A look into the foreign films showing in Korean movie theaters in April/May 1943: L'antenato (1936), Capriccio (1938), Ein Lied für dich (1933), Fahrendes Volk (1938), Le Bal (1931), Heimat (1938), Un soir de rafle (1931)

This post will be a continuation of my exploration into the kinds of foreign movies that Seoul residents might have watched in 1943, when Imperial Japan was in the middle of a desperate war. To mark exactly 80 years since April and May 1943, I scanned the Keijo Nippo newspapers for any movie ads for foreign films that were showing at movie theaters in Seoul for those months. I identified the movies based on the Japanese titles as well as clues left in the ads themselves, such as the plot lines and the names of the directors and actors. As you can see, there were three German films, one French film, and one Italian film showing in April 1943, and just one German film and one French film showing in May 1943.

Foreign movies shown in April 1943:

• L'antenato (Italy, 1936)
• Capriccio (Germany, 1938)
• Ein Lied für dich (Germany, 1933)
• Fahrendes Volk (Germany, 1938)
• Le Bal (France, 1931)

Foreign movies shown in May 1943:

• Heimat (Germany, 1938)
• Un soir de rafle (France, 1931)

Let's take a look at the foreign movies which were screened in April 1943:

L'antenato (The Ancestor) was a 1936 Italian comedy starring Antonio Gandusio and Paola Barbara, who are depicted in these movie ads. This movie was showing at least on April 5th and perhaps other days in April. The following ads are from the April 3, April 4, and April 11 editions of Keijo Nippo.

Capriccio was a 1938 German historical comedy starring Lilian Harvey, who is featured in this movie ad which was published on April 17. The movie was showing for three days from April 17 to April 19. The full movie with English subtitles is available on Youtube here.

Ein Lied für dich (A Song for You) was a 1933 German romantic musical starring Jenny Jugo, who is featured in this movie ad published on April 17. This movie was showing for three days from April 17 to April 19.

Fahrendes Volk (People Who Travel) was a 1938 German drama film starring Françoise Rosay, who is featured in this movie ad published on April 30. This movie was showing for three days from April 30 to May 2. The full movie is available on Youtube here.

Le Bal (The Ball) was a 1931 French comedy drama film starring Danielle Darrieux, who is featured in this movie ad published on April 30. This movie was showing for three days from April 30 to May 2. 

Let's now take a look at the two foreign movies which were screened in May 1943:

Heimat (Homeland) was a 1938 German historical drama starring Zarah Leander, who is featured in this movie ad published on May 13. This movie opened on May 13th. The full movie is available on the Internet Archive here. Incidentally, this movie was also shown in March 1943.

Un soir de rafle (Dragnet Night) was a 1931 French romantic drama starring Annabella, who is featured in this movie ad published on May 13. It was screened for three days from May 13 to May 15. The full movie is available on Internet Archive here.

Source 1: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-04-03
Source 2: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-04-04
Source 3: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-04-11
Source 4: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-04-17
Source 5: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-04-30
Source 6: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-05-13

The Korean people were allegedly liars, slackers, quitters, and thieves, but Governor-General Koiso offered them a chance to redeem themselves and become honorable by submitting to Amaterasu and the Emperor, and awaken as true Japanese people to fulfill divine destiny in final part of 1944 speech

This is the third and final part of Governor-General Koiso's February 1944 intensely religious address to the entire Korean nation, which was prominently displayed on the front page of Keijo Nippo, the most widely distributed and read newspaper in all of Korea at the time. In the first part of the address, he described all Koreans as descendants of the Shinto god Susanoo-no-mikoto, the younger brother of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, but as he wrapped up his address in this final part, Koiso insulted the Korean people by calling them liars, slackers, quitters, and thieves, placing blame on the legacy of the corrupt Yi Dynasty. He then offered the Korean people a chance to redeem themselves and become honorable people by submitting themselves to the goddess Amaterasu and her descendant, the Japanese Emperor. In other words, he appealed to the Korean people to awaken as true Japanese people to fulfill divinely ordained destiny, so that they could "recognize their own true essence". It was a rather strange and dubious way to appeal to all Koreans to rally behind Imperial Japan in the middle of a desperate war against the U.S. and Britain.

You may notice how Koiso singled out Marxist philosophy for criticism, then claimed that Shinto philosophy also discusses the dichotomy between the material and the spiritual through the divine edict of the mirror (spiritual things) and the ears of rice (material things). This way of drawing parallels between foreign philosophies and Shinto philosophy is nothing new. It is very much in line with the rhetorical devices of Kokugaku, which was a Japanese nativist academic movement which sought to rid Japan of foreign ideas and influences and return Japan to the supposed purity of its ancient roots, of which Master Imaizumi's ideas arguably had the strongest influence on Koiso. Such parallels would be noted to then emphasize the differences and argue for the superiority of Shinto thought over foreign thought. Koiso's explicit mention of Marxism in this address may have been an implicit acknowledgement of the appeal that Marxism had for large sections of Korean society.

What is also strange about this address are the phrases in Mandarin Chinese and Russian that Koiso used to stereotype them as apathetic peoples. February 1944 was only about a year and a half away from the end of the war in August 1945, with Imperial Japanese forces suffering defeat after defeat, so perhaps Koiso's worries about Soviet Russia, China, United States, and Britain were reflected in the countries and peoples that he mentioned. 

Koiso displayed a photo of himself along with a rough draft of his speech in the February 16, 1944 issue of Keijo Nippo, but the photographed rough draft actually comes from this part of the speech, in which he mentions Marxism and its alleged shortcomings compared to Shintoism.

This article is full of references to lots of religious terminology from the Shinto religion, so I've added plenty of links to Wikipedia pages and other resources for further reading.

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) February 19, 1944

Thorough adherence to the true meaning of the National Body brings inevitable victory!

(Transcript of Governor-General Koiso's Speech) [3]

Correct the self that appears in your mirror!

An Imperial Edict of Profound Significance

Earlier, I mentioned that, in addition to the divine edict concerning himorogi (divine trees) and iwasaka (rock cairns), there are two divine edicts concerning the mirror and the ears of rice. One divine edict says, "Amaterasu, holding a treasured mirror in her hand, gave it to Ame-no-oshihomimi and looked at him saying, 'My child, look into this treasured mirror as if you were looking at me. We shall share the same bed and the same room, so that it may serve as a mirror of worship'". The other divine edict says, "I shall take the ears of rice that I grew in the heavens in the fields of Yuniwa, and bestow them upon my children".

Those were the divine decrees about the mirror and the ears of rice. The first decree basically says, "I will give you this mirror. Think of this mirror as me, Amaterasu, and keep it with you in the same bed and in the same room". In other words, the divine edict tells you to always be with Amaterasu and worship her whether you are asleep or awake.

Since we are with the Goddess, everything we say, do, and think must be done in the presence of the Goddess. This is the expression of the godlike spirit which is embodied as a clear mirror, which is in contrast to the ears of rice, which represent material things.

