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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Translation]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) August 6, 1944

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

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

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

Harold Walker who imprisoned a cook over snake vinegar

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Seo Guk-tae who physically abused some beggars

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Transcription]

京城日報 1944年8月6日

悪鬼米人の正体 （１）
神の恵み飲め”蛇酢”
林檎一つで金少年の頬に烙印

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: National Library of Korea, Digital Newspaper Archive 

A Rare 1944 Korean–Japanese Bilingual Propaganda Poster Promoting Forced Labor Conscription

This is a very rare Korean–Japanese bilingual wartime propaganda poster, published in Keijo Nippo (Gyeongseong Ilbo) on October 7, 1944. Keijo Nippo was the official propaganda mouthpiece of the Imperial Japanese colonial regime that ruled Korea from 1905 to 1945.

In the four years that I have been reading and archiving articles from this newspaper, this is the only bilingual poster I have ever encountered. The poster features the bilingual lyrics of a song praising “conscripted workers (応徴士),” referring to young Koreans who were being forcibly mobilized for military labor under the so-called White Paper Conscription (白紙召集) system. 

I originally posted about this poster about two years ago, when the only copies available were grainy microfiche scans from the Internet Archive and the National Library of Korea. Since then, the Digital Newspaper Archive at the National Library of Korea has released high-resolution digital scans of Keijo Nippo, allowing a much clearer view of this poster. The Hangul text is now much more legible, so I am updating this post to share this improved copy and to revisit its historical significance with a clearer image.

The White Paper summons was used for various forms of “educational conscription” and training-related mobilization, such as 教育召集 (educational conscription), 演習召集 (training mobilization), and 簡閲点呼 (roll-call inspection). Both the Imperial Army and Navy could issue these white-paper orders, which in practice became a form of compulsory labor service for Korean men.

According to the article, the poster was distributed across all of Korea to raise “home-front morale.” Yet the context makes it chilling. Just months earlier, in April–May 1944, the colonial regime had launched a campaign to “Drive Hangul out of the streets!”, removing Korean-language signs from public view. This makes the poster especially striking—it was one of the very few instances of Hangul text that was officially sanctioned and publicly displayed by the colonial authorities.

For ordinary Koreans, however, the poster’s cheerful and “forward-looking” tone would have felt deeply insulting. They knew from bitter experience what conscription meant: fathers and sons torn away from their families for grueling labor in mines, factories, and construction sites, leaving wives and children destitute. Even though women were not officially subject to the White Paper summons, many feared being swept up into the system—so much so that some rushed into marriage to avoid possible mobilization or being coerced into military sex work under the Imperial forces.

The following are the original lyrics with English translations, as well as the Korean text (uncertain portions in double brackets):

おうちょう（應徵）戦士 Conscription Soldier
お父さん 萬歳 Father, may you live long!
兄ちゃん 萬歳 Elder brother, may you live long!
うれしいな 白紙應召 How joyful it is, White Paper Conscription!
大進撃 勝って下さい Please win the great offensive!
送れ 送れ Send them, send them!
がっちり しっかり Firmly, steadfastly,
憎い米英 やっつける Defeat the hated Britain and America!

응증전사
증응에 나가신
우리 아버지 만세
우리 형님 만세
참말노 기쁜 증응
[[작고]] 만히보내라
다가치 힘을 합하야
[[원수]]에미국 을때려부시라

[Translation of accompanying explanatory text]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) October 7, 1944
“Wall Newspaper Praising Labor Conscripts”

The labor conscripts advance. Believing that it is an honor second only to that of a soldier, the labor conscripts hurry to factories and mines. Their fathers, mothers, and children who see them off cry out energetically, “Do your best! We will take care of the rest!”

The League of Mobilization in Korea distributed this scene throughout all of Korea in order to boost morale on the home front. [Photo: Wall Newspaper]

[Transcription of accompanying explanatory text]

京城日報 1944年10月7日
応徴士讃う壁新聞

応徴士は進む。兵隊さんに次ぐ名誉だと応徴士は工場に鉱山に急いでいる。送る父や母や子供は元気で”頑張れ、あとは引受けた”と力強く叫ぶ。国民総力聯盟はこの風景を全鮮に配布して銃後の士気を昂揚した。【写真＝壁新聞】

See also:

• Koreans tried to bribe their way out of Imperial Japan’s forced labor conscription, but patriotic student informants turned them in (June 1945) (link)
• Terrified by rumors of forced labor conscription under the Imperial Army, young Korean women rushed into marriages to escape, prompting officials to hold April 1944 press conference to deny and deflect (link)
• In 1944, Imperial Japan launched an “all-out campaign” to erase Hangul from public life, mobilizing teachers and Korean youth to destroy Korean signs, books, and even phonograph records (link)
• Previous post about the bilingual poster based on blurry microfiche copies (link)

Credit to u/wiseau7 for providing the Korean transcription of this song.

