This article from 1943 Seoul discusses the rationing of sugar and sweet snacks that was instituted due to the shortage of sugar supplies, which were just 18% of 1938-1939 levels. Families were issued ration books by each sweets retailer and given their allotment of sweets based on the size of each household. Some families gamed the system by receiving ration books from multiple retailers and getting more sweets that way. Others were not so lucky and had to wait in long lines for scarce supplies. There is one anecdote about one mother who collapsed in line waiting to buy one cookie for her infant. Sweet snacks were produced in factories as well as in the retail shops, but much of the supplies were diverted into the black market. The article proposes solutions, including more involvement by the Patriotic Groups and the retailers association to prioritize the distribution of sweet snacks to children and the military.
Patriotic Groups (JP: aikoku-han, KR: aeguk-ban, 愛國班) were neighborhood cells which functioned as the local arm of the Korean Federation of National Power (国民総力朝鮮連盟, 국민총력조선연맹). Every Korean living in Korea belonged to a Patriotic Group. It typically consisted of a few households, led by a Patriotic Group leader, who normally acted as a mini-tyrant micromanaging the lives of everyone within the Patriotic Group. That included things like rationing food and goods, enforcing mandatory State Shinto prayer times and shrine visits, ‘volunteering’ laborers upon the colonial regime’s request, arranging marriages, holding mandatory Japanese language classes, spying on each other, etc.
Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) December 21, 1943
Tomorrow's posture to win through to victory
A Focus on Eating Habits (4)
Waiting in line for goods destroys your health!
Don't double or triple your purchases!
Sugar and Sweet Snacks Edition
Sugar is one of the most popular food essentials that are being rationed at stores. Sugar is currently being sold freely under the autonomous control of each retailer, but each vendor issues a ration book to each household and valued customer, and distributes rations based on the number of family members. There are some regions where families receive regular monthly rations of sugar, while families in other regions cannot get their hands on sugar for close to two or three months at a time. Among them, some families receive ration books from two or three different suppliers and double- or triple-dip into the sugar supply.
Sugar is one of the most important foods in terms of nutritional glucose intake, not to mention seasoning, so in order to correct this harmful market situation, Seoul authorities are strictly enforcing the ban on double and triple rationing of sugar to prevent exploiters from taking advantage of the situation. Authorities are also reducing sugar rations to some households while increasing sugar rations to others by taking into consideration the number of family members and their living conditions. The draft to implement such policies has recently been completed and is being submitted to the Governor-General's Office, but it is not expected to be realized until the next year. When the sugar rations to some households are reduced to resolve the problems with the distribution of sweet snacks, which is currently the subject of much public criticism, then the concerns of families with children will be assuaged.
For a long time now, there have been calls about the difficulties in obtaining sweet snacks in general. There was a tragic story of a mother with an infant who was forced to stand in line for several hours at a snack store on a frosty morning along Honmachi Avenue to obtain one cookie for her child, only to collapse from anemia. Families with lots of free time and people could run all over town to get a cookie, but this meant that families with young children who wanted to give them snacks but did not have the time to shop around for sweet snacks would never be able to get any. These sweet snacks are left to retailers to sell freely. Because these are things that everyone wants, there are growing rumors that supplies are being diverted and sold on the black market. That is why sweet snacks are actually not being distributed to ordinary households.
When we asked Mr. Saburō Satō, director of the Seoul Confectionery Industry Association, about the state of sweet snack production, we found that the rationed supplies of sugar, the main ingredient of sweet snacks, were 18% of what manufacturers had in 1938 and 1939, when there was an abundant surplus of sweet snacks, but he insisted that supplies of the main ingredient were not that scarce.
There is no large-scale import of sweet snacks from mainland Japan at all. In addition, due to the decrease in the supplies of the ingredients, the decline in the manufacturing of sweet snacks has been larger than the decline in the supplies of sugar, the main ingredient. Each retailer sells to the general public in accordance with the guidelines of proper distribution based on actual consumption as determined by the authorities. However, because freely selling sweet snacks to people lined up at a storefront would cause problems, a registration system has been introduced and tickets have been distributed. One interesting phenomenon is that people who usually drank alcoholic beverages and did not eat sweet snacks have recently begun to eat lots of sweet snacks, which has shifted household demand towards sweet snacks, and increased the number of sugar consumers.
In terms of sweet snack production, the allocated raw materials are properly distributed to each producer, but since most sweet snacks retailers are also engaged in the production of sweet snacks themselves, things would probably run more smoothly if producers and retailers were clearly delineated in the distribution system.