In particular, the fact that the mirror was given to him to represent the Goddess is of profound significance. Please excuse me for explaining this to you as if I were speaking to elementary school children, but please stand in front of the mirror. Everything from your mind to your complexion will be reflected in the mirror. If you are worried about yourself, you will see your worries reflected in the mirror. If your button is undone, it will be reflected in the mirror as it should be.

However, the mirror will not say, "Hey you, Koiso! What's with your clothes? Isn't your button undone?" Rather, the reflection of Koiso in the mirror does some self-reflection on his own, and realizes that the button is something that needs to be fastened, so he fastens his button. The mirror does not say anything.

However, when we face the mirror, we reflect upon ourselves and correct what needs to be corrected. How truly profound it is that the mirror was given to us in the place of the Goddess in such a way! As I have just said, the mirror does not say anything. In other words, the mirror never makes excuses.

Recently, the wartime atmosphere of the world has become heavier, and the old system must not be allowed to prevail. Individualism, liberalism, and the capitalist economy are not acceptable. We are told that we must embrace totalitarianism, thought control, and a planned economy, but the gods do not take sides with any of these.

Everything is encompassed by the mirror, whether it be the free economy, controlled economy, individualism, or totalitarianism. Good or bad, right or wrong, beautiful or ugly, straight or curved, everything is encompassed. As I mentioned earlier with the example of Koiso reflected in the mirror, the mirror makes you reflect upon yourselves and discard the bad parts of yourselves in accordance with the times and the current environment. Eventually, only the good parts of yourselves will remain. It is the mirror and the Goddess who will guide you in this way. This is precisely what Susanoo-no-Mikoto and Amaterasu intended.

We do not spend our days only with trivial criticisms. When we see society from the viewpoint of encompassing everything, cutting off the bad parts, and keeping the good parts, it can be said that the structure of society today has many good parts, but there are also many parts in our ways of thinking that must be corrected. The other day, I talked about this with a student who came to see me regarding the issue of volunteer enlistment, and I must say that young students are very innocent.

I didn't consider myself the ideal vessel to embody the mirror, but as I accepted the mirror into myself and spoke with sincerity, as if I myself had turned into a god or the mirror, the students listened attentively and were convinced. I believe that this lesson from the mirror is truly a great lesson.

The next divine edict, which follows this great lesson of spiritual culture, reads "I shall take the ears of rice that I grew in the heavens in the fields of Yuniwa, and bestow them upon my children". It is a divine edict that reveals the importance of the material substance, that the spiritual side alone is not enough. This is a divine edict which mandates that we must give eternal life to the magnificent divine spirit with the help of this material substance, the ears of rice from the fields of Yuniwa. That is, with the help of the substance of purity and innocence.

Marxism is based on a materialistic historical view of all things material, and while it is not absolute spiritual speculation, it is merely a derivative spiritual theory that starts from a materialistic view. And even though Marxism is a product of modern times, the principle of the mirror and the ears of rice was already established tens of thousands of years ago in the reigns of Amaterasu and Susanoo-no-Mikoto, and has been teaching and guiding our ancestors in every generation.

The last of the divine edicts is the divine edict of the immortality of the heavens and the earth. This is the conclusion that the destiny of the emperor and the heavens and the earth will be unlimited only when we stand on the ground of the oneness of the sovereign, the people, and the nation in accordance with the aforementioned divine edict concerning himorogi (divine trees) and iwasaka (rock cairns), pushing forward based on this spirit in accordance with the divine edict of the mirror and the ears of rice and adding thereon a splendid material substance. This divine edict is written at the beginning of the reading textbooks of the elementary schools. Therefore, there is no need to elaborate much further about this divine edict. Indeed, we Japanese and Koreans have been nurtured in such a spiritual atmosphere since ancient times.

However, history and tradition also have great power. There are many people here who are from the Korean peninsula, but Koreans, whether they are in mainland Japan, Manchuria, or Northern China, are not good people. They are quick to tell lies, lack a sense of responsibility, lack endurance, and are not ashamed of taking things that belong to others.

However, as to what has brought about such a situation, I believe that it is mainly due to the political system of the Yi Dynasty over the past 500 years. From the end of the Goryeo Dynasty, the 500 years of politics of the Yi Dynasty probably contributed to the deterioration of the pure and honorable state of the people.

The reason why a nation known for its noble Hwarang Corps of Silla, who were not inferior to the chivalrous people of Europe or the Bushidō warrior class of mainland Japan, began to tell lies and steal is because the general public was oppressed and exploited by the special class during the 500-year rule of the Yi Dynasty. Consequently, the public was forced to struggle to live one day at a time, finding any way to make ends meet, and even lies became a means to an end.

In China, there is a similar philosophy, which is eloquently illustrated by the phrase, "Méi fǎzi (没法子) [cannot help it]". The Slavic Russians use the term "nichevo (ничего) [nothing]" which also expresses the same tendency. If there are any defects in the Korean people that should be criticized, I am convinced that they are the result of the politics of the Yi Dynasty over the past 500 years, and that the true essence of the Korean people is honorable, rather than what I just described.

Since the beginning of the Meiji era, people in mainland Japan have been worshiping the West, forgetting the true essence of the fine Japanese people, thinking that anything Western is good, that good products are imported, and that Japanese products are synonymous with inferior goods. University professors were also oblivious to the true essence of Japan and lectured solely based on the thoughts of Westerners written in horizontal text. When students saw that their professors were well versed in Western studies, they would gladly attend their lectures in adoration and admiration. Over the past 60 to 70 years, there have been quite a number of Westerners even in mainland Japan who have disguised themselves as Japanese people.

In their colonial policies, the United States and Britain have exploited the colonized masses for their own enjoyment. Some Western-minded Japanese have thought of our governance of Korea as a similar to those colonial policies of the United States and Britain.

However, as I have said before, Japanese-Korean unification is the reductive coalescence of the same ethnic peoples who must necessarily and inevitably become one body, different in kind from the colonies of the United States and Britain.

Viewing things in this way, the Japanese people who have licked the dregs of Western thought will also be enlightened, and both the Japanese and the Koreans must surely recognize their own true essence, so that Japan as a whole can truly become pure and uncluttered, a nation of one hundred million people united with one mind. [The insert photo shows a small mirror excavated in Nangnang-gun].

