恩恵をどんなに多く蒙るかと思えば本当に嬉しゅうございます。いまも主人と話したのですが、この恩恵に何をもって酬いるか、差し当たって毎日毎日を精出して働くことが一番だと思います』と夫人は語り終った。
明るい雰囲気はいつまでも、いつまでも一家を包み、この明るい気持ちで、さあ増産だとむくむくと湧く力を感じさせるのだった。この明るい気持はこの家庭ばかりではない。俄然全鮮の都市に農村に漁村に爆発し十八日の戦う半島は弾丸の補給を受けたときの兵隊さんのように喜び歓声を挙げ増産への意欲をいやが上にも燃えたたせたのである。【写真＝永田氏宅の明るい夕食】

言葉なしこの親心
農民の血と汗に頭を下げよ
韓総長談

このたび一人宛の配給米が増配になることは、これ偏に阿部新総督の温かい親心によるもので私達半島二千六百万同胞は感激にたえぬとともに心から感謝の意を捧げるものである。苛烈な決戦下にあって断じて勝ち抜くための生産戦力増強も戦意の昂揚もまず国民の腹が減っていては所期の目的を達することは出来ない。もとより戦い抜くためには幾多の不自由を忍ばなければならぬが、私は最近全鮮の各都市地方を廻ってみて各階層の人々からよく耳にすることは多くは食糧問題であった。
ところが新総督は赴任早々この問題をよく諒解され増配を実施されたのである。たとえその量は僅かとはいえど、食糧増配はこの決戦下、非常に困難が伴うのにも拘わらず我々半島民衆の心を思うのあまり増配されたのであって、我々はこの有難い総督の情ある親心をあつく感謝するとともに農民の血と汗の努力に深く頭を下げねばならない。新総督は着任以来、我々半島民衆のため次々と善政をほどこされることは戦う半島のため洵に感激にたえない。
半島人の学務局長登用をはじめ各方面に強い親心が現れていることは半島民衆の心をよく把握されている結果である。この上は総督の親心を感謝するとともに、その感謝の心を一意生産増強にうち込み困苦欠乏に耐え忍んで聖戦完遂に邁進せねばならぬ。

労力に影響大
伊藤城大病院長談

心気新に決戦を勝ち取ろうとする銃後人心の澎湃たる意気に副うた新総督の何よりの贈り物だ。増産の絶対最高の要請下にその根底を成す労働力はとりもなおさずエネルギーだ。エネルギーの源泉はカロリーだが、今度の増配分に含まれたカロリーの分量が増産の上に及ぼす影響は少なからざるものがあると信ずる。消極的には保健的見地からも一医学徒として感謝に堪えないが、更に心理的にはなお大きなものがある。われわれ消費者はこれを機会に改めて農民に感謝の誠を捧げると共に増配分のカロリー量がもたらすエネルギーを単にそれだけのカロリーと思わず、それに籠められたありとあらゆる辛苦、愛情、犠牲に思いを寄せて数層倍の増産に渾身の努力を傾倒せねばならない。

思い起こす石田三成の話
島清興の感激を私達の感激に

”おとうさん、万歳”と半島出身として二代目の学務局長の白矢を射あてた武永学務局長の京城の嘉会町三三ノ一六のお宅は喜びに沸き返っているが更に”食糧増配”という度かさなる朗報に目を細めて感激を語るのは長男諭佶氏の夫人安代さんである。
阿部総督閣下の親心には只目頭が熱くなるばかりです。全半島同胞が大いなる感激を受けたでしょう。昔話が思い出されます。
石田三成が島清興を召抱えようと再三、礼を尽くしたが、ウンといわない。それでも石田は根強く島を訪れるので”一体禄はいくらか”との問いに対し”二万”といいだしたので島はびっくりした。当時石田は近江水国四万石を領していたので、その．．．

．．．島が石田に忠誠をつくしたと同様に、いやそれ以上に半島同胞の赤誠は燃えあがると信じます。農業戦士も総督さんの大愛に報い奉ために少なくとも増配総数量だけは増産しようと鍬先に火花を散らすに違いないでしょう。また闇も自然に消滅するでしょう。私も一家の主婦として睡眠時間を減らしても台所を始め家政の万全を図って総督閣下の親心に報いるつもりです。

増配米は貯えよう
古市府尹

総督さんの温かい親心で九月からお米が増配される。戦機ますます熟するこの秋、銃後にあってこの恩恵を蒙る者は均しく思いを農村、戦地に走せ、深い感謝と必ず銃後の戦力増強は引き受けたの決意を固め、その一粒一粒を有難く頂かねばならぬ。それなのに府民のなかにはまだ幽霊人口を養ったり工場その他の産業戦士に特配されているお米の上前をはねたりする不心得者が多いが、この際これを一擲し明朗な配給米生活を確立し戦い抜こうと、百二十万の大世帯を預かる古井京城府尹は府民に対し次の如く呼びかけた。

戦地の兵隊さん達は草の根を掘り木の芽をつんで食べるものならなんでもと戦いながら自給自足で敵を邀へ撃っている。一方お百姓は自然の悪条件に抗し、肥料不足を乗り切って増産に尊い血と汗を捧げている。

この秋銃後にあるわれわれが総督閣下の温かい心尽くしでお米の加配を頂くことになったが、農村へ深い感謝を捧げるとともに戦地の将兵の労苦を偲び、その．．．相変わらずお腹が空くといったような我儘も出てくるものだが、大切なお米である。出来るならば増配のお米は貯えて置き、一朝有事の防衛食糧とする心構えもあって欲しい。

また幽霊人口であるが今回の総督閣下の親心にし．．．少しでも余計に食べさせたいという当局の親心を無視して相変わらず幽霊人口を擁する者は、断乎とした処置に出るつもりだ。百二十万府民は増配の一粒一粒に真心から感謝の念を以って頂いて貰い度い。

これ農民の誇り
更に加配へ頑張る
井手主事

食糧需給の尖兵として自らが鋤鍬を取り朝露を踏んで半島農民の第．．．東拓農業錬成所主事井手高義氏に九月一日から実施する食糧の適当量の加配について農業指導者の言葉をきく。

加配の量は必ずしも多くはなくとも農民は今日よりより一層の奮起と努力が要ることは当然なことであるが、私達は穀倉半島の名誉と阿部総督の親心に対し断じて食糧の確保需給に挺身し生産戦力の増強に農民本来の面目を発揮する覚悟である。増収は何といっても先ず地力を作ることだ。そのためには堆肥の増産．．．

Source: Digital Newspaper Archive, National Library of Korea

“Think of Koiso as your father”, Governor-General Koiso tells Korean conscripts as they are sent off to war (Jan 1944)

Governor-General Koiso, the colonial ruler of Korea from 1942 to 1944, appears in a quintessentially authoritarian strongman photo montage in this January 28, 1944 Keijō Nippo article. In the main photograph Koiso speaks with a stern expression as the self-styled “benevolent father of Korea,” while rows of Korean conscript students sit on the floor listening intently and following his every word. Their faces would gush with emotion as he welcomes them to "think of Koiso as your father", according to this propaganda article.

These students had just completed a two-week training program at the First Army Volunteer Training Center in Nohae-myeon, and Koiso had arrived to deliver a motivational send-off speech before they were dispatched to wartime labor and production sites. He had already addressed the same group at the start of their training program two weeks earlier (covered in a January 16, 1944 article that I posted separately).

Koiso’s speech is saturated with ideological language drawn from State Shinto and wartime imperial doctrine. He invokes the “True Meaning of the National Polity” (国体本義), references the “Three Divine Edicts and the Divine-Human Shrine,” and urges the conscripts to embody what he calls the “Himorogi Spirit.” These ideas reflected Koiso’s belief that Koreans could rediscover their supposed “true selves” through participation in Shinto ritual and the study of Japanese mytho-historical texts such as the Nihon Shoki. According to Koiso, Koreans’ ancient ancestors were actually Japanese, and reconnecting with these roots would allow them to transcend their present identity and unify with the Japanese nation. He described this transformation as becoming fully “penetrated with the True Meaning of the National Body” (国体本義の透徹), a concept promoted by his favored Kokugaku scholar and Shinto spiritual leader, Master Imaizumi. Koiso elaborated on these ideas in greater detail in the speech he gave at the conscripts’ induction ceremony on January 15.

