Russian Tatar man wearing and selling Imperial Japanese "National Uniform" in colonial Seoul (March 1941)

This photo features a Russian Tatar clothing retailer in 1941 Seoul dressed in National Uniform Type B (国民服乙号型) and holding what appears to be National Uniform Type A (国民服甲号型). Behind him is a sign that says "All sales on credit refused" (懸賣一切御断り). In the accompanying Imperial Japanese propaganda article, he is positively portrayed in a highly favorable light: as an Imperial patriot of Muslim warrior heritage who sells patriotic national clothing, in contrast to other retailers who supposedly push "flashy American-style clothes". These National Uniforms were not yet mandatory in 1941, but they would later be made mandatory when draconian clothing regulations were issued in 1943.

Originally from the Volga-Ural region of Russia, the Tatars fled the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 seeking refuge from religious and political persecution. Imperial Japan saw potential in them as political propaganda tools, and accepted about a thousand of them as refugees. Many took up the clothing retail business, where some apparently made considerable fortunes. About one hundred Tatars resided in Seoul by this time.

This photo article shows the "model minority" treatment that Imperial Japan gives them. What is striking here is the way the article showcases this man as an exemplary minority subject of empire. He is portrayed as loyal, useful, fluent in Japanese, commercially respectable, and fully aligned with wartime imperial values. In that sense, the article does not merely describe a Tatar shopkeeper. It uses him symbolically.

This kind of representation seems to have served at least two propaganda purposes. First, it fit Japan’s wartime effort to present itself favorably to Muslim audiences abroad. Second, within colonial Korea, it offered a pointed contrast: a foreign Muslim refugee could be depicted as visibly embracing the Japanese language, Imperial Japanese culture, and wartime mobilization, thereby implicitly shaming Koreans who did not do the same.

Before the outbreak of the Pacific War in December 8, 1941, the phrase “blue-eyed” (hekigan, 碧眼), a term used to refer to white foreigners, was often used to describe the Russian Tatars. However, this subsequently stopped during the war years from 1942 onward, and they would henceforth be referred to as belonging to the Asian race. A recent Korea Times article notes that this expression still survives in Korean usage today as byeokan, though many now view it as awkward or dated.

The Tatar man uses the expression "Chongoshi", but this may be an approximation or bastardized pronunciation of "정이 고우시네 (it has a warm, lovely feeling)" in Korean. A Japanese woman from the colonial period says this word, intending this meaning, with Koreans in a dialogue that is reproduced in this blog post [Link].

[Translation]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo), March 19, 1941
Blue Eyes in “National Clothing” Too
A Turkic Tatar’s Pledge

“How is this? 정이 고우시네 (it has a warm, lovely feeling).”

He is a blue-eyed Turkic Tatar, wearing and selling the national uniform. It is difficult to see in his present appearance the fierce boldness with which, roused by the voice of the Prophet Muhammad, his predecessors once raised the banner of Islamism and struck fear into the mountains and fields of the medieval world. Yet there is much to ponder in the frank way he says that, in Seoul, flashy American-style clothes sell very well.

That is because there are so many gullible people who are delighted to think that ready-made clothing mass-produced around Kanda in Tokyo or Uemachi in Osaka is somehow “American-made.” It seems that once Turkic Tatars come to Seoul, they all decide to make it their permanent home, but that may be because they feel all the more deeply, in their very bones, their appreciation for Japan.

“For Japan, I will do anything. If I wear the national uniform, the military police will not get angry.”

This patriotic spring, his blue eyes are just a shade darker than the color of his national uniform.

[Transcription]

京城日報 1941年3月19日

碧眼も”国民服”
トルコ・タタールの誓い

『これ何うです。チョンゴシです』

国民服を着て国民服を売る碧い眼のトルコ・タタールだ。預言者マホメットの声に蹶起してイスラミズムの旗を立て、中世の山野を脅畏せしめた剽悍さを今のその姿に見るのは難しいが、アメリカ風の派手なものなら京城では幾らでも売れますと正直にも云ってのける言葉には多くの示唆がある。

東京の神田や大阪の上町辺りで多量生産するレディ・メードをアメリカ物？だと思って喜ぶ甘いのが多いからだ。従って一度京城に来たトルコ・タタールは一様にここを永住の地にしようと思い決めるらしいが、裏から見ればそれだけに日本の有難さが身に沁みて感じられているのでもある。

『わたくし、日本のためなら何でもします。国民服着ても憲兵隊怒らんです』碧い眼のよくさんの春は国民服の色よりちょいと濃い。

Source: Digital Newspaper Archive, National Library of Korea

Here is an excellent academic paper about the history of the Russian Tatar refugee community in Imperial Japan from their origins in the Volga-Ural region through the Russian Revolution in 1917, migration to Imperial Japan, and later emigration to the United States and Turkey after the war: [Link]

Imperial Japan’s support of Islam and Muslim communities has a fascinating historical background. For those interested in delving deeper, here’s a link to an academic paper on the topic: [Link] 

Other Keijo Nippo Articles:

• Russian Tatar refugee Shamshinoor Nugman in colonial Seoul after fleeing the Bolsheviks with the White Russians (November 1941) [Link]
• Shamseinoor Berikova, 19-year-old blue-eyed Russian Tatar refugee woman and Seoul resident in 1938, featured in Keijo Nippo as a pro-Imperial Japan patriotic model minority speaking fluent Japanese and supporting Imperial soldiers on their way to China [Link]
• The Sulemans were a Russian Tatar refugee family in Seoul who gained acceptance as assimilated Imperial Japanese people while holding strong to their Muslim faith, and left for Turkey amid warm farewells in 1939 [Link]
• Spotlight on 1943 Seoul: A Glimpse into the Russian Tatar Refugee Community, Marja Ibrahim’s Poetry Tribute to Tatar National Poet Ğabdulla Tuqay on the 30-year anniversary of his death [Link]
• Small community of ~100 Russian Tatars in Seoul featured in 1942-1944 propaganda articles: a young 19-year-old Tatar girl is praised for filling out immigration forms for her neighbors, a Tatar woman is commended for scolding her friends with red fingernails for wearing ‘British-American’ cosmetics [Link]
• In 1942 Busan, Korean pastors and foreign residents (Russian Tatar family, English woman, Chinese consul) praise Imperial Japan as British POWs captured in Malaysia start arriving in the city [Link]

Russian Tatar refugee Shamshinoor Nugman in colonial Seoul after fleeing the Bolsheviks with the White Russians (November 1941)

This 1941 article introduces Mrs. Shamshinoor Nugman, a Russian Tatar refugee living in colonial Seoul. The immediate occasion for the article is her donation of one hundred comfort bags to the Imperial military, although it also notes that, following her late husband’s wishes, she had earlier donated a large vehicle for transporting wounded patients. The article then briefly recounts her family’s flight from the Bolshevik Revolution, tracing a long refugee journey across Siberia into Manchuria and, eventually, to Japan and Korea.

Mrs. Shamshinoor Nugman in Seoul

I have posted several articles about the small Russian Tatar community in colonial Korea, with links for further reading below. In another article, Mrs. Nugman (also referred to as Nugmanov) appears as a prominent benefactor within that community, helping fund a Tatar school where children learned the Tatar language, the Muslim faith, and the official imperial curriculum. Other articles suggest that clothing retail was a common line of work among Tatars in Seoul.

Originally from the Volga-Ural region of Russia, the Tatars fled the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 seeking refuge from religious and political persecution. The community fled across Siberia into Manchuria and then settled in several cities throughout Imperial Japan, including Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe, Kumamoto, Seoul, and Busan. The Russian Tatar community in all of Imperial Japan numbered about 1000 residents, and there were about one hundred residents living in Seoul.

Imperial Japan appears to have seen political value in hosting Muslim refugees such as the Tatars, as part of its broader effort to cultivate Muslim goodwill under its wartime Islamic policy. In colonial Korea, that made the Tatars a 'model minority': they could be held up as loyal and assimilated Imperial subjects even while openly practicing their Muslim faith and speaking their language. That contrast would likely not have been lost on Koreans, who were seeing the public use of the Korean language becoming increasingly restricted and Korean culture becoming increasingly drowned out by militaristic Imperial Japanese culture.