Terrified by rumors of forced labor conscription under the Imperial Army, young Korean women rushed into marriages to escape, prompting officials to hold April 1944 press conference to deny and deflect

This is a 1944 article featuring a damage-control press conference held by Imperial Japanese authorities to publicly address growing panic among Koreans over rumors of an impending forced labor conscription of young unmarried women. Panicked Korean women had reportedly rushed into marriages to avoid being drafted for compulsory labor service with the Imperial Army or Navy under the White Paper Conscription system. The situation apparently became so alarming that the regime felt compelled to hold this press conference to explicitly declare, “There is no female conscription.”

Original Caption: Political Affairs Chief Tanaka speaking with reporters

The rush into marriage seems to suggest a level of desperation and fear that goes way beyond a mere reluctance to work. Why were so many young women so terrified of labor conscription with the Imperial Japanese military that they chose marriage as their only escape? Perhaps they already knew of the grim dangers of forced labor under Imperial Japanese military control: sexual abuse and violence. 

Under the White Paper Conscription system, white paper summons (hakushi, 白紙) were issued to men ordering them to report for “patriotic training” at factories, farms, or construction sites under Imperial Army or Navy command. In reality, however, these so-called training mobilizations functioned as compulsory labor deployments-once a white paper arrived, there was virtually no way to refuse.

Interestingly, the same press conference also touched on another controversy then roiling Korean society: the demotion of a Korean colonial official, Mr. Karasukawa Kyōgen (a.k.a. Jong Gyo-won, 정교원, 鄭僑源), from a high-ranking executive post to a county magistrate. Many saw this as blatant ethnic discrimination by the Japanese authorities. Others, however, despised him as a collaborator. Indeed, he was later arrested as a national traitor after liberation.

TL;DR: Many Korean women were desperately rushing into marriages to avoid forced labor conscription with the Imperial Japanese military, which caused a public outcry and forced Imperial authorities to hold a press conference to explicitly deny that women would be forcibly conscripted.

[Translation]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) April 6, 1944

Outrageous! Marriage to Evade Labor Conscription

“Hey!” As usual, with his cheerful face, Political Affairs Chief Tanaka appeared in the reception room. It was 11 a.m. on April 5th, his first press meeting after returning from the Assembly. “I have something I would like to speak about today,” the Chief began in a bright tone.

[Photo: Political Affairs Chief Tanaka speaking with reporters]

Political Affairs Chief Tanaka Speaks to the Press

“With regard to general labor conscription, there have been rumors that women will also be conscripted, and it seems that, because of this, there has suddenly been an increase in the number of women marrying to evade conscription. This is unacceptable. There is no such thing as labor conscription for women.

“If it is a proper and genuine marriage, that is a happy thing, of course. But to rush into marriage merely to avoid labor conscription is unbecoming in the current national situation. While men are fighting bravely on the battlefront, it is the women who must naturally take their place and protect the home front. The notion of marrying because of unwillingness to work must be completely rejected. In Tokyo and elsewhere, daughters of respectable families are already actively taking up work.”

Although women are not subject to compulsory labor, Tanaka emphasized that women should voluntarily step forward to work. Then the conversation shifted as he began criticizing bad habits in Korea, giving concrete examples.

“In Korea, there has long been a bad habit of speaking ill of others when they are doing well,” he said. “Recently, when Mr. Karasukawa Kyōgen (a.k.a. Jong Gyo-won, 정교원, 鄭僑源) from the Agricultural Land Development Corporation was appointed as county magistrate, there were immediately people who began to slander him.

“Mr. Karasukawa is not merely an executive in name, but a hands-on leader. Burning with the desire to reform administration at the grassroots level, he had long wanted to serve as a county magistrate. When the Government-General confirmed his determination, we found it to be firm and resolute, and so he was appointed to the post. There are many similar cases like this in mainland Japan, and even the township (myeon) leaders in Korea have carried out grassroots administration reform as well.”

“Yet some people say things like, ‘See? Even Mr. Karasukawa has been demoted from an executive to a county magistrate,’ as though he had been treated poorly. Some even personally attack him. But the idea that he was dismissed because he is Korean is utterly false. We, for our part, look forward to the fine work that County Magistrate Karasukawa will do.”

Amid this very informal conversation, the Political Affairs Chief called upon all 25 million residents of the Korean peninsula to engage in self-reflection.

Finally, turning once again to another topic, he expressed satisfaction in discussing the South Pyongan Industrial Expansion Promotion Association, which has become a major driving force in strengthening war production, and spoke proudly of the united effort of the military, government, and civilians in South Pyongan Province that he hoped to extend throughout all of Korea.