We asked Mr. Kichiheijirō Nagamoto, the founding committee chairman of the Seoul Confectionery Retailers Association who has worked tirelessly to organize the association, about where to set the appropriate standards for the distribution of sweet snacks, and how families with children who are currently not registered with any retailers can buy sweet snacks.
I hear that sweet snacks are hard to come by, but I don't think there are any households in Seoul that don't eat sweet snacks at all. Each retailer makes their own sweet snacks in-house, and because there is no clear system set in place by the association, it is not possible to plan production. Individual stores make and sell a variety of sweet snacks from ingredients that they receive, but the registration system seems to be the most popular with the consumers. Although it is not possible to immediately distribute sweet snacks upon receipt of a postcard or verbal request, we try to distribute them in one or two months upon receipt of an order, and tickets are issued to those who visit the store in the morning.
If a strong retailers association could be formed, if we were not dependent only on small individual manufacturers, and if we could also receive wholesale orders from large factories, then it would be much easier for consumers to obtain the products. The retailers association could make an agreement to distribute to consumers in each district, or distribute to schools and labor centers on a priority basis, or survey families with children through the Patriotic Groups and distribute to them on a priority basis. However, if individual suppliers freely connect with consumers, as is the case today, there will be people who double or triple their purchases.
Therefore, it is essential to plan production and ration accurately. For example, it is the mission of confectionery merchants in wartime to stop sticking to traditional ways of doing business, and produce many popular sweet snacks and ration them in various settings. Even when rationing to preferred customers, it would be unbalanced to ration based on past patterns of extravagant consumption.
Even when consumers order supplies through verbal requests or by postcards, they are often coldly turned down, and so they turn to the black market to obtain tickets. How are sweet snack stores in the Seoul area issuing snack tickets?
If they sell snacks in the store, people will line up to buy them, and if they offer tickets at a certain time, people will also line up to buy them. Some stores will give out sweet snacks twice a month if you bring in your rice ration book, while others will sell sweet snacks if you bring in hard currency, and so on, which has led to complaints about snack retailers. Oftentimes, families with free time and people can walk around town and obtain supplies. If you want something, others want it, too, so unless people can show restraint by buying one item instead of two, and buying once instead of twice, there will be no end to the shortages of sweet snacks.
Therefore, it would be more fair to have a registration system for consumers of sweet snacks in all of Seoul, and to link consumers to snack retailers by district. In wartime, sweet snacks are a source of nutrition for infants and a source of comfort for production warriors, so the cooperation of the general public is desired to focus distribution accordingly. We believe things will continue as they are now, unless the authorities take appropriate measures.
To address the complaints in the city about the unavailability of snacks, the authorities are taking active measures to provide sweet snacks to children who really need them, such by as increasing the amount of raw materials and distributing cookies for infants through the Patriotic Groups. Authorities arranged for a large confectionery factory to produce caramel candy, and distributed them through schools specially to children. A deeper understanding about sweet snacks by the general public is desired. [Photo: A snack store displaying food products in bottles instead of sweet snacks]
Original caption: A snack store displaying food products in bottles instead of sweet snacks.
This is an interesting article about the dire shortages of miso and soy sauce in Seoul, where authorities apparently struggled to prevent consumers from hoarding scarce supplies. The Korean people, who apparently used to make their own miso and soy sauce at home, had to start buying ready-made miso and soy sauce from grocery stores once rations of raw soybeans were stopped. The problem was that supplies of ready-made miso and soy sauce were only enough for the small ethnic Japanese community, who only made about 2.9% of Korea's population at the time, so shortages inevitably resulted. Authorities did all they could to increase production, but they cut corners by substituting ingredients, cutting brewing times, and watering down the soy sauce, resulting in poor quality.
(Translation)
Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) December 19, 1943
Tomorrow's posture to win through to victory
A Focus on Eating Habits (3)
Miso and Soy Sauce Edition
Housewives are confused by rumors
What are the true causes of the shortages?
These days, difficulties in obtaining common side dishes has increased the role of miso and soy sauce as seasonings, and demand for these products is on the rise. Aside from soy sauce, there is an outcry over shortages when it comes to miso. This is compounded by rumors that miso and soy sauce will be rationed, and the number of housewives who go to grocery stores in Seoul every day to buy up miso has been increasing dramatically. However, is it really true that miso and soy sauce are going to be rationed?
In view of last year's winter shortages and the shortages still being reported in the present day, let us examine the brewing and market situations of miso and soy sauce, which are indispensable seasonings for home cooking. First, let us look at the causes of the wintertime shortages of miso, as explained by Mr. Kan'ichi Inoue, director of the Gyeonggi-do Soy Sauce and Miso Brewing Industry Association.