The articlethe January 16 article identifies the training center as being located in Nohae-myeon in Goyang County, but the January 16 article describing the induction ceremony places Nohae-myeon in Yangju County. Since Goyang and Yangju were adjacent districts at the time, it is possible that the township lay near the county boundary or that administrative reporting differed between sources.

[Translation]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijō Nippo) January 28, 1944

Devote All Efforts to Increased Production
Governor-General Speaks to Conscripted Students
Departure Ceremony for Conscripted Student Trainees

The second group of conscripted students, who entered the First Army Volunteer Training Center in Nohae-myeon (노해면, 盧海面), Goyang County (고양군, 高陽郡) — the cradle of Korean volunteer soldiers — on January 15th, completed their two-week training program. On the morning of January 28th at 11 a.m., a departure ceremony was held in the training center’s small auditorium in the presence of Governor-General Koiso.

On that day, Governor-General Koiso, accompanied by Secretary Kobayashi and Director of Educational Affairs Ōno, returned the salutes of Director Kaida, instructors, and the conscripted students who lined up to welcome him at the entrance. He first withdrew to a separate room, where he received a report from Director Kaida regarding the overall situation of the special training given to the students. As he headed to the departure ceremony, he offered words of fatherly concern to those responsible for leading the students directly to their decisive battle workplaces after departing the center — speaking as the benevolent father of Korea, with heartfelt consideration for the sons who would set out.

Although the training period had been only two short weeks, under the devoted guidance of the director and instructors, combined with the conscripted students’ own single-minded dedication to the Imperial Way, the faces of the several hundred student conscript warriors lined up at the center of the hall bore a tightness and discipline entirely different from that seen at the entrance ceremony two weeks earlier. The ceremony began with the national rites.

The director took the podium and declared:

“Since entering, you have generally observed the regulations of this training center well, and the results are worthy of great commendation. This brings joy for the sake of the Imperial nation. However, it is deeply regrettable that there remains room for further reflection and effort in the matter of practical execution. This is due to the insufficiency of my own virtue and shortcomings in guidance, for which I feel profound responsibility. The workplaces to which you now go lead directly to the decisive battlefield. You must give thought to this, devote yourselves fully to your mission as conscripted warriors, empty yourselves in the sacred duties entrusted to you, and offer your utmost in order to set His Majesty’s sacred mind at ease.”

Following this address, Governor-General Koiso quietly stepped onto the platform.

Immediately after the entrance ceremony on January 15th, he had come to explain the True Meaning of the National Body and to expound at length upon the establishment of a Righteous Korea based upon the philosophy of the Three Divine Edicts and the Divine-Human Shrine. At that time he had promised, “If I have the opportunity again, I will return once more while you are here.” True to his word, he now appeared again before the conscripted students during their stay.

As usual, his eyes filled with a gentle, paternal radiance, he gazed upon the assembled students for a moment and said:

“Seeing how your gaze and bearing differ from two weeks ago fills me with heartfelt satisfaction. For this I thank the director and instructors. At the entrance ceremony, I gave you an address, but in the rush of that occasion you may not have been fully prepared to listen with open and unclouded minds, and perhaps not all of what I said penetrated. I shall not repeat it. However, there is one thing I wish to say.

“Korea, in both human and material resources, occupies an exceedingly important position in winning this Holy War. Therefore, Korea must exert its full strength in accordance with the Sacred Will. In the future, conscription will be implemented for certain age groups, and even company presidents and key executives deemed important will be conscripted, renewing their spirit and pressing forward in increased production. You who have been conscripted are distinct from those conscripted in general. If you, as conscripted warriors, grounded in the True Meaning of the National Body, are unable to advance where you ought to advance, then it would be difficult to expect much from others who differ from you.

“Your conscription period is set at two years. However, if you conduct yourselves admirably at your workplaces, I have requested that you be entrusted with responsible positions, regardless of whether you are conscripted or not.

“In the case of the first group of conscripted students, because the date of receiving their conscription notices was pressing, they were granted leave after departure. You, however, will proceed directly to your workplaces. If any of you have circumstances requiring you to return home, your company will grant leave directly. It is your own responsibility to communicate properly with your families and spare them anxiety.

“Clearly understand that a portion of the responsibility for the quality of your future efforts rests also upon me, Koiso. When I tour the various provinces, there may be opportunities for me to meet you personally at your worksites.”

At this point he lowered his voice and said with deep feeling:

“If you wish, think of Koiso as your father. You may depend on your father — but think of him also as a father who at times speaks sternly.”

A wave of emotion passed across the faces of the students. The Governor-General continued in a gentle tone, offering considerate advice regarding their future lives.

“When you begin practical work, you will keenly feel how different it is from the academic theory you have studied until now. When you encounter men of strength who have come down from the mountains, you may feel your own strength to be lacking. Yet strive to be superior in spirit. Finally, what I wish to say is this: as I told you at the entrance ceremony, you must uphold the ‘Himorogi spirit’ as a conviction of the Japanese man and never forget it. Always rise to the forefront, bearing this Himorogi spirit, and press forward.”

Thus, on the day their training concluded, the Governor-General once again emphasized the “Himorogi spirit,” exhorting these sons as they set out for their decisive battle workplaces.

Then, on behalf of the conscripted students, Mr. Toshikawa Kikō delivered a fervent reply:

“We shall, without fail, work splendidly in accordance with the words of His Excellency the Governor-General!”

The ceremony concluded at 11 a.m. with the group singing “Umi Yukaba.”

[Photo: Departure ceremony for conscripted student trainees — Governor-General Koiso speaking fervently]

[Transcription]

京城日報 1944年1月28日

増産に全力を尽くせ
総督、徴用学徒に説く
徴用学徒退所式

半島志願兵揺籃の地―高陽郡盧海面第一陸軍志願兵訓練所に十五日入所した。第二次徴用学徒は二週間の錬成過程を終えて二十八日午前十一時から同訓練所小講堂で小磯総督臨席の下に退所式を挙行した。

この日小磯総督は小林秘書官、大野学務局長を伴い玄関まで堵列して迎える海田所長以下教授、教官を初め徴用学徒に挙手の礼を返しつつ、ひと先ず別室に入り、海田所長から徴用学徒に対する特別訓練一般状況に関し聴取。退所後徴用学徒を直ちに決戦職場へ引率する関係者に半島の慈父として赴く子の上に馳せる思いやりのある慈しみ溢れる注意を与えて退所式場に臨んだ。

二週間の僅かな錬成機関ではあったが、所長以下教授、教官の懇切な指導の下に徴用学徒自身の皇民道に対するひたむきな精進とが相俟って、式場の中央に整列した〇〇〇名の学徒徴用戦士の面には二週間前の入所式当時とは間違えるように引き緊まりが漂い、式は国民儀礼に始まった。所長登壇して、

『入所以来概してよく本訓練所の諸規定を遵守、その成果は大いに見るべきものがあり、皇国のため欣快とするところである。実行力に於いてもう一層の反省と努力の存するを認めることは甚だ遺憾である。これは所長自らの徳の足らざるところで指導のよろしきを得ない点があり、自責の念にかられる次第である。諸子の今から就く職場は決戦場に直接通ずる。諸子はよろしくここに思いを致し徴用戦士としての使命に徹し、与えられた神聖なる職務に己を空しうして挺身もって聖慮を安んじ奉らねばならない』旨の訓示があって、引続き小磯総督は静かに歩を壇上に運ぶ。

去る十五日入所式直後、来所して国体の本義を説き、道義朝鮮の確立を三神勅と人神殿の哲理に基礎づけて諄々と解明した総督は、その日”再び機会を得れば諸子在所中にもう一度来所する”と告げた約束に違わず、いま再び在所中の徴用学徒の前に現れたのだ。例により親しみのある慈光を両眼一杯に漂わして総督は一同の上に暫く眼を落して、