Afterward, just past noon, the Chief disappeared into the adjoining office.

[Transcription]

京城日報 1944年4月6日

以っての外だ
徴用逃れの結婚とは

”やあー”と、例によって元気な顔で田中政務総監は応接室に現れた。五日午前十一時、議会から帰って初の記者団との会見である。『きょうはこちらから話したいことがある』と総監は朗らかに語りはじめた。【写真＝記者団と語る田中総監】

田中政務総監：記者団に語る

一般徴用に関聯して、女子に徴用があるという噂によって徴用をまぬかれようと急に結婚が増えだしたということだが、これはいけない。女子に徴用はないのである。正当な結婚であればおめでたいことだが、徴用を免れんがために結婚を急ぐということは時局下よろしくないことだ。男子は戦線で奮闘しているとき、当然男に代って銃後を護るべき女子が、働くのがいやだから結婚する、などという考えは絶対に排撃しなければならぬ。東京などでは既に相当な家庭の子女がどしどし働いている。

徴用はされずとも女子自ら進んで働くことを促す監督であった。話題は一転し朝鮮の悪癖を衝き実例を挙げて語り出す。

朝鮮には昔から、他人がよくなると悪く言う、という悪い癖がある。最近も農地開発営団の烏川僑源君が郡守に出たら、早速これを悪くいう者がある。烏川君は平重役ではなく実務をもった重役だが、本人は末端行政の改革をやってみたい思念に燃え、かねて郡守でもやりたいと思っていたのである。総督府でも本人の決意の程をたしかめたところ、牢固たる信念が判ったので今度出てもらったわけである。内地でもこんな例は沢山あり、朝鮮の面長でも実行したのである。ところが『それみよ、烏川君も重役から郡守に出された』などといかにも冷遇したかの如くいう者がある。また烏川君の個人攻撃をやる者もあるが、朝鮮人であるが故に退けたなどということは全くなく、我々としては今後烏川郡守の活躍に期待しているのである。

非常にくだけた話の中に、総監は半島二千五百万民衆の反省を求めるのである。ここで話題は再び転じ、戦力増強に大きな推進力となっている平南生拡推進会の問題にふれ、平南の軍官民一体の総力態勢を全鮮的に押し拡げようと満足気に語り、総監は正午過ぎ隣の総監室に姿を消した。

Source: National Library of Korea, Digital Newspaper Archive 

See also: 

• Koreans tried to bribe their way out of Imperial Japan’s forced labor conscription, but patriotic student informants turned them in (June 1945) (link)

Koreans tried to bribe their way out of Imperial Japan’s forced labor conscription, but patriotic student informants turned them in (June 1945)

During the final phase of Imperial Japan’s rule over Korea, conscription orders came printed on different colors of paper, each color denoting a different type of mobilization. Red (akagami, 赤紙) and pink (kōgami, 紅紙) summonses were for active military service, while blue (aogami, 青紙) papers called civilians to short-term homeland defense duties, such as air-raid response. White (hakushi, 白紙) papers, however, were used for “educational conscription” (教育召集), “training mobilization” (演習召集), and “roll-call inspections” (簡閲点呼). Both the Army and Navy could issue white-paper summonses, which often sent young Korean men to factories, farms, and construction sites under the guise of patriotic training. In practice, this became a form of compulsory labor, with almost no way to refuse once a summons arrived.

This post focuses on the white-paper conscription system and why many Koreans experienced it as forced labor. As wartime shortages deepened, evasion became nearly impossible, and some resorted to bribing local officials to escape service. The articles, translated below from the Keijō Nippo newspaper published in February and June 1945, reveal both the desperation and the risks.

The February 1945 report describes a wide-scale bribery scandal in which over a hundred people paid bribes to more than twenty ward-office employees in Seoul to avoid being conscripted, only to be caught and threatened with "severe punishment." The June 1945 story is more personal: it recounts how one man, Urushibara, pleaded for exemption, citing the hardship his absence would cause his family. When that failed, he tried to obtain leniency from his neighborhood cell leader by bribing him with food and drink, but they were exposed by a mobilized student, Yang Ryang (양량, 梁亮), celebrated in the article as a model patriotic Korean youth.

A related news story from the same period told of another conscript who had no choice but to leave his wife and children behind for labor duty, forcing his family into poverty until a sympathetic police officer stepped in to care for them. Together, these stories illustrate how devastating such labor summonses were for Korean households, and how difficult it was to receive exemptions or deferments for them.

TL;DR: Imperial forced labor summons were very hard for Korean men to evade. If you tried bribing your way out, you ran the risk of getting caught by informants turning you in. 