Before the outbreak of the Pacific War in December 8, 1941, the phrase "blue-eyed" (hekigan, 碧眼), a term used to refer to white foreigners, was often used to describe the Russian Tatars. However, this subsequently stopped during the war years from 1942 onward, and they would henceforth be referred to as belonging to the Asian race. A recent Korea Times article notes that this expression still survives in Korean usage today as byeokan, though many now view it as awkward or dated.

After World War II, most of the Russian Tatar refugees in Japan and Korea left for the U.S. and Türkiye.

[Translation]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo), November 21, 1941
Grateful for Japan’s Benevolence
Blue-Eyed Woman Donates Comfort Packages to the Army Patriotic Association

Early in the morning on the 20th, a horse cart piled high with comfort packages arrived at the Korean Army Patriotic Association. A blue-eyed woman in Western dress came to visit and, in fluent Japanese, offered them to the Army, saying, “It is only a small gesture, but please send these to the soldiers serving at the front.”

This blue-eyed woman was 36-year-old Shamshinoor Nugman, the widow of Mr. Nugman, a White Russian of Turkic background who had run a clothing store at 2-19 Honmachi, Seoul. This past spring, as he lay on his deathbed, he left these final words: “We are foreigners who lost our homeland, yet we have been able to live in peace and security thanks to Japan. As a small token of our gratitude, please donate 20,000 yen as a relief contribution for the soldiers.” With that testament, he passed away.

“In accordance with my late husband’s wishes, we had the honor of donating one large motor vehicle for transporting wounded patients. We cannot easily find the words in Japanese to express our gratitude, and so we feel terribly sorry that the main way through which we express our feelings of gratitude and patriotism is through our donations of money and goods. What we truly feel from the bottom of our hearts is simply that we must be grateful, again and again, for the blessings of the Imperial nation. Today, though it is only a small gesture, we prepared and sent one hundred comfort packages.”

She spoke with faint tears of emotion in her eyes. Captain Hirai of the Patriotic Association was also deeply moved by her words and gladly accepted the donation.

Behind the deepening gratitude felt by this foreign woman, who had escaped to Japan and was able to live a peaceful and happy life, lay a strange and wandering past, full of memories too painful to recall. The story she told of her past was as follows:

“It was 1917 when the Red Revolution broke out. At that time I was still only thirteen years old, a schoolgirl in Penza Oblast near Moscow. We White Russians were pursued by the revolutionary forces. Together with my parents and siblings, with only the clothes on our backs, we fled Moscow by horse wagon. Shivering in the freezing cold, through falling snow, we changed at times to sleds and kept going east, farther and farther east, passing through Zabaikalsk, until at last we escaped to Hailar in Manchuria. It was still March, and the cold was severe. My husband Nugman had been in Samara, which is now known as Kuybyshev under Soviet rule. While he was in his first year at Kseniya University in Kazan, he too was driven out and fled to Hailar.

“After that we married, moved to Japan, lived in Kobe for six years, and then moved to Seoul, where we have now lived for sixteen years. Now we are in the process of applying for Japanese naturalization. Our homeland is now at the center of the calamity of the German-Soviet War. It seems that the hateful Red regime is gradually beginning to waver. We are filled with emotions beyond words. Compared with that, how can we ever adequately express my gratitude that Japan, even while at war, extends such warm-hearted kindness to foreigners like us?”

[Photograph: Widow Nugman]

[Transcription]

京城日報 1941年11月21日

日本の恵みに感謝
碧眼婦人が軍愛国部へ慰問袋

二十日早朝一台の荷馬車に慰問袋を山と積んで碧眼洋装の婦人が朝鮮軍愛国部を訪れ、『僅かですが戦地で活躍されている兵隊さんに贈って下さい』と巧みな日本語で献納を申し出た。この碧い眼の婦人はこの春死の枕辺に『郷土を失った異国人の我々が安穏な生活が送れるのは日本のお蔭だ。感謝の微意に二万円を恤兵金として献金せよ―』と遺言して逝った異邦人京城本町二の一九洋服商白系土耳古人ヌグマン未亡人シャムシノール・ヌグマンさん（三六）だ。

「亡夫の遺志で患者輸送用大型自動車一台を献納させて戴きました。私達は言葉が不自由で感謝愛国の気持を物とお金に託すのは大変済まないことだと思います。私たちの心底から思うことは、ただただ皇国のお蔭に感謝しなければならぬことです。きょう僅かですが慰問袋百個を作って贈らせて貰いました」と眼にうすく感激の涙すら浮かべて語るのだ。愛国部平井大尉も此言葉にいたく感激喜んで受納した。この異邦人が日本に脱出して来て安穏幸福な生活が送られる感謝の念を強めさせる陰には数奇な流転の過去が余りにもいたいたしかった思い出があるからだ。彼女が語る過去は

「赤色革命の巻起った一九一七年でした。当時私はまだ一三歳でモスコーの近郊ペンザ県の小学校の生徒でした。私達白系は革命軍に追われ、両親、兄弟と手をとり着のみ着のまま馬車に揺られてモスコーを避け凍りつく寒気に慄え雪のふりしきるうちを橇に乗り換えなどして東へ東へ、ザバイカルを経てやっと満州国ハイラルへ脱出しました。まだ寒さのきびしい三月でした。私の夫ヌグマンもまたサマラ（現在ソ連政府のあるクイビシェフ）に在りカザンのクサニヤ大学の一年在学中追われてハイラルに落ちのびたのでした。

その後私達は結婚して日本に移り神戸に六年住み、京城へ移って十六年。目下日本人帰化の手続中です。いま私達の郷土は独ソ戦の禍乱の中心になっています。恨みの赤色政権はだんだん動揺しているようです。私たちは感慨無量のものがあります。それに較べ戦争している日本が私たち異邦人に温かい心やりを下さるのは何と感謝してよいか分りません」

【写真＝ヌグマン未亡人】

Source: Digital Newspaper Archive, National Library of Korea

Here is an excellent academic paper about the history of the Russian Tatar refugee community in Imperial Japan from their origins in the Volga-Ural region through the Russian Revolution in 1917, migration to Imperial Japan, and later emigration to the United States and Turkey after the war: [Link]

Imperial Japan’s support of Islam and Muslim communities has a fascinating historical background. For those interested in delving deeper, here’s a link to an academic paper on the topic: [Link] 

Other Keijo Nippo Articles:

• Shamseinoor Berikova, 19-year-old blue-eyed Russian Tatar refugee woman and Seoul resident in 1938, featured in Keijo Nippo as a pro-Imperial Japan patriotic model minority speaking fluent Japanese and supporting Imperial soldiers on their way to China [Link]
• The Sulemans were a Russian Tatar refugee family in Seoul who gained acceptance as assimilated Imperial Japanese people while holding strong to their Muslim faith, and left for Turkey amid warm farewells in 1939 [Link]
• Spotlight on 1943 Seoul: A Glimpse into the Russian Tatar Refugee Community, Marja Ibrahim’s Poetry Tribute to Tatar National Poet Ğabdulla Tuqay on the 30-year anniversary of his death [Link]
• Small community of ~100 Russian Tatars in Seoul featured in 1942-1944 propaganda articles: a young 19-year-old Tatar girl is praised for filling out immigration forms for her neighbors, a Tatar woman is commended for scolding her friends with red fingernails for wearing ‘British-American’ cosmetics [Link]
• In 1942 Busan, Korean pastors and foreign residents (Russian Tatar family, English woman, Chinese consul) praise Imperial Japan as British POWs captured in Malaysia start arriving in the city [Link]

Note: The article mentions that Mr. Nugman studied at "Ksenia University" in Kazan, but I could not find information online about any university by that name in Russia. It is unclear what Russian academic institution the article was referring to.