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1944-02-19

(Transcription)

京城日報　1944年2月19日

国体本義に徹せる必勝不敗

小磯総督　講話速記　【三】

鏡に映る我を是正

意義深遠なる神勅

先程、神籬磐境の神勅の外に、もう二つの神勅があると申しましたが、第二番の神勅は鏡と稲穂の神勅であります。これを簡単に申しますれば、『天照大神、手に宝鏡を持ちたまいて天忍穂耳尊に授けて視きて曰く、吾が児、此の宝鏡を視まさむこと、当に吾を視るが如くすべし。與に床を同じくし、殿を共にして以て斎鏡と為すべし』又勅して曰く、『高天原に御す斎庭の穂を以て亦吾が児に御せまつるべし』

これが鏡と稲穂の神勅であります。其の初めの方は、お前にここにある鏡をやる。これを私即ち天照大神と思って之と同床共殿、即ち寝ても醒めても一緒におれ、詰まり天照大神と常に一緒におって大神を斎い奉れということであります。

神様と一緒におるのですから、総て言うこと、為すこと、考えること悉く神の境地に於いてなされねばならないということです。それは軈て明鏡、神の如き精神ということを言い現わされたものであり、後の穂即ち物質と対照しての精神であります。

殊に神の代わりとして鏡をお渡しになったという所に非常に深遠な意義があると拝察致します。皆さんに対し国民学校の子供に話をするようなことを申しましては済みませんが、鏡の前に立って御覧なさい。こっちの心から顔色まで総てあけすけに鏡に映って行きます。若し自分に心配でもあると心配そうな色がありありと鏡に映って行きます。はめておくべき釦が外れておりますと、その通り鏡に映ります。

而も鏡は『小磯、きさま、その服装は何だ。釦が外れておるではないか』とは言いません。言いませんが、鏡に映った小磯自らは、この釦というものは、はめて置くべきものであると、自分で反省をして釦をはめます。鏡は何とも言いません。

けれども鏡に向った我々は自ら反省して直すべき所を直して行きます。そういうような風に神の代わりに鏡をお授けになったことは、何と真に深遠ではありますまいか。鏡は今申しました通り何とも言いませぬ。即ち決して言い訳け致しませぬ。

近頃、世の中は戦時風景が濃厚になって来たものですから、旧体制であってはならない。個人主義、自由主義、資本主義経済であってはならぬ。宜しく全体主義、統制思想、計画経済でなければならないとやかましく言われておりますが、神は少しも好き嫌いは致しませぬ。

自由経済でも統制経済でも個人主義でも全体主義でも何でも総て之を包容します。善悪正邪、美醜曲直、一切を挙げて包容し、包容した挙句がどうなるかと申しますと、先刻小磯が鏡に映った時のことを申しました通り、包容せられたものをして自ら反省して悪い所を切り捨てて行かせます。時に応じ環境に処し、いい所だけが残って行きます。そういうように導くのが鏡であり、神であります。素戔嗚尊並びに天照大神の思召しというものは正にここにあるのです。

詰まらない批判などばかりに日を暮らすということはやらない。一切を包容して悪い所を切り落とさせ、いい所をとって行くというような点から見ると、現在の社会組織なども大分改めていい所もあり、お互いに考えておる根性の中でも大分是正して行かねばならぬ部分が沢山あると考えられるのであります。先日、学徒志願の問題に関連し来訪した学徒にも此の話を致しましたが、矢張り若き学徒は純真であります。

私は元より鏡の器ではないのですが、受け売りながら誠心をこめ、神様か鏡になったような気持ちで話しましたが、純真なる学生は能く傾聴もして呉れ又能く納得もしてくれました。この鏡の訓えというものは、実に偉大な訓えだと思うのであります。

この偉大なる精神文化の教訓である勅の次に来る『高天原に御す斎庭の穂を以て、亦吾が児に御せまつるべし』という勅は物質の重要性を御示しになったのでありまして、精神だけではまだ十分ではない。この物質、斎庭の穂即ち清浄無垢なる物質を以て立派な神の如き精神に悠久なる生命を与えて行かねばならぬという勅であります。

マルキシズムは物質万能唯物史観に立脚し、精神思索元より絶無とは申しませぬが、物質論から出発した派生的精神論に過ぎませぬ。而かもマルキシズムの如きは近代の所産なるに拘わらず、斎鏡斎庭の原理は無慮数万年前天照大神、素戔嗚尊の御世に、既に創造確立せられ、世々我々の祖先を教え導かれていたのであります。

最後は天壌無窮の神勅でありますが、先に申しました神籬磐境の神勅に依って君民君国不二一体の境地に立脚し、斎鏡斎穂の神勅に依り精神を基調とし、これに立派な物質を加えて邁進する時に初めて天壌と倶に皇運は無窮であるという結論が、天壌無窮の神勅でありまして国民学校等の読本の冒頭にも書いてありますから、本神勅に就いては多く申し上ぐる必要はありますまい。兎も角も我々内鮮人は古くから此様な精神的雰囲気の間に育成されて来た筈なのであります。

ところが歴史と伝統というものも却々偉大な力があります。ここには半島出身の方も多く居られますが、内地といわず、満州といわず、華北といわず、どうも朝鮮人という者は困る。直ぐ嘘をつく、責任感がない、持久力がない、動もすれば他人の物を取って恥じないということを申します。

併し素戔嗚尊から今迄三大神勅を奉じて来た筈の存在が、そういうことになっているというのは何が左様にしたかというと、私の信ずるところでは主として、李朝五百年の政治から然らしめたのであると思います。高麗の末期から李朝五百年の政治に依って純真な立派な存在が悪化したのでしょう。

新羅時代に於いては花郎道という欧羅巴に於ける騎士道、内地に於ける武士道に優っても譲らないという高潔剛健にして立派な存在が、なぜ嘘を言ったり、掻払いをやるようになったかというと、李朝五百年の統治に於いて一般大衆は特殊階級から圧迫、搾取の対象とされたがため、大衆は唯唯今日唯今を、一時を糊塗する為に努力せざるを得なくなり、嘘も方便ということになって来たのであります。

支那にも同じような思想があって、『没法子』という言葉が之を雄弁に物語って居ります。スラブロシア人が『ニチェオウ』という言葉を遣いますが、これも同じ傾向を表現して居ります。此の如く朝鮮同胞に若し批議すべき欠陥ありとせば、これは畢竟李朝五百年の政治が生んだものでありまして、本質は決して左様でなく立派なものであると確信するのであります。

内地人はどうかといえば、明治初年からなんでも西洋崇拝で本当の立派な日本人の本質を忘れ、西洋というとなんでも良いと思い、良い品物を舶来品、和製とは下等品の代名詞であるという風に考えられ、大学の諸先生も日本の本質を閑却して専ら西洋人の書いた横文字思想を基として教授し、之を習う学生も、あの先生は西洋学に通じていると見れば、喜んで之に憧憬し感服して聴講するという風に、この六、七十年間を経過して来たため、時とすれば日本人の皮を被っている西洋人が内地にも少なからず見られたものです。

又米国、英国が植民地政策をやる時にどういう主義を取ったかというと、彼等自らの享楽の為に植民地の一般大衆を搾取の対象としたのでありますが、西洋かぶれの日本人中朝鮮統治の方針を米英の植民地政策流に考えた向もあったでしょう。

然るに内鮮合体は前に申し述べた通り同一民族の還元合体てありまして、英米辺の植民地と其選を異にして、必然凛然一体になって行かなければならぬのであります。

斯く観じ来れば西洋思想の糟粕を甞めて来た内地人も亦翻然と悟りを拓き、此くして内地人も朝鮮人もともに自己の本質を確実に認識せねばならず、これに依って日本全体が真に純一無雑、一億一心ということを完成し得るのであります。【カットの写真は楽浪出土小鏡】

Korean director of Straits of Chosun (1943) muted the war propaganda of this Imperial Japanese film to make it a humanistic story about young Korean man from wealthy family who enlists with a heavy heart to win his father’s acceptance of his lower-class wife, rather than from blind patriotism

The following is my thorough transcription, translation, and in-depth analysis/review of an intriguing piece of classic Korean cinematography, which is only in the Japanese language due to unjust colonial policies. Feeling that it is yet another piece of colonial injustice that this piece of Korean film history is inaccessible to Koreans because of the language barrier, I decided to spend some time studying this film.