[Translation]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) February 9, 1945
What Is This? Evading Labor Conscription by Bribery
Corruption of Government Officials: Both Parties to Be Severely Punished

On February 8th, Prosecutor Shizunaga of the Economic Division of the Seoul District Public Prosecutor’s Office met with reporters and commented on the corruption case involving employees of the Labor Sections of the Jung Ward and Jongno Ward offices of Seoul. He ordered those involved in conscription and candidate selection matters to pay attention, and warned that hereafter those who attempt to evade labor conscription will be met with severe punishment. His remarks are as follows:

"There has never been a time as today when the responsibility of government officials is so highly emphasized. In that sense, the corruption case involving the Labor Section employees of Jung Ward and Jongno Ward is very regrettable and should not be regarded merely as a small incident. This matter is currently being handled by the provincial police department. I do not know the detailed figures, but there are over twenty persons on the bribe-taking side and over one hundred persons who paid bribes.

Why is it that Korean youth and their parents, who respond to military conscription with joy and eagerness, on the other hand detest labor conscription? Of course, the principal reason must be a lack of understanding about labor conscription, but might not the cause also lie in the existence of loopholes such as those revealed by this corruption case? That seems to allow some of the lower-level government officials to further enable the bad attitude of evading labor conscription.

I am by no means pessimistic about labor mobilization on the Korean peninsula. I believe that people are responding more readily than might be supposed. If hereafter the public understanding of the value of labor and the measures to support labor improve, still better results should be achieved. In that context, the fact that some negligent lower-level government officials exist and exert harmful influence is, I believe, a grave problem for the completion of the sacred task of strengthening our war potential. From this standpoint, I intend to take a stern stance toward such incidents.

Furthermore, the general public must properly recognize labor conscription and should take the lead in responding to this honorable mobilization. If anyone attempts henceforth to evade labor conscription by various means, the policy will be to arrest and prosecute them without mercy."

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) June 27, 1945
Conquering Labor Conscription Evasion

There has been an admirable and upright act in which a mobilized student, rising resolutely to dedicate himself and fight courageously in his field of duty, splendidly conquered the tendency to evade labor conscription.

Yang Ryang (양량, 梁亮), a 22-year-old third-year student at the Takushoku College of Economics (present-day Korea University), has since the end of March been mobilized to serve in the Labor Section of the Seongdong Ward Office. Without a single day of absence, he has fought courageously day after day. On June 22nd, when he issued a labor conscription order to one Urushibara Tokuhō of Sageun-dong within his jurisdiction, Urushibara pleaded the hardship of his family’s livelihood and refused to accept the order. Yang, explaining patiently, sought to rescue him from the sin that springs from ignorance, by earnestly preaching the national demand and honorable nature of labor conscription.

However, despite the pure sincerity and kindness of this young student Yang, Urushibara tried to go into hiding in an attempt to evade labor conscription. Yang then went to visit Urushibara's patriotic group (neighborhood cell) leader, Kang Sun-bong (강선봉, 康先奉), to seek his cooperation regarding Urushibara. Before long, however, the two—Urushibara and Kang—secretly conspired. Urushibara arranged a drinking party, and tried to bargain for an exemption by treating Kang to food and liquor.

Enraged by the shamelessness of these two men, Yang resolutely rejected their shameful behavior and, with the fervor of one spitting fire, admonished them, saying that their actions were doubly and triply unforgivable, unpatriotic conduct. Unable to endure the reproach of their own consciences, the two were moved to tears, repented all their past wrongdoing, and swore to devote themselves courageously as honorable men answering the call of labor conscription.

[Transcription]

京城日報 1945年2月9日
何事ぞ、贈賄で徴用逃れ
官公吏の涜職：両者とも断乎厳罰

京城地方法院検事局経済係静永検事は八日記者団と会見。京城府中区鐘路区両区役所勤労課職員の涜職事件に言及つぎの如く：徴用銓衡関係者の注意を喚起すると同時に以後徴用を忌避する者に対しては厳罰をもって臨むと警告した。

今日ほど官公吏の責任が重要視されるときはない。その意味で中区、鐘路区勤労課職員の涜職事件は非常に遺憾なことで単に一小事件としてみるべきではないと思う。この事件はいま道警察部が行っていて詳細な数字は知らないが、収賄側が二十余名、贈賄した者は百名余である。

徴兵に対しては喜び勇んで応ずる半島青年層およびその親達がこれと反対に徴用を忌み嫌うのはどういう理由に基くか。勿論徴用に対する認識の乏しさから来るのが大一に挙げられるべき点だが、涜職事件で現れたようにこうした抜け道があるところにもその原因が潜んではいないか。これでは一部の末端官公吏が徴用忌避の悪い精神を更に助長さすようなものだ。