"There were shortages last winter because we had a poor harvest of soybeans and barley, so we had to rely on ingredients from Manchuria for brewing. The raw ingredients were not as available on the market as we had hoped, so we had to use great millet, chestnuts, and Japanese barnyard millet instead. But this year, things are going well with Korean-made ingredients, so much so that we are busy with production at the 28 brewing facilities in the Seoul area. It may be because we learned some lessons from last year. There is absolutely no reason to believe that miso and soy sauce will become scarce during this winter season."
If housewives are having difficulty buying miso, it is probably because of the proliferation of hoarding behavior by consumers who are being misled by completely groundless, false rumors that miso cannot be brewed due to a lack of ingredients or that miso will be placed on the rationing card system. This hoarding is evidenced by the fact that people who used to each buy 100 monme (375 grams) or 200 monme (700 grams) of miso in the summer would each buy 500 monme (1.88 kg) or even 1 kan (3.75 kg) of miso in the winter, since miso goes bad in the summer but can be stored for a long time in the winter. Such people check out grocery stores far and wide and buy up all the supplies that they can find.
Another reason for the shortages is the fact that working Korean people used to make their own miso and soy sauce at home using their rations of soybeans and salt, but ever since the rations for those raw ingredients were completely stopped, it could be said that they naturally started to encroach upon the miso and soy sauce supplies that were normally consumed by the ethnic Japanese people. Such increase in demand along with the senseless hoarding driven by misleading rumors are the reasons why miso and soy sauce can no longer be easily purchased.
[Photo: Miso and soy sauce in abundance]
Nevertheless, the increase in consumption has been met with a considerable increase in the amount of raw ingredients, and brewing methods cannot fully meet demand with only two brewing cycles in spring and fall. Therefore, each brewery has adopted an immediate brewing method and is doing everything in its power to keep brewing and make sure that its products do not run out in the marketplace. Therefore, from the brewery's point of view, there is absolutely no chance that consumers will suffer from shortages. We discussed these breweries' encouraging solutions with various food retailers and asked for their opinions.
"Retailers receive shipments of brewed products from wholesalers, but breweries also sell their products directly, so we buy the miso directly from the breweries every week or every two weeks. In terms of sales volume, there is no difference at all between summer and winter. However, in recent days we are seeing lots of completely unfamiliar customers each coming to buy 1 kan (3.75 kg) of miso. Some customers want more than that, but we try not to sell more than 1 kan (3.75 kg) of miso to a single customer. As retailers, we are rather surprised at the number of customers who keep coming to us asking for miso," said one food retailer in the Seoul area.
These reactions by the breweries and retailers may seem a bit confusing to housewives who are concerned about shortages of miso and soy sauce. However, in light of the fact that rationing was ultimately not implemented, and market availability has been the same as usual, we should all take a moment to reflect on whether or not we are each buying 1 kan (3.75 kg) of miso as well. Aside from complaints about the availability of miso and soy sauce on the market, there are many people who are saying, in recent days, that the miso tastes bad and that the soy sauce is watery. To address those who go so far as to suggest that retailers might be watering down their soy sauce, we turn again to Director Inoue of the Brewing Industry Association.
"I often hear people say that the taste of soy sauce has declined, but from the point of view of the retailers, it can be said that consumers tend to demand high-quality products too much. For example, miso is not classified into different quality grades. Instead, miso is divided into two types: white and red. White miso used to be made from rice, but now it is made from barley. This may not taste good to those who are accustomed to the traditional taste. It may also be that the immediate brewing method, which was adopted to meet demand, is more or less diluting the original viscous texture that the miso used to have."
In the past, soy sauce brands such as Kikkōman and Marukin were shipped in from mainland Japan, but now the soy sauce is all made in Gyeonggi-do. The #1-grade products are the four brands: Kikkōryū, Kikkōyū, Kuniyoshi, and Fujitada. When these high-quality brands are unavailable, then you ultimately have no choice but to buy the #2-grade or #3-grade products, which presumably results in the impression that the taste of soy sauce has declined.
The quality of soy sauce is supposed to be better than before due to the revision of the official prices in July, along with the revision of the standards. In the end, the decline in taste means that high quality products are no longer available. One could argue that the brewing of #2-grade and #3-grade products should be reduced in favor of increasing the production of high-quality products. However, brewing #1-grade products nowadays requires considerable improvements in the manufacturing facilities, and technologically, breweries that have been brewing #2-grade and #3-grade products cannot raise the quality of their products overnight. Anyways, it is a completely false and groundless belief that miso and soy sauce can no longer be brewed due to a lack of raw ingredients or that they will be placed on the rationing card system. Supplies will be plentiful if consumers curb their hoarding behavior.