Nazi German community in Seoul December 1941 celebrating Imperial Japan’s declaration of war

At the beginning of the Pacific War in December 1941, there was apparently a small community of German residents working and living in Seoul, many with Nazi ideological leanings as demonstrated in this photo and article. Here are the four German residents featured in this article:

• Mrs. Weske and her child (featured in the accompanying photo with a Nazi flag)
• Mr. Budewell (44 years old), missionary
• Mr. Hupper (36 years old), lecturer at Keijo Imperial University
• Mrs. Rita Buchwald (30 years old), married to deceased Dr. Jeon 

One interesting note is that Mrs. Rita Buchwald was married to a deceased Korean medical doctor by the name of Dr. Jeon. He is described by Mrs. Buchwald as "Japanese (日本人)", but that was not unusual in those times. To clarify that the "Japanese" person was ethnic Korean, she would have probably used the word 半島人 (literally, "peninsular person") or 朝鮮人 (literally, "Joseon person"). Unfortunately, the two Hanja of his first name are smudged and too hard to read on the scanned newspaper articles.

Another interesting observation is that Dr. Jeon and Mrs. Buchwald lived at 84 Gwanhun-dong in Jongno District, only a few house numbers away from the Lim family (address 90 Gwanhun-dong), which was prominently featured in a December 10, 1943 article proudly sending their son to be enlisted in the Imperial Army. 

[Translation]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) December 12, 1941

Emotion of Axis Nationals in Residence
Victory Already Certain
German Lady Ms. Weske Speaks

Living by the spirit of the Japan–Germany Axis—hands clasped firmly together—she has, under the skies of a foreign land, devoted herself to praying for the growth of her homeland Germany and wishing for the prosperity of Japan. When this reporter visited the home of the German lady Mrs. Weske at 70 Tongui-dong, Seoul, and brought her the joyful news of the Tripartite Pact between Japan, Germany, and Italy, Mrs. Weske was beside herself with delight, almost leaping for joy. Her blue eyes, shining behind her spectacles, burned with hope as she spoke animatedly. Though her Japanese was not fluent and could not fully carry her feelings, she expressed a joy too great to contain.

“Ever since before, I had wished for just such a deep and firm agreement. For someone like myself who lives in Japan, it brings a very real sense of certainty. And so long as I am German, this feeling is one that runs through the entire German people, a shared national feeling. When Japan and Germany, together with Italy, unite their young and surging energies, it seems to me inevitable that true peace will be brought to the world. The results Japan has achieved in the Pacific this time strike me as the victory of precisely that youthful spiritual power which must bring about such inevitability. I felt I understood this with complete clarity, more than anything else. It is curious, is it not? Just hearing that the pact has been concluded makes the people around one feel suddenly closer, as though they were compatriots.”

[Photograph: Mrs. Weske speaking emotionally together with her beloved child]

Now Comes the Final Hammer Blow
The Fiery Spirit of Professor Hupper of Keijo Imperial University

At a residence in 1-1 Yeonji-dong, Seoul, the German missionary Mr. Budewell (44), together with Mr. Hupper (36), a lecturer in the preparatory division of Keijo Imperial University, with whom he had been anxiously sharing concern for their homeland, spoke with mingled joy and deep emotion upon hearing the news that Germany, honoring its bond of trust with its ally Japan, had joined hands with Italy and firmly pledged itself to attack the U.S. and Britain.

“At last, it has been done. That is exactly how it should be. Anything else would be a lie. How could Germany possibly remain silent when our ally Japan has struck the U.S. and Britain with the hammer blow? The Nazi spirit would never permit it. From this point on, even if it means dying together, the peoples of Japan, Germany, and Italy must unite as one and fight through to the complete destruction of the U.S. and Britain. At that point, all the boasting of the U.S. and Britain will amount to nothing more than fragments of delusion. The Japanese Navy’s command of the Pacific on this occasion is the clearest possible proof. Let us raise a cheer for the brave officers and men of Japan and for the glorious German Army—banzai!”

Praying for Unending Military Fortune
Remarks by Mrs. Rita, Widow of the Late Medical Doctor Jeon

Raising the rallying cry of annihilating the enemies of humanity, Britain and America, in order to build a new world order, Germany and Italy, our allied powers, have finally risen to action. On the eleventh, the day of this robust advance, a German resident of Seoul, Mrs. Rita Buchwald (30), born in Berlin and widow of the late Dr. Jeon [illegible first name](전, 全) , a medical doctor, living at 84 Gwanhun-dong, spoke with emotion, her emerald-colored eyes shining, as she expressed gratitude for the great victories of our Imperial forces and took heart from Germany’s declaration of war against the United States.

“Following your country’s lead, my Germany and Italy have also declared war on the United States. I had been so restless, waiting and waiting for my homeland Germany to follow Japan and declare war on America. Now I feel relieved. Since strong Japan will strike down Britain and America, Germany’s victory is already clear. Japan and Germany together will fight bravely to build the happiness of a new world. I am the wife of a Japanese man. I take the greatest pride imaginable in having become the wife of a fine Japanese man. The joy of my homeland Germany joining hands with Japan to strike the U.S. and Britain is beyond words. I pray for the everlasting fortune of the Imperial forces.”

[Transcription]

京城日報 1941年12月12日

在留枢軸人の感激
勝利は既に確実
ドイツ系夫人ウさん語る

はっしと手を握り合った日獨枢軸の精神に生きて異国の空にひたすら故国ドイツの生長を祈り日本の繁栄を希っているドイツ系夫人ウヰスケーさんを京城通義町七〇の自宅に訪い日獨伊三国協定の快報を齎せば雀躍せんばかりに喜んだウヰスケーさんは眼鏡の底の碧眼を燃え出る希望に輝かしながら派手に語り得ない日本語をもどかし気に包み切れない喜びを語った。

『以前からそうした底深い協定が欲しいと思っていました。それは私のように日本に生活している者にとっては確固とした一つの実感でそしてこの実感は私がドイツ人である限り全ドイツに通じる民族の実感でありましょう。日本とドイツとそしてイタリー、この三国が若い沸り上る力を合せれば世界に真の平和を紊すことは必然だと私には想えます。日本がこの度放った太平洋での戦果はそうした必然をもたらすべき若き精神力の勝利だと私には想えるのです。そのことが私には何よりはっきりと判るのでした。不思議ですね。協定を結んだと聞いただけで周囲の人が同国人のようにぐっと近づいて感じられるのは』【写真＝愛児と共に感激を語るウ夫人】

今ぞ最後の鉄槌
城大フ教授の気焰

城内蓮池町一ノ一宣教師ドイツ人ブデウェル氏（四四）万で祖国を案じ合っていた城大予科講師フッパー氏（三六）は祖国ドイツが盟邦日本との信義を重んじてイタリーと手を執り、米英爆撃の約束を固めた報に喜びながら感激を交々に語る。

『とうとうやりましたな。それでよいのです。そうこなくちゃ嘘ですよ。盟邦日本が米英に鉄槌を下したのになんでドイツが黙っていられましょうか？ナチス魂が断じて許しません。この上は死なば諸共日獨伊の国民が一丸となって米英覆滅を期して戦い抜くことです。そこには米英の豪語も一片の囈言にすぎなくなるでしょう。今回の日本海軍の太平洋制圧こそは最も如実な証拠です。日本の勇敢なる将兵と栄あるドイツ軍のため万歳をやりましょうー』

祈る武運長久
故全医博夫人
リータさん談

世界新秩序建設のため人類の敵米英を抹殺せんの合言葉を翳して盟邦獨伊も遂に起った。この逞しき進発の十一日、わが皇軍の大いなる戦果に感謝し獨の対米宣戦布告に勇を鼓して戦う在城ドイツ人寛勲町八四医博故全[illegible]氏未亡人ベルリン生れリータ・ブクバウルド女史（三〇）はエメラルド色の瞳を輝かせて感激を語る。

『お国の後を追ってわがドイツとイタリーも対米戦を宣告しました。私は早く祖国ドイツが日本に従って対米宣戦をしないものかと気が気でなりませんでした。これでほっとしました。強い日本が米英をやっつけて呉れる以上はドイツの勝利は明かですわ。日本とドイツは共に新しい世界の幸福を建設するため勇ましく闘うのです。私は日本人の妻です。立派な日本人の妻となったことをこの上なく誇りとするのです。故国ドイツが日本と手をとって米英を撃つ喜びは何とも言えません。皇軍の武運長久を祈ります。』

Sources:

• National Library of Korea, Digital Newspaper Archive
• Internet Archive, Keijo Nippo December 12, 1941

Chinese children in 1944 Seoul featured singing to Imperial Army soldiers ‘in the beautiful bloom of Japanese-Chinese friendship’

This is a historical article published in 1944 in the Keijo Nippo newspaper, which served as the national newspaper of colonial Korea and a propaganda organ of the Imperial Japanese colonial regime that ruled Korea from 1905 to 1945.