『二週間前とは異なる諸子の眼光、態度をみて監督は心から欣快に堪えない。この点所長以下に感謝する。入所式に当り諸子に一場の訓辞を与えたが慌しい入所の気持から虚心坦懐に人の話を聴き取ろうとする気が足らず、自分の話したことの全部が滲透していない憾みもあるが、敢えて重ねて言わない。只諸子に一言したいことは朝鮮は人的、物的両面の資源に於いて聖戦を勝ち抜く上に至大なる立地条件に置かされているだけに半島は全力をあげて聖慮に副い奉らねばならない。今後一定年齢層に徴用を実施、更に重要と思われる社長幹部以下を徴用し、気魄を新たにして増産に邁進してもらう。徴用を受けた諸子は一般から徴用を受けた者とは選を異にする。諸子が徴用戦士として国体本義に立脚し邁進すべきところに邁進し得られないとすれば、諸子と異る徴用戦士に期待することは困難であろうと考える。諸子の徴用期間は二箇年となっているが、職場に於いて真に立派である場合は徴用非徴用は別としても責任ある地位にもつかしむる様に要望している。

第一次徴用学徒の場合は徴用礼状を受け取った期日が切迫していたので、退所後休暇を与えたが諸子は直ちに職場に赴いて貰う。各自事情があって帰家の必要がある場合は会社から直接休暇をあたえてもらうことにする。家庭によく通信して心配を与えないのは諸子自ら取るべき処置である。諸子今後の努力成果の良否による責任の一半は小磯にも委ねられていることを明確に自覚してもらいたい。各道を巡視する場合、現場に於いて諸子と親しく接する機会もあろう』

ここで一段しんみりと声を落して、『希望せば小磯を親父と思え。親父に甘えてもいいが、時には峻厳なこともいう親父と思え』学徒の面にはさっと感動の一色が流れ、総督は更に優しい語気をもって今後の生活の上に思いやりある注意を投げるのだった。

そして、『実務につけばきょうまで学んだ学理と遊離していることを痛感するであろう。山から出た力男に接せば自己の力の足らざるを感ずるであろうが、自ら精神的に優っていることに努めてもらいたい。最後に言いたいことは入所式当時にも言った「神籬精神」を奉持して行くことこそ日本男子の信念として忘れてはならない。常に陣頭に起ってこの神籬精神を奉持して邁進してもらいたい』と訓練を終る日、再び神籬精神を強調して決戦職場に赴くわが子を悟す総督であった。

それより徴用学徒を代表して利川基弘君から、『断じて総督閣下のお言葉に副うよう、立派に働きます』と烈々たる答辞があって、”海行かば”を合唱同十一時閉式した。【写真＝徴用学徒訓練退所式、烈々と説く小磯総督】

Source: National Library of Korea, Digital Newspaper Archive

Daughter of collaborator 이진호 (李軫鎬) promoted as model Korean woman devoting unpaid labor to Imperial Japan’s war effort (Seoul, February 6, 1944)

This article is yet another example of "model Korean" propaganda, which props up an exemplary Korean collaborator as a model for all Koreans to follow. 

Ms. Makiyama Tae

The subject is 31-year-old Makiyama Tae, a mother of a 6-year-old daughter, and the eldest daughter of prominent Korean collaborator Lee Jin-ho (1867-1946), who built a notable career under Japanese rule as a provincial governor, a senior education official in the colonial administration, and later a parliamentarian. In 1944, Makiyama is praised for performing unpaid labor for the Patriotic Women's Association, where she conducts outreach to rural Korean women with the stated aim of “transforming” their clothing, food, and housing to conform to wartime needs.

At the same time, the propaganda logic is strained. Presenting Makiyama as a model to be emulated would likely have been alienating to many ordinary Koreans. She operated from a position of elite privilege, backed by wealth, status, and political connections, while the article implicitly asks working women and rural peasants to accept unpaid or minimally compensated labor under vastly different material conditions. 

The article also reveals the extent to which the Patriotic Women’s Association functioned as an instrument of total war mobilization. Civilian homes were recast as extensions of the military-industrial system, tasked not only with producing rudimentary goods such as straw bags, but also with performing labor directly connected to weapons manufacturing, including the manufacturing of winding coils for engine stators.

[Translation]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijō Nippo) February 6, 1944

Working Women (7)
Planning Nutritious Meals for Wartime
Ms. Makiyama Sweats “Without Pay”

With the slogan “Even housewives shall contribute to the strengthening of the war effort,” the Greater Japan Patriotic Women’s Association has launched a nationwide all-out mobilization movement. As Minister of Health Koizumi has stated, “Housewives should, insofar as possible, participate in wartime production for strengthening the war effort from within the home.”

This represents a decisive leap beyond the usual forms of labor service such as making sandal straps, pasting paper bags, or collecting scrap metal. Housewives are now called upon to devote themselves directly, within their own homes, to the production of wartime materials.

Already in the Home Islands, households are producing military straw bags (kamasu) or winding coils for engine stators brought into the home, while hinges for weapon-packaging crates are assembled in rotation by neighborhood Patriotic Women’s Association members. The home itself has become a battlefield. Now is the autumn in which six million members of the Patriotic Women’s Association in Korea must wholly commit themselves to wartime life.

At the Wartime Living Division of the Korean Headquarters of the Patriotic Women’s Association, located in Seorin-dong, Jongno Ward, Seoul, new forms of guidance are about to be implemented so that housewives may offer up every aspect of their “clothing, food, and shelter” to the nation. Standing prominently among the wartime living instructors is 31-year-old Ms. Makiyama Tae.

Ms. Makiyama is the eldest daughter of the well-known House of Peers member, Mr. Lee Jin-ho (이진호, 李軫鎬).

When the all-out mobilization movement of the Patriotic Women’s Association began last October, she volunteered to join the Korean Headquarters. “I do not need a salary. If I can instill wartime consciousness into Korean women, that alone will fulfill my every wish. Please allow me to realize this long-held aspiration of mine.” Such was her impassioned appeal.

Her plea, made with her whole being aflame with fervor, was accepted, and Ms. Makiyama took up her post. Three months have passed since then, and the advance of Korean women has been remarkable. “I have been entrusted with the ‘housing’ section and am devoted entirely to designing improvements to women’s daily lives. To presume to instruct others would be unthinkable. Through my daily work, I myself am given profound self-reflection and a new path forward. This is a joy beyond anything I could have hoped for.”

She seeks only to devote herself to the task of how to raise the often-lagging awareness of current affairs among Korean women to the necessary level. “I have only just begun studying this problem,” Ms. Makiyama says with a modest demeanor. Behind her few words lies a sharp, deeply held resolve that action must come before words.

Soon after graduating from the First Girls’ High School, she entered married life, and for the past ten years has served as a Patriotic Women’s Association member, contributing to various activities. However, as the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese war gave way to the Greater East Asia War, the situation changed dramatically, and the duties of women on the home front grew ever more demanding and ever more important.

“This will not do. There is no progress in protecting only individuals. We must call out to the masses of Korean women…” Ms. Makiyama could no longer remain still. Fortunately, with only a single six-year-old daughter, Fumi-chan, she was relatively unencumbered, and resolved last autumn to enter the Patriotic Women’s Association full-time. Her husband, of course, and her strict father, Mr. Lee, were deeply moved, blinking back tears as they offered their encouragement.

The implementation of the Korean Volunteer Soldier System and the mobilization of students for the front followed one after another in dizzying succession. The time had come for Korean women to rise up in total mobilization. Witnessing with her own eyes the many Korean women who, without shedding tears, waved the Rising Sun flag and stood resolute as they sent their children off to the field of battle, Ms. Makiyama felt her efforts spurred on with renewed force.

“Why must wartime life be pared down so severely? I fight every day to answer that ‘why.’ In particular, I struggle over the transformation of clothing, food, and shelter for Korean women in farming villages. This has been my dream for ten years, and to see it realized is the fulfillment of a lifelong wish of my entire being,” Ms. Makiyama said, smiling brightly.