This photo shows the inside of an interrogation room of the economic police in the Dongdaemon precinct of Seoul. It appears to be quite a crowded room crammed with desks, with suspects sitting at separate desks facing police officers one-on-one. However, the standing woman with a slightly slouched, dejected body posture is facing a plain-clothed man, and a uniformed man sitting next to the plain-clothed man has his face turned toward her. My guess is that the plain-clothed man directly in front of the standing woman is a Korean translator working for the Japanese police officer sitting next to him.
The suspects are depicted to be greedy and immoral black marketeers, but in reality, many were probably selling on the black market without proper business permits just to survive, which was a story arc in the Pachinko series. The police chief confidently claims that he has eyes and ears everywhere on the ground, so the economic police presumably have a large network of spies and informants who report directly to them.
This is another propaganda article in a series of 'Good Korean Retailer versus Bad Korean Retailer' propaganda articles contrasting the stereotypically bad Korean (greedy, mean, dishonest, lawless) with the stereotypically good, pro-Imperial Japan Korean (selfless, kind, honest, law-abiding). See this other related article from July 10, 1942:
Japan Center for Asian Historical Records entry on the Economic Police (my translation): The Economic Police Division was a section in charge of economic control and supervision. With the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, a wartime economic control system was established in Korea. At first, the Commerce and Industry Division of the Regional Industries Bureau, the industrial divisions of each province, and the security division of the police were involved in controlling the soaring prices of daily commodities and gasoline, a strategic commodity. However, the need for specialized police officers to enforce these controls led to the assignment of police officers "engaged in police affairs associated with economic controls" to the Police Bureau in November 1938, which marked the beginning of the economic police. The Economic Police Division was established in February 1940, with four sections (General Affairs Section, Guidance Section, Control Section, and Information Section), which were assigned to take charge of affairs related to economic police. On the other hand, since the Economic Police Division was in charge of economic control and supervision, it was also expected to be involved in the area of labor mobilization to strengthen wartime productivity, and in the reorganization of December 1943, matters related to "labor recruitment control," which had been handled by the Security Division, were transferred to the division.
(Translation)
Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) July 5, 1942
We are especially rude to black marketeers
The eyes of the police are all-seeing mirrors!
"Merchants and black market transactions are said to go hand in hand. Ha ha ha! I don't think it's that bad, but there are indeed quite a lot of bad guys out there".
We are in an office of the Dongdaemun Police Department's Economic Crimes Section. The person speaking here is the police chief, Captain Hoshiro.
"I'm inside all the time, so the merchants may think I don't know anything, but my eyes and ears are like an all-seeing mirror, and I can see everything. These days, even in hell, I can see everything and hear their voices at the same time like in a movie, so it's pretty interesting".
What Hoshiro is saying is a bit amazing. "Well then, I'll do as you wish and first introduce you to the good store owners. Since I can guarantee that they are good, please make sure to praise them properly".
Now let's see what sorts of good store owners Mr. Hoshiro is talking about.
◇．．．Mr. Kim Dong-yang (김동용/金東用) is the owner of Hyehwa Trading Company and Grocery Store at 126 Hyehwa-dong. His store has a good reputation in the neighborhood. Even when women or children enter the store to buy something, he would still bow politely to each and every one of them, and not use pressure sales tactics on them as some merchants do. Of course, the prices are the same as the official prices, which is a great help to the housewives in the neighborhood. Moreover, once inside the store, the goods are displayed in an orderly fashion without a single gap in the rows of goods, so that the necessary items are immediately visible even to a new customer who peeks in.
◇．．．The next good store is a general store at 4 Yeji-dong in the Dongdaemun Market. The owner, Mr. Yuh Yong-sang (유용상/劉容相), is proud to be in charge of an important kitchen in the eastern part of the city, and he is doing his best to serve his community. He is the model merchant at Dongdaemun Market. He is always kind to his customers. He tries to sell his smile more than his products. Hats off to Mr. Yuh, who stands alone by himself aloof and sneers at the other merchants who are vigilantly watching for the economic police to let their guard down.
While the above two stores are model stores that were highlighted by Captain Hoshiro's high praise, the next two stores are owned by notorious offending merchants. They are a rare breed of sick individuals of the black market who have not reformed themselves despite being warned repeatedly by the economic police.