Wounded Imperial Army Soldiers watching the performances of the Chinese children.

This article provides a glimpse into an event where Chinese children from the Seoul Overseas Chinese School, which still exists today in the Myeongdong district of Seoul, entertained wounded Imperial Army soldiers with song and dance in 1944 during World War II. Not surprisingly, their school endorsed the puppet Wang Jingwei regime known as the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China. Interestingly, the Russian Tatar community in Seoul also had their children perform for injured soldiers in a similar manner. These activities were part of efforts to evoke a sense of Pan-Asian unity, aligning with the concept of the East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere promoted by Imperial Japan.

This historical account highlights that minority communities in Korea were not exempt from demonstrating support for Imperial Japan. Neutrality was not an option. The Chinese community in Korea numbered around 83,000 in 1942, though it remains unclear how many of them resided in Seoul at that time. Chinese residents contributed significantly to the economy of colonial Korea, as China was the colony's major trade partner, and Chinese residents facilitated this trade.

[Translation]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) April 7, 1944

They Applaud and Forget Their Painful Wounds

The Good Children of China

Comforting the Brave Soldiers in White

"Sakura, Sakura, Sakura blossoms of March!"

In the beautiful bloom of Japanese-Chinese friendship, the charming Chinese children, filled with the spirit of living and dying together, sang the military Sakura song to the brave soldiers in white. The good children, symbolizing the vigorous new spirit of the young Republic of China that has risen strongly for the peace of East Asia, sang with all their might. Their endearing voices deeply touched the hearts of the gently smiling brave soldiers, evoking a warm bond and a shared passion to walk forward hand in hand.

Chinese Sword Dance

To commemorate the Chinese Children's Day on April 4th, on the afternoon of the 6th at 1:30 PM, when the forsythia fruits were swelling, twenty-five children from the Seoul Hanseong Overseas Chinese School, led by Principal Xue, held a lively entertainment event to thank and comfort the injured Imperial soldiers at the Yongsan Seoul Army Hospital in the Patriotic Hall. After presenting a donation from the children's sincere hearts, Principal Xue and student representative Zhang Changfang gave heartfelt speeches in fluent Japanese to open the event, saying, "We are striving to become as admirable as the strong children of Japan. Although we cannot fully comfort the brave soldiers who fought for the liberation of the East Asian peoples with our humble performances, we hope our sincere hearts can bring them joy. We, Chinese children, are grateful to the Imperial soldiers whom we see as our fathers and brothers and pray for their health."

They performed a variety of songs and dances, including the "The March of Prosperous Asia," "Invincible Imperial Army," and "Military Sakura," as well as games, magic, drama, and Chinese sword dance, offering a bouquet of entertainment. The brave soldiers, whose white uniforms filled the venue, were so delighted by the adorable and passionate performances that they forgot their pain and gave thunderous applause. Finally, with a supporting performance by the Korean Music and Drama Troupe, the pure-hearted entertainment beautifully linking Japan and China concluded, delighting the soldiers to their hearts' content and alleviating their boredom. Everyone took commemorative photos with the soldiers and departed at 4 PM. [Photo: The Brave Soldiers in White Enjoying the Entertainment Performances]

[Transcription]

京城日報 1944年4月7日

痛む傷も忘れて拍手

中国のヨイ子

白衣の勇士を慰問

さくら、さくら、弥生のさくら！

日華親善の美しき花咲いて可憐な中国児童が同生共死の感激こめて白衣の勇士に捧ぐる軍国桜の唄、東洋平和のため新生の息吹きを浴びて逞しく起った友邦中華民国の若き姿を象徴したヨイ子達が、せい一ぱい歌ういじらしい声は優しく微笑む勇士の胸底を強くうち、手に手をとって共に歩み進まんとする熱情がこみあげて温かく結ばれる。

陽春四月四日の中国児童節を記念して連翹の実ふくらむ六日午後一時半過ぎ京城漢城華僑学校の子供達二十五名は薛校長に引率されて傷つける皇軍勇士を感謝慰安する賑やかな演芸会を龍山京城陸軍病院本院愛国館で催した。児童真心の慰問金を贈ったのち薛校長と児童代表張長芳さんが流暢な国語で『私達は強い日本の子供に負けず立派な人になるため励んでいます。東亜民族開放のため戦われた勇士を私達の拙い演芸で慰めることは出来ませんが、その真心だけでも喜んで戴けば幸いです。中国の子供が父や兄と思って感謝している皇軍勇士の健康を祈ります』と懇ろな挨拶があり開会。

”興亜行進曲”、”無敵皇軍”、”軍国桜”をはじめ唱歌、遊戯、舞踊、魔術、劇、中国剣舞など盛り沢山な慰問の花束を捧げ、涙ぐむほどの可愛らしい熱演に会場をぎっしりと埋め尽くす白衣の勇士は負傷の痛みを忘れて有頂天に喜び割れるような拍手を送った。最後に朝鮮楽劇団の援助公演があり、心ゆくまで無聊の勇士を楽しませて日華を美しく結ぶ純情の演芸を終了。一同は勇士と共に仲良く記念撮影して同四時引きあげた。【写真＝楽しむ白衣の勇士と慰問演芸】

Source: https://archive.org/details/kjnp-1944-04-07/page/n2/mode/1up

Annie Ellers Bunker, American missionary who went from personal physician to Empress Myeongseong to thriving philanthropist in Colonial Korea, was praised in this 1938 Keijo Nippo obituary for endorsing the Imperial Japanese Army

This obituary from October 1938, published in Keijo Nippo newspaper, an organ of the Imperial Japanese colonial regime which ruled Korea from 1905 to 1945, features Annie Ellers Bunker, an American Methodist missionary and physician who spent around 50 years in Korea. This article sheds light on her remarkable journey, from being Empress Myeongseong's personal physician to her involvement in colonial Korea's society.

Annie Ellers Bunker

Born on August 31, 1860, and passing away on October 8, 1938 (exactly 43 years after the assassination of the Empress), Annie's life spanned significant historical events. Her role as the personal physician to Empress Myeongseong, especially leading up to the Empress's assassination in October 1895, granted her intimate access to the royal court. After the annexation of Korea by Imperial Japan, she seemed to prosper, raising thousands of yen to support various institutions including the Korean Young Women's Christian Association, Gongju Orphanage, Gongju M&A School, and Dongdaemun Women's Hospital. This indicates her significant influence in colonial Korea.

Interestingly, her last words before her death in 1938 were "I wish the Japanese Army will win soon and bring peace to the East", raising questions about her possible pro-Japanese sentiments, even during her time as the Empress's physician. Given her intimate access to the royal court at the time of the Empress's assassination, her documented pro-Japanese sentiments, and her subsequent successful career as a philanthropist in Korea under Imperial Japanese rule, it naturally raises a delicate question: could she have had any involvement or knowledge regarding the Imperial Japanese conspirators who assassinated the Empress? This is a matter left to historians to ponder, and it is not my intention to accuse Annie Ellers of any wrongdoing but to highlight the complexities and controversies surrounding her life.

Annie's closeness with Empress Myeongseong is further highlighted by an incident where, upon her marriage to Dalzell Bunker, the Empress demanded to see her wedding dress, examining it meticulously.

Annie's impact extended to nursing in Korea, being the first female medical missionary in the country. A Boston University Medical College student, she arrived in Korea in 1886, founded the Chungshin Girl’s School, and became a trailblazer in women's healthcare and education.

Annie Ellers Bunker as a young adult. (from Boston University website)

In 1938, the colonial authorities took over the Chungshin Girl's High School, which she founded, and converted it into a state-controlled school promoting State Shintoism and imposing the Japanese language.