(Photograph: Ms. Makiyama Preparing Wartime Nutritional Meals)

[Transcription]

京城日報 1944年2月6日
はたらく女性（７）
戦う栄養食の設計へ
”無報酬”で汗する牧山さん

家庭婦人も戦力増強へーを合言葉に大日本婦人会では全国的に総蹶起運動を展開しているが、小泉厚相も述べる如く『家庭婦人はなるべく家庭で戦力増強の生産に参加する』というにある。

従来のように鼻緒造りとか紙袋貼り或は金属回収の勤労奉仕作業を一段と飛躍、直接家々において戦時物資の生産に挺身する事となった。

すでに内地では軍用叺織又は発動機固定子のコイル巻を家庭に持込んで製造したり兵器包装用箱の蝶番が隣組の日婦会員の奉仕で交替に組合わされている。

家庭も戦場、今こそ半島六百万日婦会員は戦時生活へ徹するの秋だ。府内鐘路区瑞麟町日婦朝鮮本部戦時生活部では家庭婦人の『衣、食、住』一切を挙げてお国へ捧げる為の新しい指導がなされんとしている戦時生活指導者の一人牧山多恵女史（３１）の姿が大きく浮び上る。

牧山さんは人も知る貴族院議員、李家軫鎬氏の長女である。

日婦総蹶起運動の始まる昨年十月志願して日婦朝鮮本部に入り、『給料など要りません。半島婦人に戦時意識を吹っ込むことが出来れば私の希望の全部なのです。永い間の私の希望を叶えさせてください』

全身熱情にしての請が入れられ牧山さんは就職した。あれから三ヶ月目覚しい半島婦人の進出ぶりだ。「私は『住』の部を任せられて専ら婦人の生活改善の設計に当っていますが、他人様を指導するなどとは以てのほかで日々の仕事を通じ私自身大きな反省と新しい進路が与えられます事は望外の歓びです」

半島婦人の立遅れかちの時局認識をどうして水準に引上げるべきかについて献身的な努力を希うのみです。勉強はこれからですと牧山さんは謙譲な態度で語る。言葉より実践だと深い決意が少い言葉の裏に鋭く秘められている。

第一高女を卒えて間もなく家庭生活に入るとこの十年間は婦人会員として各種行事に奉仕したが、支那事変から大東亜戦争と戦局は大きく転換し銃後婦人の務めは益々繁忙且つ重要性を増して来た。

『これではいけない。個人を守っていたのでは進歩がない。半島婦人大衆に呼び懸けなくては．．．』と牧山さんは居ても立ってもいられなくなった。幸い家庭には六歳になる女児の婦美ちゃん只一人という身軽さから昨年秋日日婦入りを決意した。夫君はもとより厳父李家氏も感激の瞳をしばたたいて激励した。半島志願兵制度の施行、学徒出陣と目まぐるしい転換が行われた。半島婦人は今こそ総蹶起すべき秋は来た。日の丸の旗を打振りつつ眼に涙さえ浮べず毅然として我が子を戦いの庭に見送る幾多の半島婦人の姿を目のあたりにして牧山さんの努力に一段の拍車が掛けられた。

『何故戦時生活はかく切り詰めなければならないかーこの何故に答える為に私は日々を闘っています。殊に半島農村婦人の衣食住の切り替えについてたたかいます。これが十年間の私の夢であり、これが実現をみることが畢生の望みです』と牧山さんは明るく微笑んだ。

【写真＝戦時栄養食を作る牧山女史】

Source: National Library of Korea, Digital Newspaper Archive

See also: Niece of Korean collaborator nobleman Yoon Deok-yeong (윤덕영, 尹徳栄) was featured in 1939 article declaring ‘I really want to marry a Japanese man’ and adopting the Japanese surname ‘Izu’ to improve her marriage prospects (link)

Rule by Fear: How Imperial Japan Expanded the Death Penalty and Toughened Sentences in Wartime Korea – Crackdowns on Protesters After Just One Warning (February 1944)

This February 17, 1944 Keijo Nippo article—published during Imperial Japan’s final wartime push—lays out the colonial government’s Special Ordinance for Wartime Criminal Cases as applied in Korea. Framed as a “question-and-answer” explanation of new legal provisions, it offers a rare window into the colonial regime’s obsession with internal control as the war turned against Japan.

Buried beneath the bureaucratic tone is unmistakable evidence of civil unrest in wartime Korea. The detailed sections on riots, “public disturbances,” and “obstruction of wartime industries” reveal that protests and resistance were occurring often enough to alarm the colonial authorities into ramping up criminal sentencing guidelines. The penalties were draconian: ringleaders could face death or life imprisonment, anyone taking part could receive up to fifteen years, and even bystanders risked three years in prison or a fine of up to 1,000 yen. The law also reduced the number of police warnings required before a crackdown from three to just one—a clear signal of zero tolerance for dissent.

These extreme measures underscore both the depth of Imperial Japan’s anxiety over maintaining control and the courage of Korean resistance activists who continued to defy colonial authorities despite knowing that even standing nearby at a protest could mean imprisonment—or death.

The following table summarizes the harsh punishments listed in the February 17, 1944 Keijo Nippo article explaining Japan’s “Special Ordinance for Wartime Criminal Cases” in colonial Korea.

Category / Crime	New Wartime Penalty (1944 Ordinance)
Arson (inhabited buildings, trains, ships, coal mines)	Death, life imprisonment, or at least 10 years’ imprisonment
Arson (uninhabited property)	Life imprisonment or at least 3 years
Arson of aircraft or automobiles	Newly added category; same as above due to military importance
Indecent assault / rape / robbery with violence	Death penalty possible; prosecution allowed without victim’s complaint
Obstruction of air-defense officials	Up to 7 years’ imprisonment
Riot or public disturbance	Ringleader: death, life, or ≥3 years; other participants: 1–15 years or ≤1,000 yen fine; onlookers: ≤3 years or ≤1,000 yen fine; punishment after just one warning
Obstruction of public air defense / observation	Death, life, or ≥3 years; damage to meteorological facilities ≤10 years
Obstruction of communications	Life imprisonment or at least 1 year
Obstruction of vital industries	Up to life imprisonment, including for labor unrest
Hoarding or profiteering	At least 5 years’ imprisonment or ≤10,000 yen fine (or both); merchants punished most severely
Obstruction of wartime transport	≥1 year; if injury or death: death, life, or ≥3 years; interfering with trains/ships: life or ≥5 years; if death occurs: death penalty
Unlawful home entry	≥5 years or ≤1,000 yen fine (even if household member consents without master’s approval)
Corruption / bribery (including intermediaries)	Intermediaries punished the same as direct bribe-givers
Defense attorney limit	Maximum of two defense attorneys, must be appointed within 10 days
Trial system change	Appeals reduced from three tiers to two (effective March 15, 1944)

 

[Translation]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) February 17, 1944

The Character of the Wartime Criminal Special Ordinance: Q&A
A Single Word: ‘Crackdown!’
Particularly Harsh on Black-Market Merchants
Even Intermediaries in Bribery to Be Punished

On February 15, the government simultaneously promulgated the Special Ordinance for Wartime Criminal Cases, Special Ordinance for Wartime Civil Cases, Court Ordinance Wartime Special Provisions, and other related measures, including the Wartime Special Provisions for the National Defense Security Law and Peace Preservation Law for simplifying judicial procedures in Korea, as well as revisions to the Korean Tenancy Mediation Ordinance and Korean Personnel Mediation Ordinance. These will take effect on March 15.

As the Greater East Asia War enters its decisive stage, Imperial Japan’s one hundred million people must mobilize all their strength to achieve a dramatic increase in war power. The decisive strengthening and reorganization of the Korean judicial system has been completed to ensure domestic peace and the stability of the citizens’ duties and rights, which form the basic conditions for the maximum exertion of the nation’s total war power. Henceforth, citizens must live by the principle of “365 days of law observance.”

Among the new wartime judicial decrees, the Special Ordinance for Wartime Criminal Cases strengthens and systematizes substantive criminal penalties to address various crimes arising under wartime conditions. It prepares for any emergencies that may occur under continuous air-raid blackouts as enemy attacks become inevitable. Even apart from such emergencies, it is the most important criminal provision for domestic security under wartime conditions, designed to preserve social tranquility, accomplish the national defense economy, and ensure an ironclad defense against malicious crimes in wartime governance.

The following is a Q&A interview conducted with Mr. Miyazaki Yasuoki, an official of the Criminal Affairs Division, Legal Affairs Bureau, Office of the Governor-General of Korea, to clarify the full scope and character of this Korean Special Ordinance for Wartime Criminal Cases.

Mr. Miyazaki, Legal Affairs Officer

(Photo: Mr. Miyazaki, Legal Affairs Officer)

Q: How does the punishment for arson differ from before?

A: Under Article 108 of the Penal Code, arson against an inhabited building, train, locomotive, ship, or coal mine carried a sentence of death, life imprisonment, or at least five years’ imprisonment. Now, this has been raised to death, life imprisonment, or at least ten years’ imprisonment.