私は半島の労務動員に対して決して悲観視しない。みなが案外素直に応じているものと思う。これから勤労観の認識と勤労援護がよくなればもっと好成績をみせるだろう。このとき一部不心得の末端官公吏がいて悪影響を及ぼすことは戦力増強聖戦完遂上に由由しき問題だと思う。この観点からこういう事件に対しては峻厳な態度で臨むつもりだ。
また一般も徴用をよく認識して率先光栄ある動員に応じなければならない。なお以後徴用を忌避して種々手段を弄する事があれば、容赦なく検挙する方針だ。

京城日報 1945年6月27日
徴用忌避を征服

蹶然と立ち上って職域に挺身敢闘する勤労動員学徒が徴用忌避を見事に征服した頼もしい廉潔行為がある。拓殖経済専門学校三年生梁亮君（二二）は三月末から城東区役所勤労課に動員学徒として一日の欠勤もせず、連日敢闘しているが、二十二日管内沙斤町漆原徳奉に徴用令書を交付したところ、漆原は家族の生活困難を愬え、受理を拒絶するので、梁君は徴用の国家的要請と名誉たる所以を諄々と説き、無智なるが故の罪から救い上げようとした。

若き学徒、梁君のこの純真な厚意と親切にも拘わらず漆原は姿を晦まして徴用の忌避を企てようとするので、梁君は班長康先奉さんを訪れ、漆原の協力方を求めたところ、何時の間にか二人は相謀って酒の席を設け、饗応をもって免除を交渉してきた。恥を知らない二人のあさましい行為に憤激した梁君は断乎とこれを拒絶し、二人の行為は二重三重に許すべからざる非国民的行為であると火を吐くが如き純情をこめて説諭。二人も良心の苛責に堪えず感涙に咽びながら過去の一切の非を改め、誉れの応徴士として挺身敢闘を誓った。

Source: National Library of Korea, Digital Newspaper Archive 

See also: 

• Bilingual Japanese-Korean wartime propaganda poster celebrating "White Paper Conscription" (October 7, 1944) (link)
• ‘Selfless’ Imperial Japanese policeman visits pregnant Korean mother daily and delivers her baby after forcing her husband into Imperial war service: a 1945 ‘heartwarming’ propaganda tale (link)

  

In 1944, Imperial Japan launched an “all-out campaign” to erase Hangul from public life, mobilizing teachers and Korean youth to destroy Korean signs, books, and even phonograph records

This 1944 news announcement represents one of the darkest moments in the history of the Korean language. In April and May of that year, the Imperial Japanese colonial government in Korea launched a destructive “all-out campaign” to eradicate the visible and audible presence of Hangul from public life. Street signs, advertisements, and signposts written in Korean were torn down. Books, phonograph records, and even the metal typesets used to print Korean newspapers and publications were confiscated and melted down.

When public signs were written in Chinese characters (Hanja), the authorities ordered that Japanese kana readings be appended alongside the characters to ensure that no one would “mistakenly” read them in Korean. For instance, a sign reading 京城, the colonial-era name for Seoul, might have the Japanese reading けいじやう (Keijō) written beside it, to force readers to pronounce it the Japanese way instead of Gyeongseong. Countless Korean cultural artifacts, from printed materials to audio records, were likely lost forever in this campaign of linguistic annihilation.

This policy was the brainchild of Governor-General Kuniaki Koiso, who, in January 1943, declared that Korea was like a disabled body whose brain could not communicate with its limbs. He argued that “in order for the four limbs to move in an orderly fashion under the command of the brain and nervous system, there is no other way but to forcibly put into practice the training of Imperial subjects for everyone, regardless of whether they are government officials or ordinary people.” From this ideology emerged the final and most aggressive phase of Japan’s linguistic colonization—culminating in the April–May 1944 campaign described in this article.

This also explains why, immediately after liberation in August 1945, Korean newspapers could not publish in Korean. The Hangul typefaces had been melted down during this campaign, leaving only the Maeil Sinbo—the last surviving Korean-language paper—with usable type. As a result, newspapers had to continue publishing temporarily in Japanese until new Hangul typefaces could be manufactured.

Finally, the article reveals a chilling pattern familiar in authoritarian movements: the mobilization of youth as enforcers of ideology. Students and children were deployed to lead the destruction of their own language, guiding adults who had not yet “mastered” Japanese. Like later totalitarian revolutions, Imperial Japan understood that the minds of the young were the most malleable—and that by weaponizing their idealism, even cultural self-destruction could be made to look like patriotic duty.