Her first encounter with the Empress is vividly documented in her personal essay published in the Korean Repository, a journal for foreign Christian missionaries published between 1892 and 1899. This account provides a fascinating glimpse into her life and the complexities of her role in Korea. For the sake of improving accessibility, I have transcribed and posted the entire essay below, originally found in a PDF from the Korean Repository which is not OCR enabled.

Annie Ellers Bunker is now buried at the Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery in Seoul, where her grave marker notes her 40 years of service as a missionary in Korea, until 1926.

This story is not just about the life of a missionary or a physician; it's about a woman whose life intersected crucial historical events, raising questions about her beliefs and the impact she had on Korean society.

[Translation]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) October 12, 1938

The Grave of the Blue-Eyed Couple Guarding the Red Earth

• Fifty Years of Life on the Korean Peninsula
• Her Last Testament Praises the Imperial Army
• Pro-Japanese American Mrs. Bunker

The deceased Mrs. L. A. Bunker, who dedicated her life to social work on the Korean peninsula for fifty years, will have her funeral at the Chungdong Methodist Church at 10 am on the 12th at 13 Jeongdong-gil. Her last words, spoken to relatives and friends offering solemn prayers at her peaceful deathbed at 9 am on the 8th, were these: “I feel terribly sorry for the wounded Japanese soldiers on the battlefield. Why isn't the war over yet? I wish the Japanese Army will win soon and bring peace to the East.”

With a trembling hand, Mrs. Bunker took out the remaining hundred yen from her entire fortune, which she had dispersed for charitable causes, and requested it be used as a fund for the Japanese Red Cross. Then, she closed her eyes in peace. The words and actions of this foreign lady on her deathbed are being passed from mouth to mouth among friends, stirring deep emotion among the Japanese, Koreans, and foreigners in Seoul.

But who was Mrs. Bunker? Fifty years ago, she bravely came to Korea from her native America alone for missionary work. Fortunately, being a female doctor, she was warmly welcomed by the Korean government. At that time, there were hardly any Western medical facilities in Korea, so Mrs. Bunker, as a pioneer in Western medicine in Korea, dedicated herself and served for many years in the palace as the personal physician to the deceased Empress Myeongseong. After the annexation of Korea by Japan, she focused on missionary and charitable work for thirty years, contributing thousands of yen to various institutions such as the Korean Young Women's Christian Association, Gongju Orphanage, Gongju M&A School, and Dongdaemun Women's Hospital, dedicating her life to social work in Korea for fifty years. Five years ago, her husband Dr. Bunker died while she was on holiday in America. Her husband was so pro-Japanese that he requested in his will to have his remains moved to Korea. Mrs. Bunker, too, will be buried in the beloved Korean soil alongside her husband. [Photo: Mrs. Bunker]

[Transcription]

京城日報 1938年10月12日

赭土を護る碧眼夫婦塚

• 半島生活五十年
• 遺言に讃う皇軍
• 親日の米人バンカー夫人

五十年間半島の社会事業に一生を捧げ、十二日朝十時貞洞町監理教教会で葬式が行われる貞洞町一三故レ・エ・バンカー夫人が去る八日朝九時、静かな臨終の病床で厳粛な祈祷を捧げる親戚友人等に遺して去った最後の言葉はこれだ。

「戦場に傷ついた日本軍人が気の毒でならない。まだ戦争が終らないのか。早く日本軍が勝って東洋に平和が来て欲しい」と夫人は微かに震える手で慈善事業のために全財産をばらまいて残った百円を取り出し日本赤十字事業資金にしてくれと依頼した後、安心したように目を閉じた。死の床に於ける一外人夫人のこの言葉と行為は友人の口から口へ伝わって在城の内鮮外人を問わず感激の話題となっているが、このバンカー夫人はどんな人であったか。

今から五十年前、夫人は故国アメリカから単身宣教のため、勇敢にも朝鮮に飛び込んだ。幸いに夫人は女医でもあったので韓国政府は喜んで厚く迎えた。当時朝鮮はおろか洋医薬の施設は殆どなかった時代なので、夫人は朝鮮に洋医術を済した草分けとして献身的な努力をなし選ばれて故閔妃の侍医として多年宮中に仕えた。日韓併合後は三十年この方布教の外に慈善事業に専念し、朝鮮女子青年会、公州託児所、公州エムエー学校、東大門夫人病院などには何れも数千円の寄付金をおくるなど五十年一生の朝鮮社会事業のために尽くして来た。五年前アメリカへ休暇帰国中図らずも死んだ夫のバンカー博士も遺言によって遺骨を朝鮮に移葬した程の親日家で、夫人も夫君と並んでなつかしい朝鮮の土に葬られることになっている。【写真＝バンカー夫人】

Source: https://archive.org/details/kjnp-1938-10-12/page/n9/mode/1up

[The Korean Repository, October 1895, pp. 373-375.]

My First Visit to Her Majesty, The Queen

During the visit of Mrs. H. G. Underwood and myself to Her Majesty on the 14th of September we saw the Queen Dowager and she gave us each a handsome gold-embroidered chumoncy or purse-Our visit to Her Royal Highness was in the same place where some years ago I went to see the Queen. Many changes have come since then and the Queen now lives in a new building, beautifully lighted with electricity, in another part of the grounds.

It is just nine years ago this fall since I was first, in company with Dr. H. N. Allen the King's physician, called to visit, Her Majesty, the Queen. She had been ill for some time and they had sent to Dr. Allen for medicines. As there was no improvement in her condition the Doctor assured them, that, in order to treat Her Majesty properly, she must be examined, and so the writer was called.

It was a lovely autumn day, when in the early afternoon, we started for the Palace in our sedan chairs, with our keysos (soldiers) running ahead and clearing the way. My heart was thumping vigorously and I wondered how I would be received, half fearing the ordeal.

On our arrival at the outer side-gate of the palace wall, we had to get out of our chairs and walk quite a distance, about a quarter of a mile, I should judge, to the Reception Hall. As we neared the place we were met by Prince Min Young Ik whom I had met, and who, having travelled much, knew something of the customs of foreigners.

He showed us some of the beauties of the palace grounds and after our walk around the artificial lake, he escorted us to the waiting-room and there had us served with foreign food, Korean fruit and nuts.

Soon a messenger dressed in court costume came for me and, Prince Min accompanying me, we started for the Audience Hall. We first crossed a large open court, which I noticed had large potted plants around three sides of it but not a spear of grass growing in it anywhere. Ascending a flight of broad stone steps, crossing the narrow verandah and stepping over a high door sill, I found that we were at one end of a long, wide hall, the floors of which were covered with the soft, beautiful, figured Korean matting which is such a fine article and so hard to obtain. At the farther end of the hall, I saw a large number of Koreans, men, women, and young girls. I made my three bows as I advanced and then found myself in front of the company among whom I soon singled out Her Majesty and for the rest of that visit I had eyes for no one but her. In later visits I learned to distinguish the gentlemen from the eunuchs, and also the ladies-in-waiting by their peculiar head-gear and their fine skirts of silk gauze. The immense chignons worn by these ladies are objects of wonder not only as to size but also as to how the intricate windings and braidings of the glossy strands is accomplished. One evening while witnessing some of the delightful and peculiar posture-dancing done by the dancing girls at the palace, I asked one of them if her chignon was not heavy - "Oh, said she, it is very heavy and makes my head ache." These head dressings vary in shape; sometimes they are long and narrow and then again they have large lateral loops.

The Queen, beautifully dressed in silk gauze skirts, with strings of pearls in her raven locks, a lady, short of stature, with white skin black eyes and black hair, greeted me most pleasantly. She had on no enormous head dress but only her own glistening locks twisted in a most becoming know low down on her neck. She wears on the top of her forehead her Korean insignia of rank. All the ladies of the nobility wear a similar decoration but of inferior quality and workmanship. To me the face of the Queen especially when she smiles, is full of beauty. She is a superior woman and she impressed one as having a strong will and great force of character, with much kindliness of heart. I have always received the kindest words and treatment from her and I have much admiration and great respect for her. After first asking if I were well, how old I was, how my parents were, if I had brothers and sisters and how they were, she proceeded to tell me that they had been told by Dr. Allen of my arrival in Korea, that she was much pleased at my coming and hoped I would like the country. All of this conversation was carried on through an interpreter who stood, with his body bent double, back of a door where he could hear but not see.