The Straits of Chosun (朝鮮海峡, 조선해협) (1943) was a propaganda film produced with support from the government of colonial Korea to encourage young Korean men to volunteer to enlist in the Imperial Army. It wanted to show young Koreans that they could also become honorable Imperial soldiers just like the ethnic Japanese.

It is 1943 in Seoul, Korea. Lee Seong-gi (Rinoiye Seiki in Japanese, acted by Nam Seung-min) is a young man from a privileged Korean Yangban family background who was kicked out of the house by his father for marrying Mihara Geum-sook (Mihara Kinshuku in Japanese, acted by Mun Ye-bong), a trusting, kind-hearted Korean woman from an impoverished family background. Seong-gi's father is a traditional Yangban man who cares about family pedigree, so he cannot let Seong-gi marry someone from a much lesser family background.

Geum-sook and Seong-gi during happier days.

Seong-gi (성기, 成基) leaves his lower-class wife, Geum-sook (금숙, 錦淑), to join the Imperial Army in hopes that his father will finally become proud of him and then eventually relent to give his blessing to his marriage. Infuriatingly, Geum-sook's husband left her without telling her anything and broke off all contact with her, leaving his wife confused and distraught, but steadfastly believing that he will eventually come back. Suddenly finding herself without any income, she goes to work to support herself and her newborn baby, and gets from help from Eiko, her Japanese friend, Kiyoko, her husband's younger sister, and others along the way. She sees her husband marching in a military parade, and also tries to meet him as his train departs for the war front, but she just barely misses him. They both somehow end up hospitalized - he is recovering from his wounds in a war hospital in Japan, she is recovering from work exhaustion in a Korean hospital, and they reunite over the phone. Seong-gi's father finally accepts Geum-sook.

Since the target audience was young Koreans, the colonial regime wanted this film to be made by and for Koreans. This is why this film has a Korean director (Park Gi-chae), and the actors are almost all Korean, down to the Imperial Army soldiers who shout 'Banzai to His Majesty the Emperor!' The only credited Japanese actor is Tsubaki Sumie who plays Eiko, the ethnic Japanese friend of Geum-sook. Many well-renowned Korean actors make their appearances with superb acting performances, including Nam Seong-min (playing Seong-gi), Kim Il-hae (playing Seong-gi's father), and Mun Ye-bong (playing Geum-sook), who became a decorated North Korean actress after the war. One of the songs of was sung by Park Hyang-rim, a famous singer who tragically did not survive the war.

Ironically, this film made by and for Koreans was not allowed to use the Korean language due to draconian colonial policies at the time, so that is why all the dialogue in this film is in the Japanese language. Nevertheless, the Koreanness of this film still stands out in the way the film visits well-known locations in Seoul and depicts the everyday lives of the Korean people of Seoul.

This film may superficially look just like any other Imperial Japanese war propaganda film at first glance. Geum-sook serves in the war by working in a factory and then raising her son to become a fine soldier, while her husband fights on the battle front for Imperial Japan. Japanese-Korean Unification themes also pervade this film. Geum-sook's Japanese friend Eiko is the impetus in injecting human kindness into the family, first by befriending Geum-sook, and then by inspiring Seong-gi's sister to become the voice of reason by bringing the traditionally minded parents and the earnest daughter-in-law together.

However, researchers have actually found this film very strange and atypical for its genre. Whereas other Imperial Japanese war films has soldiers willing to die gloriously and joyously for the Emperor, Seong-gi is motivated to enlist not out of blind devotion to the Emperor, but rather out of a simple desire to earn his father's approval to legitimize his love marriage to his wife. There is also no sign of Seong-gi actually enjoying being a soldier. Unlike other war films where soldiers go off to war confident and carefree, Seong-gi goes off to war with his heart worried and unsettled, since his wife still has to experience hardships and his father still disapproves of his wife while he is fighting. Thus, the Straits of Chosun is quite remarkable for depicting the realities of war service in such a complex light.

In other words, this war propaganda film turns out to be less of a war mongering story, and more of a humanist story about one strongly Confucian family that transcends the bounds of tradition to welcome one gentle, kindhearted woman into the family through human kindness. It is for this reason that there is speculation in the blogosphere that director Park Gi-chae may have subtly added other subversive subtexts and undertones into this film. For example, Seong-gi's father is depicted as a very unlikable, extreme Imperialist ideologue, a very unflattering depiction of the real-life Imperialist propaganda that pervaded colonial Korea at this time.

One reviewer even ventures to say, "Straits of Chosun accidentally makes an argument for liberal modernity in which men and women are equal partners in their shared endeavour, the class system has collapsed, and the individual has the right to determine their own destiny free of familial obligation." I wouldn't go so far as to say that. The colonial regime's intention with this film was to release Koreans from familial obligation, so that they could volunteer for enlistment more freely, encourage more women into the workplace, and make everyone an Imperial subject with a single-minded devotion to the Emperor. However, it is admittedly easier to read such subtexts into this film, when the war mongering element of this war propaganda film is so unexpectedly muted.

As hinted by the cherry blossoms that dominate the film, much of the filming was done during March/April 1943 in Gahoe-dong, which was traditionally an exclusive area for nobles, scholars, and residences of government officials where there are many beautiful trees (Source: Keijo Nippo April 17, 1943). The film was said to be an "unprecedented box-office success for a Korean film" when it was released on July 29, 1943 (Source: Terukuni-Sanjin Blog) . Some 138,750 people were said to have watched this film in Seoul, Pyongyang, and Busan.

This film was actually rediscovered in 2005 by the Korea Film Archive survey team who visited the China Film Archive in Beijing. A copy of film was left in Hubei, China by retreating Japanese forces, then picked up by victorious Chinese forces, and then archived and copied by the Chinese authorities after the war. Since so many films from that era were lost or destroyed, it's a fortunate thing that this one somehow survived against all odds. This Google Arts and Culture page shows more materials from this film, including a souvenir group photo that shows all the actors.

This film was persumably sponsored by Riyapapa Cream and Movian Cream, whose product placement ads can be seen in random locations: beside a family photo, on a window in Geum-sook's house. Whashin Department Store may have also sponsored this film, because it features prominently in one scene where Eiko goes on a shopping trip with her friends to buy baby clothes for Geum-sook's baby.

I've posted a video with my Japanese transcription and English subtitles here. Credit to @classicalmovieanimation3151 for posting this video. The following is a longer plot summary with some bookmarks to specific time marks in the film for accessibility.

Longer Plot Summary

[1:45] Seong-gi secretly sneaks into his family home to pay respects to the enshrined remains of his older brother, who was killed in battle. Seong-gi would be next in line as the second eldest son to carry the Lee family name. But, he overhears his father berating him. Dejected, Seong-gi leaves his family home. His younger sister Kiyoko runs into him, and she tells Seong-gi that she'll try to change their father's mind about Geum-sook, but Seong-gi is pessimistic about it.