[Translation]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) March 24, 1944

Drive Hangul Out of the Streets!
Practical Campaign for the Thorough Adoption of the Japanese Language in Daily Life

It has been quite some time since the call for the regular use of the Japanese language was first announced. Yet thorough implementation has still not been achieved. As the Korean Federation of National Power recognizes that the first step in imperializing the people lies in living entirely through the Japanese language, it is now drafting specific plans to launch the “Campaign for the Thorough Adoption of the Japanese Language in Daily Life.”

The regular use of Japanese has been promoted repeatedly in the past, but each effort has been short-lived, like a sparkler that quickly fizzles out. This time, however, the movement aims for complete and enduring realization. The campaign period is set from early April through the end of May, under the slogans “Let us practice Japanese in our daily lives” and “Let all residents of every city, town, and township use Japanese together.” Every organization connected to the national body will be mobilized, devoting its efforts to eliminating those who have not yet mastered Japanese.

Educators, students, and children are to take the lead, guiding those who have not yet learned Japanese. At the same time, signs, advertisements, and signposts written in Hangul are to be removed, or Japanese kana readings are to be appended alongside the characters. Metal type for Hangul that has been lying unused is to be collected and supplied for metal resources. Korean-language phonograph records are to be melted down and reused as material for record production. Unneeded Hangul books are to be disposed of. Hangul bibles and hymnals used in churches are to be replaced with Japanese ones. Within households, the “One Japanese Word a Day” campaign is to be carried out.

These items are being considered as part of the action plan. Those who complete Japanese language training courses will have their results officially recognized and will receive a “Certificate Badge.” There will also be awards established for habitual use of Japanese. With such measures, the movement intends to unfold an all-out campaign for the complete adoption of the Japanese language in daily life.

[Transcription]

京城日報 1944年3月24日
街から閉出せ諺文
国語生活の徹底へ実践運動

国語常用が叫ばれてから既に久しい。だが未だに徹底しないので、皇民化の第一歩は国語生活にあると国民総力朝鮮聯盟は『国語生活徹底運動』に乗り出すため目下具体案を練っている。国語の常用は幾度か繰り返されてきたものであるが、その都度線香花火的であり永続性を欠き、いつの間にか消えていたのであるが、今度の運動は徹底的に実践せんとする意図で陽春四月から五月末をその機関とし、『国語生活を実行しよう』『府邑面民揃って国語を使おう』等の実践申合せを行い、あらゆる国体の組織網を総動員し、国語未解得者の解消に挺身する外教育関係者、学生、生徒、児童は陣頭に起って未解者を指導すると共に諺文看板、広告、標柱等を撤去若しくは国語仮名書を併記し、また死蔵諺文活字の供出、朝鮮語音盤を再生し音盤資材として供出、不要諺文図書の処分、教会等の聖書、讃美歌を国語化し家庭内の『一日一語運動』等が実践項目として考えられており、国語講習会修了者の成績を認定し『認定章』をつけ或は国語常用賞を制定、佩用する等徹底的な運動を展開せんものと意気込んでいる。

Source: National Library of Korea, Digital Newspaper Archive 

See also:

• Governor Koiso likened Korea to a disabled body whose brain (regime) could not talk to the limbs (Korean people), so an ‘exclusive use of Japanese’ policy was forced on Koreans, starting with Seoul city employees who were labeled ‘inferior’ and ‘weak-willed’ if they still spoke Korean at work (link)
• Korean staff at Keijo Nippo took over news operations from their former Japanese bosses in Nov 1945 and then sent this message to Korean readers announcing continued publication in Japanese for the time being until Korean typefaces are ready for use (link)
• 1943 editorial calls for Korean language to be wiped out (link)
• Colonial officials claimed 'Korean must naturally stop being spoken as a result of the spread of Japanese' 'no words in Korean can express the essence of the Japanese spirit in a straightforward way' 'Korean will one day be regarded as just another local dialect like the Kyushu dialect' (June 1943) (link)
• Imperial Japan waged an aggressive Japanese language campaign on Korean villages in the '30s and '40s, entering homes to attach Japanese labels on household objects, putting residents under 55 in mandatory classes, applying an "unyielding whip" to "break down their customs and stray dreams" (link)

Imperial officials fanned out across rural Korea visiting townships one by one to indoctrinate villagers in Imperialist ideology in ‘Grassroots Penetration’ Campaign (March 1944)

For this post, I am examining two wartime propaganda articles to explore the hierarchical administrative structure that Imperial Japan used to forcibly and systematically indoctrinate all of Korea into becoming Japanese. During the final years of Imperial Japanese colonial rule over Korea, the Governor-General’s Office in Seoul frequently invoked the slogan “末端滲透” (mattan shintō)—“grassroots penetration.” This was not only about exerting the central government's authority in rural areas, but also about ideologically cleansing the countryside, where ordinary Korean villagers were still largely hostile to Imperial Japanese ideology and refused to identify as loyal “imperial subjects.”