Prince Min, who had been standing by, now had a chair brought for me and I noticed that back of Her Majesty there was a foreign couch. The Queen telling me to be seated sat down on this couch and then the medical part of the interview began.

I had noticed that two gentlemen had seated themselves when the Queen sat and when I got up to leave, they with Her Majesty rose and returned my bows.

Prince Min conducted me back to the waiting room and there I waited for Dr. Allen who was having an audience with His Majesty. When he returned I learned from him that both the King and Crown Prince had been present during my interview. I was very glad that I had not known who the two gentlemen were, for I fear my composure would not have been even such at it was. After being served with more food and fruit we were each given a certain number of soldiers to accompany us home and also, as it was dark, lantern bearers. The sight of the Korean lantern with its outer covering of red and green silk gauze is very picturesque and as we passed, many a dusky head peeped out through opened doors and windows to see what it all meant. The empty dark streets with the dark low houses on either side, the lantern bearers of the Doctor's chair and of mine with the attendant soldiers, carrying their rifles made a picture at once interesting and unique. In recent visits we are permitted to go through the large front gate into the grounds and right up to the waiting room door. Upon arriving here tea, coffee, and fruit are served and then we are called in to Her Majesty, who receives us in one of the smaller private appartments. The King and Crown Prince are always present. After the interview we are permitted to proceed home immediately.

Annie Ellers Bunker

Ms. B.F. Starkey, blue-eyed American missionary featured in 1938 Keijo Nippo as a pro-Imperial model foreigner inspired by Japanese-Korean Unification policy to join the Patriotic Women’s Association in Seoul

This 1938 article is a historical account in a colonial propaganda newspaper about Ms. B.F. Starkey, an American missionary in Korea during the Japanese colonial period who devoted decades of her life in Imperial Japan in various charitable activities.

Her decision to cooperate with the colonial regime starkly contrasts with fellow American missionary George McCune's decision in 1935 to refuse to perform State Shinto worship rituals, for which he was forced by the colonial authorities to leave Korea. The fact that Ms. Starkey was able to continue to operate in Korea in 1938 probably means that she decided to go along with performing the State Shinto rituals, including the mandatory 7 am Kyujo Yohai prayers, even though it was against her Christian beliefs. In any case, she probably would not have been able to stay in Korea past 1942, when Americans who still remained in Imperial Japan were detained and deported.

This is the second Keijo Nippo newspaper article that I found featuring a blue-eyed woman. The other one featured a blue-eyed Russian Tatar woman, Shamseinoor Berikova, who was a member of the National Women's Defense Association (NWDA), which was similar but distinct from the Patriotic Women's Association (PWA) to which Ms. Starkey belonged. Historically, the elite wealthy and powerful women tended to join the PWA, while the NWDA had a much closer connection with the Imperial Japanese military and had a broader membership. The two organizations subsequently merged in 1942.

[Translation]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) July 2, 1938

A blue-eyed woman with a Patriotic Women's Association Sash

Courageous words of Ms. Starkey: "I also want to help out Japan on the home front!"

Moved by the spirited march of Koreans working for the war effort under the policy of Japanese-Korean Unification, a blue-eyed foreign woman was inspired and said, 'Please let me join in these duties on the home front.' Recently, she applied to join the Patriotic Women's Association at its third branch in Takezoe-chō (present-day Chungjeong-no), Seoul, delighting the leaders and members of the group who received her unusual membership application for the first time. The heroine of this story, Ms. B.F. Starkey, an American residing at 3-30 Takezoe-chō, Seoul, has now proudly become a member of the Patriotic Women's Association. At 56 years old, she joins Japanese and Korean members in comforting families of conscripts, collecting national defense funds, and impressing the community with her passionate efforts, dressed in the Association's uniform of a white apron and a purple sash.

Twenty-eight years ago, in 1910, Ms. Starkey landed in Nagasaki as a Methodist missionary in Japan, the land of poetry. Immediately struck by Japan's picturesque landscapes and warm people, she decided to dedicate her life to this country. Ever since then, for twenty-eight years, she has continued to live in this land, true to her initial resolve, dedicating her life to missionary work and cultural pursuits out of her love for Japan. She has nurtured young men and women who gathered around her, drawn to her pure character, as if they were her own children. She has earnestly lead English language clubs and student Bible classes every evening at her home without pay, and opened her garden as a playground for local children to give some relief to their families.

Dedicated to cultural advancement and community service, she also runs a female-only 'private convent,' Shion Dormitory, in the second floor of her house. With open arms, she welcomes young unmarried women who left their families as well as young girls in need of guidance who approach her for answers and salvation, continuing to selflessly devote herself in helping them awaken from misguided dreams through a pure lifestyle at the dormitory. Currently, 13 girls enjoy a pleasant life there, and she has already sent many well-cultured women into society as respectable wives.

Ms. Starkey's high regard as a saintly figure and her membership in the Patriotic Women's Association have sparked usual delight among foreigners living in Seoul, and that is expected to inspire a surge of membership among pro-Japanese foreigners. When visited at her home, she humbly commented, 'I am only doing what is natural,' and made only brief remarks without continuing further. [The photo is of blue-eyed Ms. Starkey]

[Transcription]

京城日報 1938年7月2日

碧い眼に愛婦の襷

”わたしも日本の銃後に”と勇み参じたスターキー女史

内鮮一体で行進する半島銃後の雄々しい姿に感激した碧眼の一外国婦人が「私もこの銃後の勤めに参加させて下さい」とこの程。

☆．．．愛国婦人会

京城竹添町第三分館に入会を求めて来り京城で初めてのこの珍しい入会申込を受けた何団の幹部初め会員一問をいたく喜ばせた。話題のヒロインは府内竹添町三の三〇アメリカ人ビー・エフ・スターキー女子（五六）で晴れて愛婦会員となった。女子は白いエプロンに紫襷の愛婦会服で内鮮人会員と共に応召家族の慰問に、国防金の募集に、健気な奮闘を続け町内を感激させている。

女史は今から二十八年前の一九一〇年メソジスト教会宣教師として長崎に上陸。直ちに詩の国日本の美しい景色と人情に打たれてこの国に骨を埋めようと決心し、以来二十八年間、最初の決心通りこの地で布教のために、文化のために日本を愛する生活を続けて来た。女史の清い人格を慕って集まる若い男女を彼女はわが子のように世話し、また英語クラブ、学生バイブル・クラス等を自宅に設けて毎晩熱心に、しかも無報酬で指導するほか、庭園には子供の遊園地を設けて附近の子供等のために家族を解放するなど。

文化向上と社会奉仕に犠牲的努力を続けているが、更に同家二階に設置経営する男子禁断の「私設修道院」紫苑寮で家庭を離れた若い独身女、或は悩み迷う若い娘で女史に解決や救いを求めて来るものがあれば両手をひろげて迎え入れこの寮における清い生活によって間違った夢から醒めしめることに献身的努力を続けて来ている。現在この寮で楽しい生活を送っている娘は十三名。既に修養を積み立派な人妻として世話に送り出したものが数十名にのぼっている。

この聖女のほまれ高いスターキー嬢の愛婦人会は在城外人間には異様な感激を与え親日外人同志等の入会者続出が予想されている。自宅に女史を訪えば「妾はただ当たり前のことをしているだけです」と続かんで多くを語らなかった（写真は青眼スターキーさん）

Source: https://archive.org/details/kjnp-1938-07-02/page/n10/mode/1up

Shamseinoor Berikova, 19-year-old blue-eyed Russian Tatar refugee woman and Seoul resident in 1938, featured in Keijo Nippo as a pro-Imperial Japan patriotic model minority speaking fluent Japanese and supporting Imperial soldiers on their way to China

This article from 1938 features Shamseinoor Berikova, a 19-year-old blue-eyed Russian Tatar woman who was a daughter of a clothing merchant in Kōgane-machi, which today forms the northern area of the present-day Myeongdong district, in the area immediately to the east of present-day Euljiro 1(il)-ga station. She was part of the Russian Tatar refugee community from the Volga-Ural region which escaped persecution during the 1917 Russian Revolution. Her family was driven out from Hailar, Manchuria in 1926, when Manchuria was still ruled by various warlords, and they settled in Seoul by way of Kumamoto.