◇．．．A man named [redacted], who runs a grocery store at 182 Wonnam-dong, has been punished three times so far by the Dongdaemun Police Department, and he is a habitual pricing violator. He has a bad reputation in the neighborhood, and his arrogant attitude toward his customers with his pressure sales tactics sums up everything. This man does not change his ways no matter how many times he is warned by the police, and he is well documented in detective inspectors' notes as the leader of the delinquent stores in the Dongdaemun police precinct.
◇．．．A man named [redacted] runs a grocery store in the same Dongdaemun Market as Mr. Yuh. He has always been pursuing his own personal gain and has been operating his business with a hateful and arrogant attitude, taking advantage of his customers' weaknesses, and making unreliable and unscrupulous statements about prices. This man is notable for having been scolded four times by the Dongdaemun Police Department so far, but he has not changed his ways. Although we warn him every chance we get, we may even take away this immoral merchant's business license if necessary.
The above four stores mentioned by Captain Hoshiro represent opposite ends of a spectrum between light and darkness among the grocery stores that are entrusted with the lives of the residents of the Dongdaemun police precinct.
Captain Hoshiro went on by saying, "Since problems with food supplies affect the hearts of the residents the most, the attitude of the merchants who deal with food supplies should always be to take responsibility for ensuring the stability of the lives of the people on the home front, so they must not be absorbed even a little in making a profit. If there is a merchant who is still unwilling to cooperate …" Captain Hoshiro looked around at the faces of the suspects in front of him and continued, "they will have to be interrogated like this". As he popped his fingertips on a stack of documents, he giggled.
[Photo: Interrogation at the Dongdaemun Police Station]
This is my translation and transcription of six fictional stories from Keijo Nippo, a propaganda newspaper and mouthpiece of the government of Japan-colonized Korea. They have never been republished or translated before, to the best of my knowledge. Ever since someone dumped these old newspaper issues in the Internet Archive last October, I have been slowly translating and posting select articles at various subreddits to share my findings with the wider community.
'Yōko versus Hoshiko' was a Keijo Nippo newspaper serial featuring fictional educational dialogues pitting Yōko, the 'good' Korean woman who is selfless and cares about others, against Hoshiko, the 'bad' Korean woman who is selfish, greedy, and only cares about herself, as they argue about the correct way to live their daily lives governed by the Patriotic Groups of wartime Seoul. It's a very interesting glimpse into the everyday lives of Koreans in 1944 Seoul. Keijo Nippo was more than just a newspaper - it also functioned like a textbook to spread propaganda throughout Korea, so chances are that, all over Korea, each Patriotic Group leader talked with their followers about Yōko and Hoshiko during their group meetings.
Yōko Higashi and Hoshiko Nishino are allegorical names. The Yō in Yōko is the Chinese character 陽 (the sun), or the yang in the Chinese yin-yang concept. Higashi literally means "East", so her name could be translated as Sunny East, representing the Japanese Rising Sun and the goodness of East Asia.
In contrast, the Hoshi in Hoshiko literally means "Star", and Nishino literally means "West field" in Japanese, so her name could be translated as Star Westfield, representing the night sky, or darkness, and also alignment with the 'evil' West. Hoshiko peppers her speech with English words like 'all mighty' and 'hiking'. She is accused of harboring liberal thoughts (the belief in human freedom) and having hedonistic attitudes that come from Britain and the United States. She is an entitled Korean Karen who abuses her personal influence and turns to the black market to get extra food rations and goods, and stiffs the bike couriers who deliver her shopping home from the stores.
Patriotic Groups (JP: aikoku-han, KR: aeguk-ban, 愛國班) were neighborhood cells which functioned as the local arm of the Korean Federation of National Power (国民総力朝鮮連盟, 국민총력조선연맹), the single ruling party of colonial Korea. They typically consisted of a few households, led by a Patriotic Group leader, who acted as a mini-tyrant micromanaging the lives of everyone within the Patriotic Group. That included things like rationing food and goods, enforcing mandatory State Shinto prayer times and shrine visits, 'volunteering' laborers upon the colonial government's request, arranging marriages, holding mandatory Japanese language classes, spying on 'ideological criminals', etc.
The Patriotic Group leaders were often corrupt, enriching themselves and their friends and families at the expense of the rest of the group members. Many Koreans filed complaints to report such leaders, but it's unclear whether this had any effect on reducing corruption.
It should be noted that former Patriotic Group leaders were among the first to be targeted for reprisals following Korean Independence in August 1945 - many of their homes were set on fire, as witnessed later by incoming American soldiers who were initially confused as to what was going on.