Arson against uninhabited properties has previously been punished by at least two years’ imprisonment, but the sentence has now been raised to life imprisonment or at least three years. Aircraft and automobiles are now added as new categories, reflecting their wartime importance as weapons.

Q: What about crimes of indecent assault and robbery accompanied by violence?

A: In Germany, these already carry the death penalty. In particular, this provision aims to impose resolute punishment for lawless acts committed during preparations for air-defense operations or under blackout conditions. All such offenses are now classified as non-complaint crimes: whereas previously crimes such as rape could only be prosecuted upon a formal accusation by the victim or her husband, under wartime conditions arrests may be made immediately upon discovery of the criminal act, without waiting for any such complaint.

Furthermore, the offense of indecent assault and sexual misconduct, which had previously been handled under a special decree concerning wartime criminal punishment, has now been consolidated together with robbery accompanied by violence.

Q: What is “obstruction of official duty against air-defense public officials”?

A: This provision, newly established alongside the crime of treason and insurrection, underscores the critical importance of the air-defense system in this stage of decisive warfare. Any act of violence or intimidation against air-defense personnel in the performance of their duties will incur harsher penalties, punishable by imprisonment for up to seven years.

Q: Who are considered “air-defense public officials”?

A: It naturally includes all government officials involved in air defense. In mainland Japan, air-defense rescue workers are also considered to be public officials.

Q: In wartime riots, how many people constitute a “group”?

A: The number is not fixed; it will be determined by common sense and circumstances.

Q: What punishments apply to rioting?

A: The ringleader shall be punished by death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for not less than three years (formerly one to ten years). Even if there is no ringleader, those who direct the disturbance or take the lead in aiding its momentum shall now face imprisonment of one to fifteen years (formerly six months to seven years). Followers and onlookers who join in are also to be strictly punished: what was once a fine of up to fifty yen has been raised to a fine of up to one thousand yen or imprisonment for up to three years.

When a crowd gathers and the police order it to disperse, the previous rule was that punishment applied only after the order had been given three times and still not obeyed. Under the new provision, punishment now applies after a single order. In such cases, the ringleader may be sentenced to up to ten years’ imprisonment (formerly three years), and others, who were previously subject only to fines, now face imprisonment of up to three years or fines of up to one thousand yen. The public is therefore cautioned to take care not to become entangled in such disturbances.

Q: What is “obstruction of public air defense or observation”?

A: Like the offense of obstructing air-defense officials, this too is a provision newly established under the Special Ordinance for Wartime Criminal Cases in recognition of the critical importance of air defense during wartime. Anyone who destroys an air-raid shelter, public shelter, evacuation site, observation post, or signaling device, or who—even without destroying them—renders an air-raid siren unable to sound, shall be punished by death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for not less than three years. Those who damage meteorological observation buildings or facilities shall be punished by imprisonment for up to ten years

Q: What constitutes “obstruction of public communications”?

A: Cutting postal or telecommunication facilities or wires. Formerly lightly punished under telegraph law, now punishable by life imprisonment or at least one year’s imprisonment.

Q: How about “obstruction of vital industries”?

A: Especially in Korea, where heavy industry is developed, citizens must take great care. This provision has been newly established to ensure the continued execution of industries essential to national defense during wartime. Not only does it apply to aircraft, weapons, and other vital munitions industries, but even when workers cause disturbances over treatment or wages, the maximum penalty prescribed is life imprisonment.

Q: A decisive crackdown is now to be rendered against those engaged in hoarding and withholding goods for profit—acts that most directly concern us ordinary citizens in wartime. In what ways does this differ from the previous provisions?

A: The purpose of this provision is to ensure the smooth balance of supply and demand for daily necessities. Accordingly, anyone who hoards or withholds essential goods with the intent of obtaining illicit business profits shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than five years or a fine of up to ten thousand yen, and, depending on the circumstances, may be subjected to both imprisonment and a fine.

Previously, acts of hoarding or withholding were punishable under Article 105 of the Penal Code, which prescribed imprisonment of at least one year or up to life imprisonment for acts that ‘seriously disrupt the operation of the national economy through disturbances in the financial markets, interference with the production or distribution of essential goods, or other such means.’ However, since not all cases of hoarding or withholding reached that level of economic disruption, this new special decree targets a narrower but more malicious class of offenders—those who hoard or withhold goods with the intent of obtaining illegitimate business profits—who are deemed more blameworthy than those merely violating the earlier regulations on profiteering acts.

Put more plainly, whereas under the previous system both merchants and ordinary individuals were punished equally for hoarding or withholding goods, under the new ordinance merchants are subject to far harsher penalties. In effect, the law’s loopholes have been completely closed.

Q: “Obstruction of wartime traffic” sounds broad—what does it cover?

A: This category includes roads, bridges, railways, signs, and harbor buoys. The provision applies to cases in which these are damaged in a manner that obstructs the operation of trains, streetcars, or ships.

For example, anyone who damages a road, waterway, or bridge and thereby interferes with transportation shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year (formerly by a fine of not less than two hundred yen or imprisonment for up to two years). If, as a result, a person is killed or injured, the penalty shall be death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for not less than three years. If the act obstructs the operation of trains, streetcars, or ships, the punishment shall be life imprisonment or imprisonment for not less than five years. If the obstruction concerns a train, streetcar, or ship carrying passengers and results in death, the death penalty shall be imposed — a singularly severe punishment applied without exception. These measures underscore how vital transportation is during wartime.

Q: Home invasions have recently caused serious social concern.

A: The maintenance of social order on the home front during wartime must be upheld without fail. Even if one obtains the consent of the wife or other members of the household, entering another person’s residence without the consent of the master of the house constitutes unlawful entry, punishable by imprisonment for not less than five years or a fine of up to one thousand yen (formerly punishable by imprisonment for not less than three years or a fine of up to fifty yen).

Q: Disciplinary enforcement among government officials is becoming ever more stringent, but where does the focus lie in the present wartime offense of official misconduct?”

A: Officials, who ought to take the lead in guiding the people, must, in accordance with the spirit of the recently promulgated Wartime Public Officials Service Ordinance, convert every aspect of their conduct to a wartime footing. Acts of dereliction in office can by no means be tolerated in the present day. Under this new special ordinance, even those aspects that previously escaped punishment are now comprehensively brought within the scope of the law.

Of particular note for the general public is the newly established crime of ‘the giving and receiving of wartime bribery funds.’ Under the previous bribery statute, no offense was constituted unless the act of bribery was actually carried out. Under the new provisions, however, even a person who, for example, is induced by a corrupt broker to take custody of a bribe for delivery to a third party shall be punished by the same penalties as for the act of bribery itself.

Q: In the criminal procedure provisions, the number of defense attorneys has been limited to two. What is the purpose of this restriction?

A: The aim is to simplify court proceedings. Under the pressing conditions of the present situation, it is only natural to eliminate anything unnecessary. Along with limiting the number of defense attorneys, the period for their appointment has also been set at within ten days, so that the power of the courts may be exercised with greater speed.

Q: Under the new special ordinance, the judicial system will be reduced to two instances of trial, to take effect from March 15. What will happen to cases that are already pending before the courts prior to enforcement?

A: Cases in which arguments before the court of first instance have been concluded before March 15 will continue under the existing three-tier system. Cases that are currently in trial before the first-instance court, or have been filed but not yet heard by that date, will be handled under the new two-tier system.