Original caption: Photo: Shamseinoor, the blue-eyed member of the National Women's Defense Association

This article may have also had a propaganda purpose to put this Tatar teenager on a pedestal as a 'model minority' to encourage the Korean people to follow her example by embracing Japanese language and culture and supporting the Imperial Japanese military.

Here is an excellent academic paper about the history of the Russian Tatar refugee community in Imperial Japan from their origins in the Volga-Ural region through the Russian Revolution in 1917, migration to Imperial Japan, and later emigration to the United States and Turkey after the war: [Link]

Imperial Japan's support of Islam and Muslim communities has a fascinating historical background. For those interested in delving deeper, here's a link to an academic paper on the topic: [Link] 

Here, you can also find links to other articles about the Tatar people in Seoul during the colonial period that I've found in the Keijo Nippo newspaper so far:

• The Sulemans were a Russian Tatar refugee family in Seoul who gained acceptance as assimilated Imperial Japanese people while holding strong to their Muslim faith, and left for Turkey amid warm farewells in 1939 [Link]
• Spotlight on 1943 Seoul: A Glimpse into the Russian Tatar Refugee Community, Marja Ibrahim's Poetry Tribute to Tatar National Poet Ğabdulla Tuqay on the 30-year anniversary of his death [Link]
• Small community of ~100 Russian Tatars in Seoul featured in 1942-1944 propaganda articles: a young 19-year-old Tatar girl is praised for filling out immigration forms for her neighbors, a Tatar woman is commended for scolding her friends with red fingernails for wearing 'British-American' cosmetics [Link]
• In 1942 Busan, Korean pastors and foreign residents (Russian Tatar family, English woman, Chinese consul) praise Imperial Japan as British POWs captured in Malaysia start arriving in the city [Link]

As is my norm, I've included links throughout the translation to cultural and historical references that might be unfamiliar.

[Translation]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) June 7, 1938

Strengthening the Korean Peninsula on the Home Front: The Blue-Eyed Girl with Sen'ninbari Amulets

Wearing a Lovely White Sash of the National Women's Defense Association

The blue-eyed young woman who has fled from demonic persecution offers her thanks and consolation to the valiant Imperial Army fighting on the front lines by sending gifts like Sen'ninbari amulets. As a foreigner finding refuge, she is deeply grateful for the boundless benevolence bestowed upon her. Though her arms may be weak, she has resolved to repay this kindness and has joined the National Women's Defense Association, bringing an inspiring story to life.

The girl in question is Shamseinoor Berikova (age 19), the only daughter of Mr. Shah Berikov, a clothing merchant in Seoul in the district of Kōgane-machi 2-70. As the Imperial Army set out for a punitive expedition against China, she was at the station waving the Japanese Hinomaru flag to send off the soldiers. She received astonished looks and words of thanks from the soldiers who said, "Oh, young foreign lady, thank you!" for the care packages that she gave. Alongside these farewells at the station, she has followed the tradition of Sen'ninbari, creating them with diligence and sending them along with care packages. She has already sent six to the warriors on the battlefield and has received several letters of gratitude in return.

Impressed by her actions, the caring people of the district encouraged her to join the National Women's Defense Association. "I would be so happy if someone like me could join the National Women's Defense Association and work alongside you," she happily responded, joining the Kōgane-machi-2 sub-chapter of the association on the 29th of last month, painting a beautiful picture of support from the home front. As Shamseinoor stood at the storefront in place of her parents, working diligently, she said the following:

"I am very happy that, even as a child, I am entrusted with work that can contribute even a little for Japan. I have sent Sen'ninbari and care packages. However, I'll feel uncomfortable if my acts are reported in the newspaper, since it may be perceived as bragging. Now that I have been accepted into the National Women's Defense Association, I wish to be of service," she spoke in fluent Japanese.

Shamseinoor fled from Hailar with her parents when she was seven years old, and sought asylum in Japan. She studied for about half a year at Kasuga Elementary School in Kumamoto. She has been in Seoul for eleven years now, and she mentioned that she would like to get married there.

Additionally, a few days ago, a letter of thanks for a care package arrived from Mr. Watanabe Kyōichi, a brave soldier of the Kimura Unit on the Northern China front. It read: "Flowers like dandelions bloom innocently among graves, only to be trampled in the dust of war. Why have the Chinese not opened their eyes? I never dreamed of receiving a care package from a person of a different nation like yourself. I am truly grateful. To put your mind at ease, I will strive to accomplish great deeds in this punitive expedition against China."

[Transcription]

京城日報 1938年6月7日

銃後半島の固め

千人針の碧眼娘

可憐国婦の白襷姿で

悪魔の迫害に追われた碧眼の少女が皇軍の奮戦に蔭ながら感謝を捧げ慰問。千人針などを贈り異邦人として安住の地を得るのも一重に君恩の無辺な御慈悲と感激。か弱い女の腕ではあるが報恩の誠を尽くしたいと意を決し国防婦人会に入会して甲斐甲斐しく立働き麗しい佳話を投げかけている。

話題の少女は京城黄金町二の七〇洋服商シャ・ベリコフ氏の一人娘シャムセイヌル・ベリコフ娘（一九）で、暴支膺懲の征戦に皇軍が進発するや駅頭に日の丸の旗を打ちふって勇士を歓送し勇士達から『お、外国人のお嬢さん、有難う』と贈った慰問品に奇異な眼と感謝のこもった言葉を受けていた。こうした駅頭の歓送のかたわら、街頭に立って教えられた千人針のいわれを汲み、懸命になって千人針を作り慰問袋と共に既に六枚を戦地の勇士に贈り、戦地の勇士から数通の感謝の手紙を貰っている。

この篤行に同町の心ある人達は感心し国防婦人会に加入を勧誘。『私のような者でも国防婦人会に入れて貰って一緒にお仕事をさせて戴ければ、これほど嬉しいことはありません』と喜んで去る二十九日黄金町二の国防婦人会分会に加入。銃後の固めに麗しい情景を描いている。シャムセイヌル嬢は両親に代って店頭に立ち甲斐甲斐しい姿で立働いているが、

『私のような子供でも日本のために少しでもお役に立つ仕事をさせて貰えるのはとても嬉しいです。千人針や慰問袋も贈りました。それでもこんなことを新聞に書いて貰うといばるように見えて困るです。国防婦人会にいれて貰ったので、その方のお役に立ちたいと思います』と達者な日本語で語った。

シャムセイヌル嬢は七歳の時、両親と共にハイラルから追われて日本に亡命。熊本の春日小学校で半歳ほど勉強。京城へ移って既に十一年になり、京城で結婚したいと語っていた。

なお数日前、北支戦線木村部隊の勇士渡辺恭一氏から届いた慰問袋の礼状には、『墓タンポポの草花が無心に咲き揃ったのが戦塵に踏みにじられています。支那は何故目覚めぬのでしょう。国のちがったあなた方から慰問品を受けようとは夢にも思いませんでした。本当に感謝します。そしてあなた方に安心して貰うよう、うんと手柄をたて支那膺懲に努めます』とあった。（写真は碧眼の国婦会員シャムセイヌル嬢）

Source: https://archive.org/details/kjnp-1938-06-07/page/1/mode/1up

The Sulemans were a Russian Tatar refugee family in Seoul who gained acceptance as assimilated Imperial Japanese people while holding strong to their Muslim faith, and left for Turkey amid warm farewells in 1939

This article from 1939 features the remarkable story of a Tatar family in Imperial Japan. This particular article bids a heartfelt farewell to the family who decided to move to Turkey.

This Tatar family, despite being refugees from Russia, managed to not only learn fluent Japanese but also seamlessly assimilate into the local Japanese community, all while preserving their unique religious Muslim identity. They ran a successful clothing business, actively participated in local patriotic activities supporting the Imperial Japanese military, and fervently promoted the Muslim faith in Imperial Japan.