(Translation)
Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) April 12, 1944
Yōko and Hoshiko
A patriotic group leader who embezzles rations
This is a treacherous act, let's correct this
Yōko Higashi and Hoshiko Nishino are two women who will sometimes appear in this column.
◇Yōko Higashi is an honest girl with a kind heart, who takes care of others with kindness, gives her all teaching others, and is loved by everyone.
Yōko Higashi
◇Hoshiko Nishino is a narrow-minded, selfish, and conceited woman. She is a woman who turns to the black market, talks behind people's backs, and is hated by everyone for being the 'gossip general' who always spreads gossip around the water well. We see people like Yōko and Hoshiko on the trains, at the grocery stores, at the seafood stores, in the kitchens, in government offices, and at work everywhere. Indeed, there are times when Yōko and Hoshiko, who are polar opposites, are in conflict with each other inside our own hearts.
Hoshiko Nishino
In such cases, we must never let Hoshiko defeat us. Let us drive Hoshiko away from our hearts and from our surroundings, and let every one of us become like Yōko to build a bright, righteous, and strong posture on the home front.
Hoshiko: Well, it's been a while, Yōko. I've just become a patriotic group leader!
Yōko: Well, you must be very busy. I really appreciate your hard work.
Hoshiko: No, it's better to have the goods roll in than to be busy.
Yōko: Well, what do you mean by 'the goods rolling in'? What kinds of things 'roll in' when you become a patriotic group leader?
Hoshiko: All sorts of goods will roll in. The goods that are rationed to the patriotic group are not necessarily distributed to all of the members of the patriotic group. There are some households who say they don't have charcoal these days, but you should come to my place. I have lots of charcoal at home.
Yōko: Really? Well, you mustn't do that. You will be arrested by the Economic Police. First of all, if you do such an unscrupulous thing, your neighbors will be annoyed, and it would be a disgrace to us women who protect the home front.
Hoshiko: You are such a good person! But if there are no perks to the job, no one will want to become a patriotic group leader.
Yōko: It is because of people like you that there will always be a black market. Let's break off our friendship! I really want you to put that kind of thinking aside, and work for the good of everyone. Please be a really good patriotic group leader. First and foremost, the black market must be eliminated on the home front. To do this, I think we women should be the first to take the initiative in eliminating the black market. Really, please don't do anything bad.
Despite Yōko's earnest pleas, Hoshiko left with a cold look on her face, saying goodbye and leaving.
The traitors who disturb the rationing of goods on the home front
When we mention that your 'face' is not good in this column, we don't mean that you have a crooked nose or a big mouth. What we mean is 'face', as in using your face to your advantage, or the abuse of personal power.
Yōko: Oh, that's such a rarity! I haven't eaten a yōkan in such a long time. Where did you get it?
Hoshiko: Hee hee hee! I wonder how I got it!? I also have some monaka! It's filled with so much red bean paste. But I didn't want to serve it up all at once, or else your eyes will get dizzy. So, I'm saving some for later.
Yōko: Really? You also got monaka? That's amazing, Hoshiko. When you go out a lot, you can find anything, can't you?
Hoshiko: Oh, no. In the past, it was said that even a dog will eventually run into a pole if it keeps walking. Now that is no longer true. No amount of walking will do any good.
Yōko: Then, what did you do to find these things?
Hoshiko: By using my face.
Yōko: What do you mean, your face?
Hoshiko: Oh, you're so slow! What I mean is, I used my face to my advantage! Look, remember what happened at Jingū Stadium? Someone used their face to gain admission.
Yōko: What?!
Hoshiko: Don't be surprised. Nowadays, you can't get anything without wielding your face (influence). It's a common saying these days. [In the order of importance], number one is face, number two is the black market, and number three is money.
Yōko: So money is last place?
Hoshiko: That's right. There has never been a time when money is more worthless than now. No matter how much money you have, you can't get things easily. But although money is the reason the black market exists, money always yields to the power of face. Face, face, face! Face is all mighty!
Yōko: But you see, Hoshiko, is it really right to use your face and the black market in this way?
Hoshiko: What?
Yōko: This is the way I feel. Yes, the rationing system is not so perfect in Seoul right now, or in Korea for that matter. We are in a transitional period. Even I know very well that in transitional periods, the black market and the abuse of personal influence are common, as they apparently were in mainland Japan. But that doesn't mean it's a good thing.