Seong-gi's parents

[7:18] Geum-sook visits her Japanese friend Eiko, distraught that her husband has gone missing without warning. But she trusts Seong-gi, reasoning that there must be a good reason for his disappearance, and she chooses to wait for him as long as possible.

[9:00] Seong-gi visits his uncle, who is initially unwilling to listen to him. The uncle has been financially supporting Seong-gi in secret behind his father's back, but only for the sake of his mother. The uncle sees Seong-gi as a lazy leach who refuses to work, noting that Seong-gi dropped out of college after marrying Geum-sook. But when Seong-gi tells his uncle that he will join the Imperial Army, his uncle is delighted. However, his uncle still does not accept Geum-sook.

Seong-gi and his uncle

[14:26] Geum-sook has lived a comfortable life with Seong-gi, but now she is short of money ever since his disappearance. Her housekeeper offers to be at her side for free, and Geum-sook gives her some of her treasured clothes as compensation. A young boy pretentiously acts as her boss, giving her some stitching work to do on the side.

Geum-sook gets some sewing work from a boy

[18:15] Eiko visits Geum-sook again and offers to let her stay at her home. Eiko takes Geum-sook for a nice stroll at the Gyeongbokgung Palace, where Eiko suggests that she forget about her husband, and that she could ask her husband's family for help, but Geum-sook stays steadfastly loyal to her missing husband, insisting that she can handle this kind of hardship.

Geum-sook and Eiko at Gyeongbokgung Palace

[24:53] It's spring, and there are cherry blossoms. Seong-gi has joined the army as a voluntary soldier, and he is at an Imperial Army training center. He gets a letter from Kiyoko, his younger sister, letting him know she just found out that he got married. Kiyoko wonders what kind of woman he married.

Seong-gi at army canteen being harassed by a comrade

[28:47] In a flashback sequence, Geum-sook recalls happier days spent with Seong-gi, when they looked forward to having children together. As she wipes away her tears, she goes on mending clothes.

[30:13] In the meantime, Eiko gathers her friends and goes on a shopping trip to Whashin Department Store to buy some baby clothes for Geum-sook. Eiko then meets Kiyoko at a coffee shop and offers her help. However, Kiyoko is unsure if Geum-sook would accept the baby clothes, explaining that Korean culture has a lot more rules and customs to consider than in Japan. Nevertheless, Eiko persuades Kiyoko to offer the baby clothes to Geum-sook.

Eiko and her two Korean friends picking out baby clothes at Whashin Department Store.

[32:36] Later, Kiyoko's father warns her to never let Seong-gi know about the baby. Heeding her father's orders for now, but unable to forget about Geum-sook, Kiyoko visits Geum-sook and offers her the baby clothes, but Geum-sook rejects them.

[36:46] Geum-sook gives birth to a baby boy at home, assisted by a team of friends and a midwife. The women heat water on the kitchen stove and take the hot water to the birthing room. Kiyoko tells her mother about the baby boy, but her mother tries to suppress her excitement, as if it were the wrong emotion to have.

Warming some water in the kitchen for Geum-sook who is in labor.

[40:26] Seong-gi's father reads the news and finds out that his son Seong-gi will be in a military parade, and the whole family is delighted. Carrying her newborn, Geum-sook chases after Seong-gi along the parade route in vain, hoping to get even a brief glimpse of her husband.

Geum-sook carries her child through the streets during military parade.

[45:53] Geum-sook has found work at a clothing factory. At noon, the alarm blares and she observes the Moment of Silence to honor fallen Imperial soldiers. During her break time, she sews a senninbari cloth war amulet for good luck for her husband.

Geum-sook hard at work at clothing factory.

[47:22] There is a family celebration at the Lee family home for Seong-gi's last dinner at home before he goes off to war. Seong-gi tells his family he wants to make one last visit to a friend before he heads to the train station. But he receives a secret note from his younger sister, and he learns for the first time that he has a newborn baby. He also finds out where his wife lives. Seong-gi heads there instead.

Seong-gi has his last dinner with his family before deployment.

[51:35] Seong-gi visits the house where his wife now lives, but it turns out she is still at work at the clothing factory, and she is not home yet. Seong-gi cannot wait, so he continues on to the train station before Geum-sook has the chance to come see him.

[52:19] Seong-gi's younger sister Kiyoko calls to let Geum-sook know that Seong-gi stopped by, so Geum-sook leaves work early and hurries back home, but barely misses him. She and Kiyoko hurry to the train station on a taxi, but also miss him there. Dejected, Geum-sook drops the cloth war amulet that she had meant to give Seong-gi. It is then that Kiyoko and her mother arrive, and Geum-sook meets her mother-in-law for the first time.

Geum-sook misses her husband's departure and cries.

[1:02:57] Seong-gi injures his foot in battle, while Geum-sook collapses from exhaustion on the factory floor. Geum-sook is in a hospital in Seoul, while Seong-gi is recovering in a war hospital in mainland Japan.

[1:03:30] Father is infuriated at Kiyoko for telling Seong-gi about his baby. The father keeps rejecting his grandchild, so Kiyoko takes the baby and plops him right in front of her father. Her father's heart gradually melts and he takes a liking to his new grandchild.

[1:09:19] Geum-sook receives an international call from Seong-gi across the Strait of Korea. Seong-gi reveals that he wasn't going to contact his wife until he got his father's approval of his wife.

Geum-sook recovering at a hospital.

[1:12:26] Seong-gi's father finally comes to visit Geum-sook in the hospital and give his blessing to her marriage to Seong-gi. Meanwhile, Seong-gi walks along the beach in Japan with a nurse and looks across the Strait in the direction of Korea, looking forward to reuniting with his wife again.

Seong-gi and nurse standing on a beach in Japan looking in the direction of Korea.

Rationing sugar and sweets in 1943 Seoul: lucky families got coveted ration books issued by snack retailers, while others received nothing, one mother collapsed in line waiting to buy one cookie for her infant, so Patriotic Groups intervened to prioritize rationing to children and the military

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.