From what I can surmise from the dates and ages in the article, Karim Suleman was 5 years old when he arrived in Imperial Japan in 1916. He became 'Japanese' in 1920 when he was 9 years old, which could mean that he obtained Imperial Japanese residence or citizenship? When he was 18 years old in 1929, he owned a clothing store in Myeongdong in Seoul. Shortly thereafter, he married his wife Munira who was a year older than him, and had a daughter and a son.

They resided in what was then known as Meiji-chō in Seoul, which is now called Myeongdong. It's a popular tourist destination today. To make it more relatable, I've opted to use the contemporary Korean term, Myeongdong, in my translation rather than the old Japanese term.

This article may have also had a propaganda purpose to put this Tatar family on a pedestal as a 'model minority family' to encourage the Korean people to follow their example by embracing Japanese language and culture and supporting the Imperial Japanese military.

You might notice that the article refers to them as 'Turkish'. However, based on subtle hints in this article and other related articles, we know that this family was part of the Tatar ethnic group, refugees from Russia. It's understandable that the reporter may have been confused. The distinctions between 'Turkic', 'Tatar', and 'Turkish' can be intricate and are often misunderstood. While both Tatar and Turkish peoples belong to Turkic ethnic groups, they are distinct and different from each other. The confusion was likely compounded by the family's decision to move to Turkey.

Imperial Japan's support of Islam and Muslim communities has a fascinating historical background. For those interested in delving deeper, here's a link to an academic paper on the topic: [Link] 

Here, you can also find links to other articles about the Tatar people in Seoul during the colonial period that I've found in the Keijo Nippo newspaper so far:

• Spotlight on 1943 Seoul: A Glimpse into the Russian Tatar Refugee Community, Marja Ibrahim's Poetry Tribute to Tatar National Poet Ğabdulla Tuqay on the 30-year anniversary of his death [Link]
• Small community of ~100 Russian Tatars in Seoul featured in 1942-1944 propaganda articles: a young 19-year-old Tatar girl is praised for filling out immigration forms for her neighbors, a Tatar woman is commended for scolding her friends with red fingernails for wearing 'British-American' cosmetics [Link]
• In 1942 Busan, Korean pastors and foreign residents (Russian Tatar family, English woman, Chinese consul) praise Imperial Japan as British POWs captured in Malaysia start arriving in the city [Link]

As is my norm, I've included links throughout the translation to cultural and historical references that might be unfamiliar.

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) June 15, 1939

Nineteen Years as a Japanese Person

Exceptional: Letter of Thanks from the Community

Farewell, Mr. Suleman!

After being forced to leave tumultuous Russia, they have made Japan their home for the past nineteen years. Not only have they fully adapted to the Japanese language and lifestyle, but they have also exhibited a patriotic spirit rivaling the Japanese, evident from the onset of the current conflict. Turkish clothing merchant Karim Suleman (aged 28) and his wife, who have comfortably resided at 2-66 Myeongdong District of Seoul for a decade, have become prominent figures in their neighborhood. This October, they are bidding farewell to Seoul and setting sail from Yokohama, heading back to their homeland, Turkey.

After coming to Korea in 1916, Mr. Suleman traveled around Osaka and Kobe before opening a foreigner-owned clothing store at his current location in July 1929, which was unusual at the time. He remains a fervent believer of Islam to this day. He has a lovely daughter Muslaika (7 years old) and son Gumal (4 years old) with his wife Munira (29 years old), and the family of four have completely become Japanese people.

Not only have they fully integrated into the local community, but they have also adopted Japanese customs and habits, such as going to public baths and wearing summer yukatas. Mr. Suleman, a former leader of the Seoul Muslim Community and a current member of the Japan Muslim Council, was so passionate about the movement for the official recognition of the Muslim faith that he traveled all the way to Tokyo.

Ever since the start of the recent conflict, the beautiful Mrs. Munira has made a name for herself in Seoul, which now has a heavy military atmosphere. She can be seen regularly at the train station, donning the sash of the National Defense Women's Association diagonally across her shoulders, waving the Japanese flag to welcome and bid farewell to the Imperial soldiers. Not only that, she can be seen standing on city street corners at night, holding sen'ninbari cloths. Furthermore, she has donated to national defense funds and provided care packages several times, endearing her to the military as a "Patriotic Turkish Person". Last summer, they held an all-Turkish "Prayer Festival for the Longevity and Military Success of the Generals and Soldiers of the Imperial Army" at the Wakakusa-chō Mosque, which deeply moved us.

As tensions between Japan and Britain escalate, the Sulemans are leaving Japan for Turkey, a country which is considered pro-British. When reporters visited, they expressed their farewell sentiments in fluent Japanese with their beloved children on their laps.

"Nineteen years ago, my first step in Korea was when I got off at Seoul Station and stayed at the Hōrai Inn, which was in front of the train station at the time. It has been ten years since I settled in Myeongdong District. Living alongside a battling, strong, and righteous Japan, we have come to share the same sentiments as the Japanese people. My wife intends to take her National Defense Women's Association sash as a souvenir back to our homeland. One way we plan to repay Japan, where we've lived for so long, is to let people in our homeland know about Britain's transgressions and Righteous Japan's true position, as viewed correctly from Japan. While we think we won't have another chance to come back, we will probably never forget our life in Japan."

In recognition of Mr. Suleman's virtues, the Myeongdong District Association has decided to honor him with an unprecedented letter of thanks, celebrating him as a foreigner who has truly become part of the community.

Original caption: The Suleman family returning to Istanbul.

(Transcription)

京城日報 1939年6月15日

十九年の日本人

異例：町内で感謝状

さよならスレマンさん

動乱のロシアを逐われて日本に住むこと十九年、言葉も起居動作もスッカリ日本の風習に馴染んでいるばかりか、今事変当初から日本人に負けない愛国者ぶりを示して、今では町内きっての頭役にまでなり切った京城明治町２の６６トルコ人洋服商カリム・スレマン氏（二八）夫妻が丸十年住み馴れた京城を去り、今秋十月横浜出帆故国トルコへ向う。

スレマン氏は大正五年来鮮引き継き大阪、神戸と歩き廻り昭和四年七月現住所に当時として珍しい外人経営洋服商を開店して以来、現在に至った熱烈な回教徒だ。妻ムニラさん（二九）との間には可愛いムスライカ嬢（七つ）グマル君（四つ）があり、親子四人とも全く日本人に成りきってしまった。

町内の附合は勿論銭湯行きも、そして夏の浴衣掛けなど堂々板につくまで日本の風俗習慣を身に沁み込ませていた。氏は元京城回教徒団体団長で現在日本回教徒評議員をしており、過ぐる回教公認運動には遥々上京東奔西走したほどの熱教徒だった。

美貌のムニラ夫人は事変以来国防婦人会の襷を斜めにかけて皇軍将士の歓送迎には必ず駅頭に日章旗を振っていたばかりでなく、夜は街頭に千人針を持って立つなど、軍事色に塗り潰された京城でも異彩を放っていた。また幾度となく国防献金や慰問品を提供して軍方面からも『愛国トルコ人』として可愛がられ、昨年夏は若草町回教徒教会でトルコ人ばかりの『皇軍将士武運長久祈願祭』を挙行して吾々を感激せしめたものだった。

対英関係が尖鋭化して来つつある昨今日本を去って親英国と目されるトルコに帰るスレマン氏夫妻を訪えば、愛児を膝にして巧みな日本語で別離の情をしみじみと述べるのだった。

『十九年前、京城駅に降り当時駅前にあった蓬莱旅館に泊ったのが来鮮第一歩だったでしょう。此の明治町に住みついてから早いもので十年になります。戦う日本、強い日本、そして正義日本と共に暮らした私達はもう日本人と同じ気持ちです。妻など国防婦人会の襷を故国に土産として持って帰るといっています。そして日本から正しく眺めた英国の暴状や正義日本の真の立場を故国の人に知らせることを永く住まわせて頂いた日本へのご恩返しの一つだと思っています。今後再び来る機会も無かろうと思いますが、日本の生活は恐らく何時までも忘れられないでしょう。』

なお明治町町会では去り行くスレマン氏に対して異人としては最初の感謝状を贈り氏の徳を讃えることとなった。【写真＝イスタンブールへ帰るスレマンさん一家】

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1939-06-15