[Transcription]

京城日報 1944年2月17日

あるは”断”の一字
戦時刑事特別令の性格：一問一答
特に厳しい商人の闇
贈賄はその取次ぎ者も処罰

裁判所令戦時特例、民事特別令、刑事特別令、更に半島における裁判手続簡素化のための国防保安法及び治安維持法の戦時特例に関する法律もこれに付随する朝鮮小作調停令及び朝鮮人事調停令の改正が去る十五日一斉に公布され、三月十五日から実施することとなった。

大東亜戦争が決戦の段階に突入、いまや一億は総力をあげて戦力の飛躍的増強に結集。国家の総合戦力を最高度に発揮するための基礎条件である国内治安の確保と国民権義の安定を期した半島司法体制の決戦的整備強化陣は成った。これにより愈愈国民が”遵法三百六十五日”で行かなければならない。この戦時司法令のうち刑事特別令は戦時下における各種犯罪に対処する為の実体的刑罰規定を整備強化して、今や敵襲必至の情勢下、連続実施する灯火管制下に生ずるかも知れない各種非常事態に備えたのは勿論、それまでならなくとも苟も戦時下、社会の安寧、国防経済の完遂、将又戦時運用に鉄壁を期して悪質犯罪を防がんとする国内治安上最も重要な刑罰規定である。

以下は総督府法務局刑事課事務官宮崎保興氏に一問一答を試みた”朝鮮戦時刑事特別令”の全貌とその性格である。【写真＝宮崎事務官】

問：放火罪は従来と如何に違うか？

答：刑法百八条によると、人の現に住まっている建造物及び電車、汽車、汽船、炭坑に放火した者は死刑、或は無期、五年以上の懲役に処せられていたが、これからは刑罰が重くひきあげられ死刑、無期十年以上の懲役となった。また放火場所が人の居ないところでは従来二年以上の懲役であったが、これまた無期或は三年以上の懲役に引き上げた。また放火対象物で右の外に新しく航空機、自動車が戦時下、兵器の重要性によって新しく加わった。

問：猥褻姦淫罪及び強窃盗罪は？

答：ドイツではすでに極刑をもってのぞんでいる。特にこれは防空態勢下の準備及び灯火管制における不逞な行為に対し断乎たる処罰を期するもので、その中総てが非親告罪となったことは、これまで強姦などは被害者とその夫の告訴によって成立したのが、戦時においては親告をまたなくとも犯罪事実発覚次第いくらでも検挙が出来る。

なお猥褻姦淫罪は戦時犯罪処罰の特令に関する件だったのがこんどは強窃盗罪と一緒に纏めている。

問：防空公務員に対する公務執行妨害罪とは？

答：国政変乱罪と共にこの方は新しく設けたものである。勿論決戦下の防空体制の重要性を現わしている。防空公務員の職務遂行に対する暴行、脅迫も刑罰が過重され、何れも七年以下の懲役に処せられる。

問：防空公務員とは如何なる範囲のものか？

答：防空関係の官公吏をいうのはいうまでもないが、内地では防空救護員も公務員としている。

問：戦時騒擾では、幾名をもって集団と看做すのか？

答：その数は一定していないといっても常識をもって判断する。

問：その刑罰はどんなものか？

答：首魁は死刑、無期及び三年以上の懲役（従来は一年以上十年以下の懲役）首魁がなくても指揮者及び率先して勢を助けたものは、これまで六月以上七年以下が一年以上十五年以下、それに雷同者、野次馬も厳重に処罰することとなり、従来五十円以下の罰金が千円以下の罰金または三年以下の懲役。

多数の者が集って警察官から解散を命ぜられた場合、いままではその命令が三回発せられてなおこれに服従しないときは罰せられたが、こんどはそれが一回となり、その中首魁は十年以下（従来は三年）その他も罰金のみだったのが三年以下の懲役及び千円以下の罰金と刑罰を過重した。若しもの場合、民衆はこのような騒擾に巻き込まれないように注意すべきである。

問：公共防空、観測妨害とは？

答：防空公務の執行妨害と同様にこれも戦時下、防空の重要性によって設けられた戦時刑事特別令であって、防空壕、公共待避壕、避難所、監視所、信号器などを破壊した者、壊さないまでも防空サイレンを鳴らないようにした者も死刑または無期、若しくは三年以上の懲役に処せられる。気象観測の建造物、施設を損壊した者は十年以下の懲役である。

問：公共通信妨害とは何をいうのか？

答：郵便、電気通信建物、工作物及び電線を切断した場合をいうものであって、従来は単なる電信法によって刑は軽かったが、これからは無期または一年以上の体刑となった。

問：重要産業妨害の場合はどうなるか？

答：半島は特に重工業が発達しているので、余程民衆は注意すべきである。

戦時下の国防重要産業の遂行を確保せんがために新しく規定されたものである。航空機その他兵器、軍需関係の重要工業は勿論、その建造物、施設を損壊し待遇や賃銀の問題で労務者が騒動を起した場合でも最高無期懲役まで規定せられている。

問：戦時下われわれ庶民大衆に最も問題になる買溜め、売惜しみの輩に対し”断”が下されるが従来と異なる点は？

答：目的とするところは生活必需品の円滑なる需給関係を確保するにある。従って今回の対象は業務上不正の利益を得る目的をもって生活必需品を買占め、または売惜しんだ者に対しては五年以上の懲役または一万円以下の罰金に処せられ、情によっては罰金の上に体刑を併せ科せられることになっている。

従来この種買溜め、売惜しみに対しては刑法百五条の”金融界の擾乱、重要物資の生産および配給の阻害その他の方法によって国民経済の運行を著しく阻害し”に対して一年以上無期懲役が科せられているが、この程度まで国民経済を深く阻害するに到らずといって単に”暴利を得て物品の売惜しみ、買占めをなす者”に対する暴利行為等取締規則に抵触する者より悪辣なる”業務上不正の利益を得る目的をもつ者”に対し今回の特令が下ったものである。

もっと解り易くいえば今までの買占め買惜しみに対する処罰は商売人でも普通の個人でも同じであったものが商売人の場合は厳罰をもって臨むことになったもので、法の穴を全面的に地均らしたのである。

問：戦時往来妨害というと非常に範囲が大きいが具体的にはどうなっているか？

答：道路、橋梁、鉄道、標識、港湾浮標などがこれに入る。これらを損壊し汽車、電車、船舶の運行を阻害する場合に適用される。

例えば道路、水路、橋梁を破損し交通を邪魔した者は一年以上の懲役（従来は二百円以上の罰金または二年以下の懲役）そのために、たまたま人が死傷した場合は死刑、無期または三年以上の懲役。そのため、汽車、電車、船舶の運行を妨害した場合は無期または五年以上の懲役、人が乗っている汽車、電車、船舶を妨害し、そのため人が死んだ場合は死刑ただ一本をもって臨むという厳刑である。

戦時下交通運輸を如何に重大視しているかが証明されよう。

問：家宅侵入も最近しばしば深刻な問題を生んでいるが。

答：決戦下銃後の社会治安は断じて護らねばならぬ。たとい主婦、家人の承諾を得ても主人の承諾を得ずして他人の住居に入ると不法侵入になり五年以上の懲役または千円以下の罰金である（従前は三年以上の懲役または五十円以下の罰金）

問：官公吏の綱紀粛正はますます峻厳になって行くが今回の戦時涜職罪の重点はどこにあるか？

答：民衆に率先、指導の任にあるべき官公吏はさきに公布された戦時官吏服務令の心構えで総てを戦時に切り換えねばならぬ。今日職を涜すが如き断じてあってはならぬ。今回の特令により今までは処罰出来なかった面をも漏れなく把握することになった。

特に一般が注意すべきは『戦時贈賄資金の授受』の罪である。従来の贈賄罪は事実において贈賄しなければ罪を構成しなかったが、今回より例えば悪ブローカーに乗ぜられ贈賄物を第三者に伝達すべく預かっても贈賄の罪と同じ刑に処せられる。

問：刑事手続関係中、弁護人が二名以内に制限されたが主旨は如何？

答：裁判の簡捷化にある、喫緊の現時局下必要以上のものは排除するのが当然である。弁護人の数を制限すると共に選任の時期を十日以内としたのも裁判の力を迅速に発揮しようとするにある。

問：新特別令にすれば二審別となり三月十五日から実施されるが実施前に裁判所に繋属中の事件はどうなるか？

答：三月十五日以前に第一審裁判所の弁論を終結した事件は従来通り三審制で続ける。第一審において現に公判中のものまたは公判前の受付をなしたものは二審制になる。

Source: National Library of Korea, Digital Newspaper Archive 

“Demonic Americans”: How Imperial Japan Tried to Turn Koreans Against U.S. Missionaries in 1944

During the final years of the Pacific War, as Imperial Japan faced defeat and mobilized every means available to sustain public morale, the colonial authorities in Korea intensified anti-American propaganda. One challenge they confronted was that, for decades, American missionaries had been deeply embedded in Korean society. They operated schools, hospitals, and churches, taught English, and often enjoyed widespread goodwill among Koreans. This posed a problem for the Imperial Japanese colonial regime, which needed to turn the Korean population decisively against the United States.