Hoshiko: …
Yōko: I know that in a place like the Korean peninsula, people from mainland Japan have to take pride in themselves and try to be role models for the Korean people. Yes, it's inconvenient to not have things. But they say, 'Don't be concerned about scarcity, but be concerned about inequality.' When someone abuses their personal influence or turns to the black market and buys up things, then there are less things to go around for the other people, right? In this transitional period, isn't it true that everyone should be more careful and yield to each other to compensate for the inadequacies of the system? As long as everyone has that spirit, I don't think there will be any complaints or dissatisfaction. I often hear rumors of embezzled rations at certain department stores, or snack supplies diverted into the black market at certain stores, but I think there is a need for such companies to be corrected. Is there anything I'm saying that's wrong?
Hoshiko: Before, I thought that using my face was a very good thing, but now I'm going to think about it again a little more.
I was so impressed by Yōko-san's reasonable words. I almost did get myself into a terrible situation. If this young lady had not given me that warning, I would have had nothing to eat by now, not even a snack.
It is true, as that lady had said to me, that theory and practice do not always coincide. Even if something makes sense in theory, it requires rethinking when it comes to what to do in the present moment. No matter how much I, Yōko, and a few others may talk endlessly about righteous behavior, what difference does it make?
X-th month, X-th day
Yesterday, I bumped into Yōko on my way home after buying 50 eggs from the black market. She looked at me as if she was disappointed in me. I told her, "You're going to lecture me again about using my face or turning to the black market, aren't you?" I continued, "I'll listen to your lectures about having a righteous heart, but no way am I going to be hung out to dry". To this, she looked at me with her round eyes and said, "Your thoughts are apparently still carrying around the residues of liberalism!" She was making me out to be a fool! What's the use of being righteous, if you can't eat?
X-th month, X-th day
Today I brought five eggs to my neighbor, and she gave me a little bit of ham in return. My neighbor is a lady who is a master of the black market, so she always has a large stockpile of rare things. I must put more energy into this … .
X-th month, X-th day
I went to the department store office with my neighbor Eiko, and the clerk gave us ration tickets for tabi (split-toed socks) and stockings. At another store, there was a mild-mannered old gentleman who seemed to have a good-looking face. He smiled at Eiko and handed her a ticket for Japanese sweets, saying, "I have one left over, so I'll give it to you". When I asked Eiko if she could introduce me to this old gentleman, she said, "No, no, no. If I introduce him to a master of personal influence and the black market like yourself, he won't come back to me". I felt so offended.
Hoshiko, the bad woman who has appeared in this column for only the fourth time, is already being bombarded with outrage from all sides, with things said like "Hoshiko needs to be shot!" So, even the brazen Hoshiko is starting to show signs of remorse. Hoshiko was not the only one who was shamelessly pursuing her black market activities to exclusively protect her own lifestyle, to indulge her own self-interest and greed through embezzlement and the abuse of personal influence, and to be absorbed in the pursuit of daily necessities. Since there were many people around Hoshiko who continued such acts, Hoshiko had also become a player in this field before she even knew it. Hoshiko was somewhat depressed today and avoided going shopping.
Yōko woke up early and was sweeping the road at the gate when a neighbor came out with her bamboo broom.
She greeted Yōko with a morning greeting, "You're up early, aren't you, Yōko?" Then she said,
"There is apparently a bad person named Hoshiko who is on the news, but the young wife of a patriotic group leader at XXX-chō looks just like Hoshiko! She looks so much like Hoshiko, that the group members finally got angry and said, 'We can't trust a patriotic group leader who is with someone who looks just like Hoshiko, so we're going to ask you to step down.' So, they finally forced the patriotic group leader to step down. Isn't this a truly delightful story?"
"I think our patriotic group needs to get along with each other more and more. I hope more people like yourself, Yōko, will take the lead, and lead the way. There is a saying, 'Don't be concerned about scarcity, but be concerned about inequality.' The other day, when apples were distributed, one apple was cut into eight pieces and distributed to three stubborn and inflexible wives, who insisted that the apples be divided into portions for each household, without considering the number of family members. I don't know what to make of it."
"The apples had neither flavor nor shape. If we had the desire to help each other and yield to each other, we wouldn't have to waste time and money like this. It seems that the three wives, who are the elders and advisors of this patriotic group, are no different from Hoshiko."
Yōko laughed and said, "From now on, when it comes to rationing, we will take the lead and give those rations to the elderly and the children, while we will deprive ourselves of those rations. It is useless to respond with logic to those who are greedy and unreasonable. Let's wake them up by putting things into practice a little."
"I'm just picking one flower" is an attitude that comes from the U.S. and Britain
Don't pick and ruin the flowers! Follow the etiquette for flower viewing
The sky was beautifully clear and the mountains were filled with fragrant flowers in springtime.