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-12-21

See also the other Keijo Nippo food shortages articles in the same series:

1. 1. Egg and poultry shortages
   2. Fish and seafood shortages
   3. Vegetable shortages
   4. Miso shortages

京城日報　1943年12月21日

勝ち抜くあすの構え

食生活を衝く（４）

体を壊す行列買い

二重、三重買いは止めよ

砂糖・菓子

食品生活必需物資の末端配給で一番注目されているのに砂糖がある。砂糖は現在各小売商の自治統制として自由販売ではあるが、各業者とも従来の華客及びその周辺の各家庭に対して通帳を発行し、家族人員を基準として配給を行っているが、地区的に見て毎月順調に配給を受けている家庭と二ヶ月も三ヶ月近くも砂糖の入手出来ない家庭もあり、中には二、三ヶ所の業者から配給通帳を受けて二重、三重に甘い汁を吸っている者もある。

砂糖は調味料としては勿論、糖分摂取の栄養学上から云っても最も重要な食品の一つでもあるので、こうした弊害の多い現在の市販状態を是正する為、府当局では今後の砂糖の配給には二重、三重と搾取者のつけ込む隙の無いよう厳正を期した上、家族人員の外に生活程度を考慮して、不必要な家庭の配給を減じ、他を増加する方針で先頃原案の作製も終り、総督府に提出中で、実現は明年へ打ち越される模様ではあるが、この砂糖の家庭減量配給が完備すればこれを基準にして、現在囂々の非難の的となっておる菓子類の配給についても光明がともされることになれば、子供をもつ家庭の悩みも解消する訳である。

菓子類の一般入手難が叫ばれる声は久しい。幼児を抱えた母親が霜の深い朝、本町筋の或る菓子屋の店頭で吾が児に与える一片のビスケットを得んものと数時間立たされ貧血してたおれたと云う悲劇もあった。暇と人手の多い家庭ならば街中を駆けまわって手に入れることも出来よう、と云うことは間食させたい盛りの幼児を抱えていても、菓子を買い漁る暇の無い家庭にはいつまで経っても手に入らないと云うことである。小売商の自由販売に任せてある菓子である。誰でもほしい物であるが故に横流れ、闇流しの声も拡がりつつあるのだ。事実菓子は一般家庭へ廻らないのだ。

そこでお菓子の製造状態を打診してみると主原料たる砂糖の配給は菓子の余る豊富な時代であった昭和十三、四年の製造業者の実績の一割八分となっており、主原料からみるとそれ程過少ではないかと、京城菓子工業組合理事佐藤三郎氏に訊ねる。

内地製菓の大量輸入が全然ありません。それに材料の減少で主原料の割より製造は少ない訳です。一般市販については当局の消費実績を基調として適正な配給と云う指針に基いて各小売商は各自販売を行っていますが、店頭に列べて自由に売ったのでは行列買の弊を生じるので登録制になり、切符配布の方法を講じていますが、面白い現象は近頃酒を呑む人で従来甘い物を口にしなかった様な人達も非常に食べる様になったことで、家庭での甘い物の要求が菓子の方へ傾いて来たので、需要者が多くなっているとも云えます。

製造方面では割り当てられた原料を適正に各生産者に廻して作らせていますが、菓子は小売商もほとんど自家製造をやっているため、これを生産者、小売者とはっきり分けるようにでもなれば末端配給の方も円滑に行くのではないでしょうか。

では菓子の末端配給の適正なり基準を何処に置くか、また現在何処の小売商とも結びついていなくて子供を抱えた家庭はどうしたら菓子が買えるようになるかということを、菓子小売商組合結成に尽瘁する京城菓子小売商組合創立委員長本吉兵次郎氏に訊く。

菓子が入手出来ないと聴きますが、府内在住の家庭で菓子を全然食べないと云う家は無いでしょう。各小売商がそれぞれ自家製造をし、又組合制度がはっきりしてない為、計画生産と云う事が行えず、個々の店で入荷した材料で様々な菓子を造って売っていますが、消費者との登録制が最も採られているようです。葉書なり口頭なりで申し込まれても直ちにお渡しすると云うことは出来ませんが、一ヶ月なり二ヶ月後には順繰りに配給が出来る様にし、また切符の発行なども大体午前中来店する方達に差し上げる様にしています。

強力な小売商組合が出来て各自の少ない製造のみに頼らず大きな工場の卸も適正に受ける様になれば、もっと円滑に消費者の手に入るのではないでしょうか。組合の申合せで地区的に消費者を分担するとか、又は学校、労務方面に重点配給をする、又は愛国班を通じて子供のある家庭を調査して優先的に配給するとかですが、現在の様に個々の業者が勝手に消費者と結びついているのでは二重、三重買いをする人もあれば、そんな調子ですからどこの店もいっぱいで全然菓子の手に入らない面も生じてくる訳です。

ですから計画生産をして確実な末端配給をする事が緊要です。たとえば製造する品種にしても従来の暖簾などに執着せず、大衆的菓子を多く造って多方面に廻せる様にすることなども決戦下の菓子商の持つ使命だと考えられます。得意配給などにしても過去の贅沢な消費実績を基にして配給する事はやはり偏在になりましょう。

消費者が葉書なり口頭なりで申し込んでも、にべなく断られたり、切符を得んものと相当の闇中飛躍なども行われているが、現在府内の菓子屋さんはどんな方法で菓子券を出してますか？

店頭販売をすれば行列買いになり、一定時間に切符を出せばこれまた行列を作るでしょう。実際菓子を小売商の悩みもここにある訳ですが、ある店ではお米の通帳を持参すれば月二回位づつ配給する、また一方には回収貨幣を持参すれば菓子を売るとか、実に種々な方法を講じてますが、結局暇のある家庭や手の多い所はそれだけ街を歩き廻って入手する度も多いでしょう。自分も欲しければ人も欲しいのだと二つのものなら一つ、二度買うものなら一度に我慢して貰わない限り、菓子不足の声は絶えないことになります。

ですから全府の菓子消費者を登録制にして貰って地区的に消費者を菓子商と結びつければ、やや公平を期することも出来るのではないでしょうか。決戦下の菓子は乳幼児の栄養補給源又は生産戦士の慰安なり重点的配給に一般消費者の協力が望ましいと考えられますが、当局の善処法を待つより外は、現在のところこの儘の状態が続くのではないでしょうか。

菓子が手に入らないという街の声に対して以上のような答えを得たが、当局としては原料を増配して乳幼児用ビスケットを愛国班を通じて配給させるとか、大きな菓子工場にキャラメルを製らせて、これを学校を通じて児童に特配するとか、本当に菓子を与えなければならぬ子供達には温かい措置を講じているが、一般消費者の菓子への深い理解が望まれる。【写真＝菓子に代ってビン詰め類食品を陳列する菓子屋さんの店頭】

Tourist groups visiting the historical sites of Buyeo (부여, 夫餘) had to perform 3 hours community service (road repair, water pipes, tree planting) under Imperial Army command and indoctrinated in 'Japanese-Korean Unification' propaganda with mandatory Shinto worship, no individual tourists allowed (1943)

This article is the last one in a series of three educational articles published by the colonial regime to promote a heavily biased narrative of Japanese and Korean history from mythological times to the fall of the Kingdom of Baekje in 660 A.D., which the regime used to justify its colonization of Korea. Since Buyeo was the historical capital of Baekje, the regime lavishly developed it as a propaganda tourist landmark to encourage Koreans to accept colonization by Imperial Japan the same way the Kingdom of Baekje allegedly accepted military and cultural exchange with Ancient Japan. Much of the tourist landmark development was spearheaded by the Korean Federation of National Power (国民総力朝鮮聯盟, 국민총력조선연맹), which functioned as the one and only political party of colonial Korea.

The first two articles of the series publish the regime's detailed historical narrative about ancient Japan and Korea (the translation is available here). This historical narrative was undoubtedly used to indoctrinate tour groups visiting Buyeo on 1-day, 1-night excursions.