To address this, the colonial newspaper Keijo Nippō ran a serialized column in late 1944 titled 悪鬼米人の正体 (“The True Face of the Demonic Americans”). Beginning on August 6, 1944, this series published sensational atrocity stories depicting Americans, especially missionaries, as sadistic, inhuman abusers of Koreans. The narrative strategy was very clear: defame the missionaries to poison any lingering positive associations with America or Christianity.

I have not been able to fact-check these allegations. They may contain kernels of real incidents, heavy distortion, or be entirely fabricated, but I am posting this translation and transcription to build a trail for future researchers and historians. If anyone wishes to investigate further, the names, places, and stories contained in this article may serve as starting points.

The first installment focuses entirely on American missionaries, accusing them of cruelty toward Koreans:

• Harold Walker allegedly confined his Korean cook in a dark storeroom without water for days after she revealed to students that there was a dead snake in vinegar he offered them.

• Clyde Heismer allegedly branded a thirteen-year-old Korean boy’s cheeks with silver nitrate for picking up a fallen apple in a hospital orchard.

• Seo Guk-tae allegedly drenched a blind Korean beggar woman and her child with buckets of cold water on Christmas morning and beat them with a cane.

• Ok Seok-yeol allegedly intimidated an elderly pedestrian with his car, then struck and kicked him for not moving aside fast enough.

One linguistic detail stands out: Walker reportedly commanded the students to “eat the vinegar.” This phrasing is unnatural in both Japanese and English, but would make sense if the original words were in Korean, where 식초를 먹다 (to “eat vinegar”) can be idiomatic. This suggests that the quoted “English” speech in the article may have been based on Korean recollections or written in Korean first and then rendered literally into Japanese.

These articles represent a remarkable window into late-war colonial propaganda: the psychological battlefield, the anxieties of a collapsing empire, and the specific rhetorical tools used to manipulate Korean opinion.

[Translation]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) August 6, 1944

The True Face of the Demonic Americans (1)
“Drink this ‘snake vinegar’ as God’s blessing”
A boy named Kim was branded on the cheek over a single apple

The enemy America intends to exterminate the Japanese from the face of the earth! With malicious and treacherous intent, America has provoked the war against us. As front line reports of the brutal acts of American soldiers have already shown, the Americans have mocked the corpses of our brave dead and even fashioned toys out of skulls. They have neither bushido nor humanity; cruelty and barbarism alone are America’s true nature. It is not only the American soldiers. In the past, many American missionaries came to Korea wearing clerical robes, preaching humanity and world peace, and thereby tricked the pure-hearted Korean people into traps with their schemes, while behind the scenes they carried out a merciless, inhuman trade in outrages that violated all morals. Truly these deeds, intolerable to both heaven and man, move those who hear of them to cries of anguish and fury. Here and now, we will expose the many evil deeds of the demonic Americans who profaned the Korean peninsula, allow you to clearly comprehend “the true face of the Americans,” and let your hatred against the Americans explode in a sincere resolve to strike the enemy down.

“The Koreans are all thieves. They are despicable animals. I would be ashamed even to give my doghouse to a Korean to live in.” Such were the offhand remarks about Koreans spoken by a certain Anglo-American missionary. The Korean people had until very recently been indulged into admiring the missionaries as “children of God,” believing that they alone would bring them happiness, and they blindly revered them as God’s own.

Harold Walker who imprisoned a cook over snake vinegar

In October 1937, an American missionary named Harold Walker, who set up residence in Andong-eup, North Gyeongsang Province and ran a Bible institute there with an air of “the world is mine,” employed a Korean woman in her forties, surnamed Yang (양, 梁), as a cook. Around the middle of October, Yang discovered that a filthy snake had fallen into and died in a vinegar jar that had been kept in a storage shed. When she immediately tried to throw the vinegar away, Walker's facial expression changed and, without saying a word, he sharply slapped her cheek. Then, as if he himself had handled something filthy, he carefully disinfected his hands with alcohol. Afterwards, he took the jar of snake vinegar to the female students at the Bible institute and, with shameless insincerity, said, “My dear sisters, allow me to give you some flavorful vinegar,” and attempted to make the girls drink the snake vinegar.

It was then that Ms. Yang felt anger for the first time. Even though she knew that she was going to be treated like a dog, she told the female students that there had been a dead snake in the vinegar. When Walker learned of this, he gathered the students and threatened them, saying, “How dare you refuse to eat the vinegar that your priest is giving you! You will soon receive God’s punishment.” In the end, he dragged Yang out, hurled her about, kicked her, and committed the utmost cruelties. Then, with stern resolve, he declared, “This woman put the snake into the vinegar. She is inhuman. She must be given divine punishment,” and kicked her into a dark storage compartment. She was called “a despicable animal”. He said that even if she did not eat or drink for a day or two it would be all right; she would not die. For several days he did not give her a single drop of water. What kind of inhuman behavior do those people display! This is the true face of those who pretend to be cultured and preach peace and equality.

Clyde Albert Heismer who branded a 13-year-old boy over an apple

Clyde Albert Heismer was a doctor at the Sunan Hospital run by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Sunan-myeon (순안면, 順安面), Pyongwon County, South Pyongan Province, and he was also a missionary. On August 10, 1925, the apples in the orchard in the hospital courtyard were in full ripeness, tempting the tastebuds of the children in the village. At that time, unable to endure the heat, a boy from Namchang-ri (남창리, 南昌里), surname Kim (age 13), was standing beneath an apple tree. Just then, a half-rotten apple fell. The boy Kim picked it up. Immediately, Heismer’s hairy arm seized the back of the boy’s neck, crying, “You thief!”

Saying only “I will kill you!” he tied the boy to the apple tree. The boy Kim strained his whole body in an attempt to explain himself. In the end, he begged for mercy. But Heismer only twisted his face into a sneer. “You trespassed in someone else’s orchard without permission, and on top of that you stole one of our beloved apples. Therefore you must receive divine punishment,” he said. He brought silver nitrate out from the hospital ward, thrust it before the eyes of the suffering boy tied to the tree, and said, “You do not know what this is, do you? I will teach you what it is.” Then he branded the character “thief” (盗) into the boy’s right cheek and the character “robber” (賊) into his left cheek.

The boy cried out from the pain and heat, whereupon Heismer burst into loud laughter as if it were amusing, stuffed a towel into the boy’s mouth, then whistled leisurely as he walked away. The scars on the boy’s cheeks bore the marks of Heismer’s cruelty, and did not disappear for several years.

Such was the missionary Heismer, who held the sacred office of a missionary. There is a saying, “Even demons have tears,” yet in his conduct we clearly see the true face of a missionary - no, an American - who did not shed even a single tear drop.

Seo Guk-tae who physically abused some beggars

On December 25, 1928 at around 7 a.m., when a biting north wind blew and the severe cold pierced the skin, a blind Korean female beggar, around forty years old, dressed in nothing but a tattered change of clothing and led by a child of about seven, came to the entrance of the luxurious residence in Jeonju City where an American missionary who went by the Korean name of Seo Guk-tae (서국태, 徐國泰) lived in opulence and indulgence. Despite being beggars in the last days of the year, they longed at least to greet the New Year with a single bowl of soup, and so they appealed for mercy to the man who daily preached charity and equality and spread the love of God.

What did he give them? A handful of silver coins? A bowl of warm soup for Christmas? Nothing of the sort. Instead, he poured a bucket of cold water on their heads. Shouting, “You still do not understand, do you? Bring a bucket full of cold water!” he again drenched the pair. This was the only gift he gave to the blind woman and her child, who sought mercy from the cold that bit their skin.

“How is that? Do you understand a little now? What do you think this place is, showing up brazenly in such filthy condition? Be gone at once!” he bellowed. In an instant, the freezing pain caused the beggar mother and child to scream in agony.

Seeing this, Seo struck the backs of the mother and child with his walking stick right at the entrance. Bright red blood dripped and stained the nearby snow crimson. This is it. This is their “charity” and “equality,” and the “mercy of Christ.”