To address this perceived shortcoming, the colonial government launched a coordinated campaign to send officials from Seoul out into the countryside to personally embed themselves in township (myeon, 面) offices. These officials were following the example of Governor-General Koiso, who made a spectacle of traveling to rural areas and holding face-to-face meetings with local officials in his much-publicized inspection tours of rural Korea.

The officials would travel to remote townships, live for several days inside the township office, and work alongside the local myeon leader and staff. They were there not only to provide “administrative guidance,” but to indoctrinate the township leaders with wartime ideology: mandatory Shinto religious observance, pushing for agricultural overproduction, enforcing conscription, and encouraging compulsory savings (see 1944 article below). During the inspection tours, Koiso asked the local myeon (township) leader in Gapyeong whether he had been conducting “rensei” (錬成, “training”), which was a euphemism for ideological indoctrination: compulsory bowing toward the Imperial Palace every morning, mandatory visits to Shinto shrines, adoption of Japanese language, Shinto purification rituals like misogi, and other practices intended to transform Koreans into loyal imperial subjects. 

From there, the expectation was that the indoctrinated myeon leader would spread these same ideas down the chain—to hamlet (ri) leaders within the township, who would then indoctrinate their own village residents (see 1943 article below). In theory, this trickle-down approach could have transformed the Korean countryside into a loyal outpost of Imperial Japan, but it did not work that way. The Japanese authorities underestimated the resilience of Korean national identity, language, and cultural autonomy. 

The indoctrinated myeon leader would have also been trained by the Seoul officials into techniques to persuade villagers into providing as much grain as possible to the Imperial Army. This 1944 article illustrates how the myeon leader may have overseen some horrific scenes of hardship and starvation as local farmers worked day and night, even cutting into their own personal grain supplies to meet the ambitious quotas imposed by the Imperial Army.

The colonial regime had mechanisms in place to try to ensure ideological compliance even after central officials left. Governor Koiso encouraged hamlet leaders to bypass the township chief and report directly to higher authorities like the county leader or police chief if they believed their myeon leader was not sufficiently loyal. This created a culture of surveillance and snitching, ensuring that everyone—from the top down—was watching each other for signs of ideological weakness. This was what “grassroots penetration” meant in practice: an oppressive system of top-down ideological enforcement, staged in the name of unity with Imperial Japan.

TL;DR: In 1943–44, Governor-General Koiso launched a top-down “grassroots penetration” (末端浸透) campaign of indoctrinating the Korean people in wartime Imperialist ideology and boost agricultural production. Seoul officials would tour the entire country and visit each township for a few days at a time to indoctrinate the township leaders, the township leaders would visit each hamlet to indoctrinate the hamlet leaders, and finally the hamlet leaders would indoctrinate the villagers.

[Translation]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) March 4, 1944

Devoted Service Deep in the Mountains
Bureau of Rural Affairs Chiefs Carry Out Grassroots Administration

The grassroots penetration of government administration, such as the delivery of agricultural products and other goods, encouragement of savings, and conscription procedures, is becoming increasingly important. Governor-General Koiso has continued to emphasize this at every opportunity.

In response, the Bureau of Local Affairs of the Government-General has dispatched a team of approximately ten staff members, including Chief Ōkubo, Administrative Officer Murakami, and Director Tanaka. Beginning on February 7, 1944, they embarked on a direct field survey of the realities of rural administration.

This initiative is not a conventional inspection or mere investigation. Rather, the officials are residing and working at township (myeon) offices, quietly carrying out duties themselves. By leading through action rather than words, they are teaching myeon officials administrative tasks and working to deepen their awareness of the wartime situation.

For instance, two days after leaving Sinuiju, Director Tanaka has already gone to the myeon office in Oksang-myeon (옥상면, 玉尚面), Uiju County, located thirty ri (approximately 12 kilometers) into the mountains of Uiju in North Pyongan Province. He stayed at the myeon office for one week, personally taking on the tasks of the myeon chief and clerks, cutting ration tickets, and leading by example in guiding the staff at the myeon office, all while closely observing actual conditions.

Administrative Officer Murakami is currently deployed to Ongjin County in Hwanghae Province, and other personnel are likewise active in Bocheon-myeon (보천면, 普天面) in South Hamgyeong Province, and Seosan County in South Chungcheong Province.

Chief Ōkubo will soon make an official visit as well, but in Seosan County, there is even a report that local villagers, moved by seeing central government officials taking the initiative to shovel snow, offered a small token of appreciation in gratitude.