In this third and last article, a reporter follows a tour group of 50 school girls from Seoul during their visit to Buyeo, who were here for regimented 'training' consisting of three hours of labor service (planting trees) and several hours of indoctrination, including a tour of the historical sites, mandatory Shinto worship rituals, and prayer. This included the morning Kyūjō Yōhai ritual (宮城遥拝), which involved deeply bowing several times in the direction of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo while standing, vowing loyalty to the Emperor.

The girls were closely monitored by staff, including the teacher and an Imperial Army major, who described himself as a fixture in the dormitory, which implied that he was constantly present while the girls were staying in the dormitory.

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) April 21, 1943

Describing the Holy Land of Buyeo (Part 3)

Reviving the Dreams of a Thousand Years Ago

The sacred perspiration of team members who stream into the Holy City, one after the other

Both the mainland Japanese and the Koreans are now working hard in Buyeo to transform the history of Japanese-Korean Unity dating back more than 1,000 years into a present-day reality that knows no limits. When we look up to the sacred virtues of the four precious deities, the light of the ancient soil that we must raise with our own strength shines brilliantly in our eyes. We must hold the same hoe together as we dig up the history of the past thousand years. From August 1940 until today, 75,000 volunteers have been heaping up the soil of Buyeo, pouring their heart and soul into every lump of dirt that they heap up. The people work happily and nobly, since the labor service in Buyeo is a family honor to be handed down to the next generation.

However, is labor service in Buyeo really just any ordinary labor service? When you look at the construction site of the Shrine, which is bleached white in the middle of Mount Buso (부소산, 扶蘇山), you can see the earthen walls marked with regular hoe-shaped marks, and you can also find the marks of the carefully arranged gravel, which was prepared in such an undisturbed manner. Thus, the work site of Buyeo has become a great training grounds for the Korean people to seek the cultivation of their minds.

The first thing that hikers will see is the divine view of the three mountains of Buyeo. After more than 50 minutes on the bus, they gradually bow their heads in deference to the majesty of the mountains in all directions. When they reach such a state of mental cohesion on the bus, their bus enters the town of Buyeo.

Those who arrive in the morning will rest at an inn in the morning. In the afternoon, they spend about three hours in labor service. The next morning, they will listen to lectures and go on a tour of the historical sites, then disperse in the morning.

Those who arrive in the evening will do their labor service the next morning after they stay the night. In the afternoon, they will listen to lectures and go on a tour of the historical sites, and then conclude their itinerary. This is the plan that the Korean Federation of National Power has made since the construction of Buyeo Jingu Shrine in accordance with the Buyeo Shrine Construction Office, and anyone who comes as a group must act in accordance with this plan.

The following are the features of the Buyeo work program. Absolutely no one is allowed to act alone, whether it be seeing things, hearing things, or working. They must obey the orders of their leaders, even when it comes to getting up in the morning and eating. Even distinguished men of rank and decorations must follow the orders of their leaders once they join the service teams. This may seem like a very rigid system, but for the occasional traveler, it is a comforting way to travel, and this system is mentioned in travel anecdotes about Buyeo. Service teams are sent into the royal county of Buyeo from various areas every day not only to perform Shrine construction work, but also to repair roads, transport heavy objects, and even build water systems, all with the enthusiasm of "making our capital with our own hands". The peace and tranquility of the inhabitants of the sanctuary can be seen in the way they work with their faces beaming with pride. In other words, their training has uplifted the people of Buyeo up to this point.

This reporter spent a day with 50 female students from Seoul, who were the pinnacle of all the students of Korea, and struggled through the round-table discussions on the train. In Buyeo, they arrived at Half Moon Dormitory, which was operated by the county for the service teams, where they were met by a director of the Korean Federation of National Power, Mr. Hayashi, whom they had known for many days. Standing next to him was Major Yamaguchi, a heavily bearded man. He introduced himself by saying, "Please just regard me as a fixture in this dormitory". In 1940, Major Yamaguchi became a commissioned officer of the Korean Federation of National Power, and he will be taking care of all the team members. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to call him a labor leader rather than a caretaker.

On this day, Director Hayashi announced that he would conduct the training in place of Major Yamaguchi. Even Principal Miyahara, who was leading the group, was confused as to what was going on. But upon hearing Mr. Hayashi say, "Starting tonight, I am taking charge of everyone's well-being", the students felt that things were looking up. In other words, whereas the students used to feel less trust in following their leader, they now felt relieved that they could follow the discipline of training. "You are not here for labor. You are here for training". These were Mr. Hayashi's first words. "You must be tired today, so please rest at ease in the dormitory. Tomorrow morning, get up at 5:00 a.m.!" The training had already begun. Major Yamaguchi led me to the Baekgang dormitory, which had been designated as my lodgings for the night. This was another county-run training dormitory, built in a renovated elementary school not far from the Half Moon Dormitory.

The female students moved swiftly into the designated dormitory, where they were provided with a blanket, a top futon mat, and a bottom futon mat for sleeping. Three meals were included, and the cost was only 1.30 yen per person, so they were very inexpensive accommodations. Thanks to the kindness of Major Yamaguchi, all the firewood was lit in the Ondol that night. Each person laid out a brand-new futon on the warm floor and began to get ready for bed. Teachers and students alike began to do the same thing. "The lights will go out at ten o'clock. Until then, with your teacher's permission, you are allowed some free time", Major Yamaguchi announced to each room, out of consideration for the hearts of the girls who wanted to have some play time after following military-style orders the whole time. As the students, who had been waiting for this moment, started to become excited, this time it was the teacher's turn to keep a watchful eye on the students. Roll call was at 9:30. Once it was 10:00, there was silence, not even a murmur in the room. The next morning, they woke up to the sound of the wake-up signal, and after washing their faces as they had been instructed, they assembled at Half Moon Dormitory.

Morning worship was at 6:30. Facing the east bowing several times towards the Imperial Palace, they performed the Kyūjō Yōhai prayers. Next, they faced the direction of Chōsen Shrine bowing several times in worship. At 7:00 a.m., it was time for breakfast. Everyone sat down in front of their meals laid out on the long tables and performed a pre-meal ritual. They sang a song of thanksgiving to the gods with Director Hayashi. Once this was done, they said "Itadakimasu!" (a customary Japanese phrase of gratitude which is said before meals) and stuck their chopsticks into bowls of mixed rice which included barley. Every step of the process was a continuation of their training.

Original caption: Performing a pre-meal ritual before breakfast.

Major Yamaguchi led the group from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in front of the Shrine construction office, which was set up at the foot of Mount Buso with an old-fashioned bamboo railing and the scent of new wood emanating from it. Here, Major Yamaguchi handed over the girls to Mr. Shibata, the director of the Buyeo Shrine Construction Office. The girls were then assigned work to plant saplings to grow sacred trees on the grounds. The girls were determined not to be outdone by previous teams of laborers that had worked there earlier as they worked hard breaking a sweat with their hoes.

Original caption: The labor service team gathered in front of the Shrine construction office.