Ok Seok-yeol who terrorized an elderly man with his automobile

In mid-May 1940, an American missionary who went by the Korean name of Ok Seok-yeol (옥석열, 玉錫烈) was driving his private automobile, with a certain Pastor Yutakayama accompanying him, en route to Yutakayama Church. As they drove, he noticed an elderly Korean man walking ahead; he increased his speed and closed in on the old man. As he approached, he suddenly sounded the horn loudly. Startled, the old man tried to get out of the way, but Ok deliberately drove the car further toward him. Terrified, the old man fell to the ground and screamed. At that moment, Ok brought his automobile to an abrupt stop, jumped out, struck the old man across the cheek, and kicked him in the hip. The old man sprang up and glared at Ok’s hairy face. “You old fool!” shouted Ok. Seeing that the man was an American missionary, the old man bowed respectfully and apologized.

“When a car comes, get down into that ditch! It was only because it was me that you were spared. But even if I ran you over, it might do some good since that would help me clean my car tires,” Ok said, as if it amused him, and boasted to Pastor Kaneyama that “they are like dogs or pigs; they will not understand unless they are made to suffer like this.”

[Transcription]

京城日報 1944年8月6日

悪鬼米人の正体 （１）
神の恵み飲め”蛇酢”
林檎一つで金少年の頬に烙印

敵アメリカは日本人を地球上から抹殺するのだ―、と不逞不企図をもってわれに戦争を挑発して来た。敵米兵残虐な行為は既に前線から報道されている如く、わが勇士の戦死した屍を愚弄し頭蓋骨をもって玩具を作った。武士道もなければ人道もない、ただ残忍で野蛮性一本がアメリカの正体だ。アメリカ兵のみではない。嘗て半島にも数多の米人宣教師が法衣を纏って人道を説き、世界平和を説いて純粋なる半島人をまんまと謀略の手をもって陥穽に追いこみ、その裏では人倫を逸脱した非道悪虐の行商を白々しくも行って来た。まさに天人俱に許さざるこの行商は聞く人をして痛憤無念の叫びを発せしめるのである。半島を汚瀆した悪鬼米人どもの数々の悪業をいまここに暴いて”米人の正体”をはっきりと掴み敵を討つ真剣の構えに限りなき憎しみを爆発させよう。

”朝鮮人は全部泥棒だ。そして賤しい動物である。朝鮮人を住わせるには自分の犬小屋ももったいない”と放言した。これが米英宣教師の朝鮮人観であった。甘やかされた半島人は宣教師こそは”神の子”だ、彼等こそ我我を幸福にしてくれる唯一のものだと彼等を慕い彼等を神の子だと盲信してきたのはつい先頃までだった。昭和十二年十月慶北安東邑に居を構え”天下をわが物”顔に聖経学院を経営していた米人宣教師ハロルド・ウオルケルの家に四十代の半島人女梁某は飯焚として雇われた。半島人梁某（四〇）は十月の半ば頃だった。彼女は物置に保管してあった酢甕の中に汚い蛇が一匹落込んで死んでいるのを発見した。彼女はすぐさま酢を棄てようとした。ウオルケルは顔色を変え何んの文句もなく彼女の頬をピシャッリと打った。そして彼はさるがら汚い物でもいじったという態でアルコールで丁寧に手を消毒した。それから彼はその蛇酢を聖経学院の女生徒のところへ持って行き、さももったいらしく”親愛なる姉妹よ、味の良い酢を贈ろう”と白々しくも言って蛇酢を女生徒に飲ませようとした。

女中の梁は心中はじめて怒った。犬扱いにされるとは知りながらも彼女は女学生達に死んだ蛇が酢の中にあったこと教えてやった。これを知ったウオルケルは女学生を集め、”神父が贈った酢を食べないとは何事だ。今にお前達は神の罰を受けるであろう”と脅迫した。揚句梁女を連れ出し、擲る、蹴る、暴虐の限りを尽くし毅然と”酢の中に蛇を入れたのはコイツだ。人でなしだ。天罰を与えなければならない”と彼女を暗い物置の隔に蹴り込んだ。賤しい動物だ。一日二日位食わんでも飲まんでも大丈夫。死にやしないと彼は数日間彼女に水一滴をも与えなかったのである。何という非道な振る舞いをする奴等だろうか。表面文化人を装い、平和を、平等を唱える奴等の正体はこれだ。

クライド・アルバート・ハイスマーは平安南道平原郡順安面の安息教経営順安病院の医師であり、且つまた宣教師であった。大正十四年八月十日病院の庭内の林檎園のリンゴは今が盛りとばかりに実り、部落の子供達の味覚をそそっていた。折しも暑さに耐えかね、林檎の樹の下で南昌里の金某少年（一三）が佇んでいた。その時腐りかけた一の林檎が落ちた。金少年はこれを拾い上げた。とたんに”この盗賊めっ”とハイスマーの毛むくじゃらの腕が金少年の後首をギュッと締めた。”殺す”と唯一言い、彼は金少年を林檎の樹に縛りつけた。金少年は全身の力をしぼって弁解をした。最後にはあわれみを乞うた。然しハイスマーはニヤリと顔をゆがめるのみ”他人の果樹園に無断で入りしかも我々の好きなリンゴをかっぱらったのであるからお前は天罰を受けなければならないと彼は病室から硝酸銀を持ち出し、縛りつけられ苦しんで居る金少年の眼の前に突き出し、”これは何か知って居るか判らんだろう。どういうものかお前に知らせてやろう”と金少年の右頬に”盗”左頬に”賊”と焼き付けた。少年は痛さと熱さの余り喚いた、と見るやハイスマーはさも面白げにゲラゲラと笑いタオルで口を塞いで悠々と口笛を鳴らしながら立ち去って、金少年の頬の傷は彼ハイスマーの残虐の痕を止め数年間消えなかったのである。

これが聖なる宣教師の任にあるハイスマーの宣教師であった。”鬼の眼にも涙”というが我々は彼の振舞に一滴の涙をもたぬ宣教師、いや米人の実体をはっきり見るのである。

時は昭和三年十二月二十五日、朔風すさび酷寒肌を刺す午前七時頃ボロボロの更衣一枚をまとった七歳位の子供に手を引かれた四十歳前後の盲目の朝鮮人女乞食が、全州府に豪壮なる邸宅を構え贅沢三昧の生活を楽しんでいる米人宣教師徐国泰（鮮名）の玄関先に来て恵を乞うた。もう師走乞食の身ながらせめて一杯のお汁ででも楽しかるべき正月を迎えんものと、日頃博愛平等を説き、神の愛を説き散らす彼に哀みを乞うた。

このとき彼が与えたものは何であったか、一握りの銀銭であったか、はたまたクリスマスのための温かいスープであったか、決してそんなものではなくバケツの冷水を頭の上からザアザアとぶっかけたのである。”これ位ではまだ判らんだろう。バケツ一杯に冷水を持ってこい”と怒鳴るや、またも二人に浴びせかけた。これが寒冷に肌と寒さのため恵を乞うた盲人と少年に与えた唯一の贈物であった。

”どうだ、少しはハッキリしたか。此処を何処だと思ってそういうけがらわしい姿でノコノコ現れるのだ。さっさと帰れ”と怒鳴りまくった。忽ち凍りつく痛さに乞食親子は悲鳴をあげて苦しんだ。

これを見るや徐は玄関先のステッキで親子の背中をピシャリピシャリと打った。真っ赤な血がたらたらと流れ辺の雪を真っ赤に染めた。これだ。これが彼等の博愛平等であり、キリストの慈悲なのだ。

昭和十五年五月中旬、慶北安東郡の米人宣教師玉錫烈（鮮名）は自家用自動車を運転し豊山某牧師を随え豊山教会へ走っていた途中先方を歩いている朝鮮人の老人を見るや彼はスピードをあげ、その老人に接近して行った。接近したと見るや俄に強く警笛を鳴らした。老人は驚きの余り避けようとすると彼は尚もわざとその方向へ自動車を進めた。老人は恐怖の余りその場に倒れ悲鳴をあげた瞬間、車を急停止しては飛び降りるや老人の頬を打った。腰の辺を蹴った。老人はカバっとはね起き毛むくじゃらの玉の顔をにらみつけた。”この老ぼれ―”と彼はどなりつけた。老人は米人の宣教師とみるやうやうやしく頭を下げて謝った。

”車が来たらあの溝へ下って居れ。俺だから助かったの、お前なんかがしかれったって車のタイヤの掃除にはなるがね”玉はさも面白そうに金山牧師に”奴等は犬や豚みたいなものだからね、こんな目に会わさなければ判らん”とうそぶいた。

Source: National Library of Korea, Digital Newspaper Archive