Hoshiko: Yōko, look! Look at those beautiful Forsythia flowers over there! Since this is a special hiking trip, let's each pick one flower to take home as souvenirs.
Yōko: No, no! Flowers and trees that bloom in the fields and mountains are beautiful only when they are in their natural habitat, and to pick them would be like destroying the mountains. Then what would be the point of hiking here?
Hoshiko: But there are cherry blossoms and rhododendrons blooming all over the mountain here and there. Even if you pick just one flower, the beauty of the mountain will not change. It is because I love the beauty of nature that I try to enjoy it at home.
Yōko: I understand your love of beauty, but that is the wrong kind of beauty. Imagine a thousand people climbing this mountain, who are each willing to pick one flower just for themselves. What will happen to the mountain then?
Hoshiko: You're being unreasonable. I'll never climb a mountain with you again.
Yōko: Think more carefully and calmly. You see, these poor cherry tree twigs have been thrown away along this road. There are people who are not satisfied with the flowers they hand-picked from the mountains, and don't even take them home with them. It's a nuisance to see them selfishly waving those big branches around on the train, and it's not a very admirable sight. What is the beauty in arranging stolen flowers in your home?
Hoshiko: How rude of you to say that it's stealing! You don't have the delicate feelings to pick a single flower.
Yōko: I think that breaking off branches from the tree in the mountains and taking them home is similar to black market activities. If there is even a piece of pureness and morality in your heart, those tantalizing Forsythia flowers will bloom beautifully again next year to comfort our hearts. This is not just about mountain flowers and trees. I believe that there is still much of that British and American mindset in our personal lives that is only concerned with our own personal pleasure, as long as it is convenient for us. We should definitely liquidate this mindset at this time.
(Note: In the days before widespread car ownership, shoppers at stores would sometimes have bike couriers deliver their goods home.)
(Note about currencies: Each morning edition of the Keijo Nippo of 1942 was priced at 6 sen. Today, each morning edition of Asahi Shimbun is priced at 160 yen. For this I will use the conversion of 140 Japanese yen to the US Dollar in today' money.)
Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) April 28, 1944
Yōko and Hoshiko
You must carry your own luggage!
When you use a deliveryman, you must pay the stipulated fee
The earnest and homely Yōko contrasts with Hoshiko, whose character still bears the residue of liberalism. Each exudes her own idiosyncrasies in their daily lives. When they go out to the Honmachi District [the area just south of Myeongdong Cathedral] to do a little shopping, Hoshiko, who is not willing to work and only cares about how the whole world sees her, calls a deliveryman and says, "Please take this to my house, will you?" Yōko, dressed in her Monpe work pants, happily carries a pile of her patriotic group's rations in her hands.
"Hoshiko, we are in the middle of a war. You have to cut down on waste", said Yōko to Hoshiko, but her words only landed on deaf ears. Though the maximum service charge of a deliveryman is fixed, Hoshiko is still poisoning herself and others around her by entertaining her vanity of flipping through wads of money the old-fashioned way and offering a small gratuity.
Hoshiko speaking with a deliveryman (bike courier).
Yōko: Hoshiko, do you know how much it costs to make a delivery in one zone?
Hoshiko: What do you mean by one zone? I pay just as they tell me to when it's time to pay the fee.
Yōko: How can you be so sloppy? One zone is based on two kilometers from the place where you deposited the delivery, and this fee is 20 sen ($3.81 USD today). For each additional kilometer, 5 sen ($0.95 USD today) is added.
Hoshiko: Well, is it that cheap according to the terms and conditions…?
Hoshiko looked surprised as if she just learned about this. (But who is the one who disrupts business by not tipping every time a delivery is made?)
Yōko: However, that's just for regular deliveries. For special deliveries, items loaded on bicycles are charged 25 sen ($4.76 USD today) per kilogram, and items that can only be carried by a rear bicycle cargo trailer are also charged 40 sen ($7.62 USD today) or less per kilogram. For cash deliveries, the charge is 20 sen ($3.81 USD today) or less for a delivery of up to 10 yen ($190 USD today). For each additional yen ($19 USD today), an additional charge of 5 sen ($0.95 USD today) or less is added.
Hoshiko: Since I didn't know this, I used to worry a lot when I asked for cash deliveries. Besides, on bad weather days, you may be charged a lot.
Yōko: That's because there is an after-hours service, and if you make a request between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. the next morning, if you make a request in the rain or snow, or if you make a round-trip delivery, you will be charged double the amount of each charge.
Hoshiko: Thank you very much for deepening my social knowledge. But nowadays, courier companies don't come immediately after you call them.
Yōko: That's why you have to carry everything yourself.