Buyeo is famous for its cherry blossoms. Although their cherry blossoms do not have the same fiery colors that Yoshino cherry blossoms have, the flowers that bloom along the approach to the Shrine have deep colors similar to those found in mainland Japan. Buyeo's mountains and rivers, created by Mother Nature throughout the four seasons and providing a backdrop to the 16 townships (myeon) of the county, will be praised as a wonder of the world. When the four railway lines are opened up soon to this beautiful scenery, traffic jams will certainly ensue. There is no end to what I can write about Buyeo. (Written and photographed by Correspondent Mr. Arai)

Photo: (Above) The labor service team gathered in front of the Shrine construction office, (Below) Performing a pre-meal ritual before breakfast.

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-04-21

(Transcription)

京城日報　1943年4月21日

聖地扶余を描く（下）

千古の夢今に蘇える

神都に相踵ぐ聖汗隊

千余年に遡る内鮮一体史と、尽きるを知らぬ無限の現実に、今や内地も半島も挙げて扶余の勤労にいそしんでいる。尊き四神の御聖徳を仰ぐとき、彼にも我にもこの力もて起さねばならぬ古き土の光りが燦然と目を射るのだ。そして倶に同じ鍬を握って千年の歴史を掘り返さずには措かないのだ。昭和十五年八月から開始して今日まで、七万五千の奉仕隊は一塊の土くれにも心して扶余の土盛りに従った。扶余の勤労奉仕こそ末代に伝える家門の誉れとして楽しく気高く人々は働いた。

だが扶余への奉仕とは果して一般の勤労奉仕と同じものであったろうか。扶蘇山の中腹に白く穿たれ行く御造営工事作業場を見るときに、そこには規則正しい鍬形の跡を印した土塀をみ、整えられた小砂利の乱れを嫌う虔しい整理の跡を発見するのである。かくて扶余の勤労こそ心の錬成を求める大道場として今や半島民衆の前に生れ出たのだ。

遊山のつもりで往く人々の目に先ず映るのはその神々しい扶余三山の景観であろう。五十分余もバスに揺られて行くうちに次第にこの人達の頭は四方の威容に圧伏されて低められて行くのだ。こうした自らの精神統一がバスの中で完成した頃に車は扶余の町に入る。

朝着けば午前中は旅館に休養。午後は約三時間の勤労奉仕。翌朝は叢話と史蹟巡りで午前中を終って解散。

夜着く人々には一泊後、翌午前中は勤労奉仕。午後は叢話と史蹟見学で日程を終ることとなっている。これは扶余御造営以来、総力聯盟が御造営事務所と協定の上作った計画で、誰でも団体として乗り込んだ人々はこれによって行動しなければならない。

こうしたところに扶余勤労の特徴がある。視覚も聴覚も労働も一切単独行動は許されない。起床も食事もあげて指導者の命令に服さなければならないのだ。位階や勲等を持つ名士でさえも一度奉仕隊に加わればその通り実行しなければならない。これは甚だ物固い取り扱いのように思われるが、時折の旅行者にはこれがかえって旅の慰めとなって、扶余の土産話に織り込まれているのだ。御膝元の扶余郡では連日各方面から奉仕隊が繰り出し、御造営奉仕は勿論のこと、"我等の神都を我等の手で"という意気込みから道路の改修、重量物の運搬さては水道の建設まで協力しているが、何れの人人も誇りを顔いっぱいに感じて立ち働く様には流石に神域住人の平和さがのぞかれる。つまり錬成の跡がここまで扶余の人々を引き上げて行ったのだ。

京城から全鮮学生軍の先鋒を切った京城女子実業生五十名と記者は一日行動を共にしたのであったが、列車中の座談会に悩まされ通しであった。かくて扶余に着くと郡経営の奉仕隊旅宿となっている半月寮に到着したのだが、待ち構えていたのは日頃から見知り越しの林聯盟総力課長だった。続いて立っているのが厳しい髯を蓄えた山口少佐殿。この人は自ら『私は寮の備付物品です』と自己紹介に及ぶだけに昭和十五年以来聯盟嘱託となって隊員の世話一切を引き受けている。或いは世話というよりは勤労指導者という方が適当であろう。

この日は山口少尉殿に代って林課長が錬成を行う旨を宣言したので着くまでは何が何やら引率の宮原校長でさえ判らなかった一行も『今夜からは私が皆さんの御身は引き受けました』と大家錬成部長張りの林課長の声にどうやら先は明るくなった。つまり指導者に従えばよいのだといった依頼心が弱い人間性、もっと良くいえば錬成規律に従えばよいという安心が湧いたのであろう。『皆さんは勤労に来たのではありません。錬成に来たのです』。林さんの第一声に次ぐ言葉はこれだった。『今日はお疲れでしょうからゆっくり寮でお休み下さい。明朝は午前五時起床！』もう錬成は始まったのだ。山口少尉殿に引率されて、この夜の宿と定められた白江寮へ連れられる。ここも半月寮から程遠からぬ場所の小学校を改築して造った郡営の錬成宿舎である。

足取りも軽く女学生軍は定められた宿舎へ、毛布一枚、布団上下一枚宛があてがわれた寝具だ。之に三度の食事がついて一人前一円三十銭、実に安い宿賃である。山口少佐殿の情けで今夜は全部の温突に薪がくべられた。ホカホカと温まる床に各々が真新しい布団を敷いて早くも寝る支度が始まった。先生も生徒も同じように同じ動作にかかる。『消灯は十時です。それまでは先生のお許しを得て一同自由行動』軍隊式の命令の中にも遊びたい娘達の心を思い遣って山口少佐殿は各室へ声を送った。待ってましたとはしゃぎ出す生徒へ今度は別に先生の監督の目が光る。点呼は九時半。十時は来るともう呟き一つしはぶきもない静けさが来た。翌朝になると起床合図の音で、教えられた通りに洗顔が済むと再び半月寮に集合した。

六時半の朝礼。東方を向いて宮城遥拝。続いて朝鮮神宮遥拝。七時に朝食となって一同長い机の上に並べられた食事の前に坐って先ず食事前の"行"がはじまった。林課長と共に神への感謝の歌が吟ぜられ、夫れが済むと"頂きます"で丸麦の混米に箸がつく。一挙一動が錬成行の連続だ。作業は午前八時から同十一時半迄、扶蘇山麓に古風な竹矢来を組んだ中に真新しい木の香りを放つ御造営事務所前まで引率した山口少佐は、一同を柴田御造営事務所長に引き渡すとすぐ引き返す。これからが勤労である。この日少女達にあてがわれたのは神木の苗木植えだった。先着の各勤労隊の励む汗の中を少女達も負けじと鍬を揮ったのだ。

扶余は桜の各地である。吉野の燃えるような色はなくとも新参道に笑いかける花橘には内地にあるような深い色が秘んでいる。四季を通じて自然の庭師が造った扶余山河は、やがては一郡十六面の背景として天下の奇勝を謳われるに至ろう。明媚な風光と共に四本の鉄路が近く拓けば往来は一層踵を接するのだ。扶余については全く筆の尽きるところがない。（荒井特派員記並びに撮影）

写真＝御造営事務所前集合の勤労奉仕隊（上）と朝食前の行