In mountain villages where central government officials had never previously set foot, both myeon office staff and local residents have been greatly moved. Their recognition of the wartime situation has deepened significantly, and the campaign is yielding considerable positive results.

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) October 13, 1943

Governance that “Lives Together with the Residents”

Government-General Studies Permanent Residency of Township Staff in Hamlets
Reform of Grassroots Administrative Structure

With the establishment of new food departments in each province, the intensification of production, labor reinforcement measures, and institutions such as the Korea Research Institute, the decisive war structure of the embattled Korean Peninsula is moving forward ever more aggressively on all fronts. Governor-General Koiso’s vision is becoming increasingly sharpened and concrete. All twenty-five million people of the Korean peninsula are hastening to their respective positions on the battlefront of production as vanguard warriors.

However, unless these policies penetrate thoroughly into the very grassroots, their effectiveness will be incomplete. Governor-General Koiso has repeatedly emphasized this point. At a time when this necessity is becoming ever more pressing, the Government-General is responding by initiating reforms of the grassroots administrative machinery, and under the direction of Chief of Civil Affairs Tanaka, is undertaking a careful study.

Specifically, this refers to the organizational reform of township (myeon) offices. At the core of this reform is the idea previously expressed by the Chief of Civil Affairs: “Permanent residency of myeon officials in hamlets.”

That is, mid-level myeon officials would be assigned to hamlets—one or two officials per hamlets—where they would reside, dive into the hearts of the farming communities, and conduct administrative duties. They would share in the daily life of the villagers, morning and evening, while providing guidance and encouragement in all areas such as food production increases, food contributions, food storage, and resource collection. This system aims to reinforce the penetration of administrative functions to the grassroots level.

[Transcription]

京城日報 1944年3月4日
山奥に挺身執務
府地方課長ら末端行政

農作物その他の供出、貯蓄奨励、徴兵事務など行政の末端滲透は益益重要となっており、小磯総督も機会ある度に強調しているが、総督府地方課は大久保課長、村上事務官、田中理事官以下約十名の職員が出動し去る二月七日から地方行政の実態調査に乗り出しているが、之は従来の査察とか、単なる調査ではなく、職員が面事務所で起居し自ら黙々と執務し、口先きのみでなく身をもって面職員に事務を教え、或は時局認識の徹底を図っているもので、既に田中理事官は新義州から二日間、義州から三十里の山奥である平北道義州郡玉尚面の面事務所に約一週間泊り込み、面長の仕事、書記の事務を執ったり配給票を切ったり、率先して面職員を指導する傍ら実態を調査しており、村上事務官も目下黄海道甕津郡に出動しており、その他の職員は咸南道普天面や忠南道瑞山郡等にも出動中で、近く大久保課長も出張するが、瑞山郡では本府職員が率先して雪かきを行っているのを部落民が見て若干の謝礼金をだしたという事実もあり、かつて本府職員が行ったこともない山奥の面では、面職員をはじめ部落民が非常に感激し時局の認識も深め多大の効果を挙げつつある。

京城日報 1943年10月13日
住民と共に生きる政治
本府面職員の部落常駐を研究
末端行政機構改革

各道食糧部の新設、生産増強、労務強化対策、朝鮮研究所等々戦う半島の決戦体制は各面に亘り愈々強行進軍を開始し小磯理念は益々鋭く具体化しており、二千五百万の半島民衆は生産戦の尖兵として一人残らず戦闘配置に急いでいるが、これらの施策が更に徹底的に末端へ滲透しなければならぬことは小磯総督が幾度か強調したことであり、その要は加速度的に重要化しているとき総督府ではこれに対応し末端行政機構の改革に着手。田中政務総監の手もとで慎重に検討している。
即ち面事務所の機構改革がそれであるが、これはかつて政務総監が語った『面職員の部落常駐』がその骨子となっているもので、面の中堅職員が一部落に一、二人が居を構え農民の懐ろに飛び込んで事務を執り朝、夕起居を共にし、食糧の増産に供出に貯蓄に資源回収にと凡ゆる面に亘り指導督励に当らんとするものであり、これにより行政の末端滲透を強化せんとするものである。

Source: Source: National Library of Korea, Digital Newspaper Archive 

See also:

• Koiso’s 1943 ‘Great Leader’ Strongman Tours: Surprise village inspections to intimidate local leaders and impose Japanese language and culture all over the Korean countryside (link)

• Korean rice farmers barely survived eating grass roots as they worked tirelessly to meet the rice quotas imposed by the Imperial Army in 1944, even sacrificing their own personal rice supplies to face starvation under pressure from the police inspector and the township chief (link)

Koiso’s 1943 Strongman Tours: Surprise village inspections to intimidate local leaders and impose Japanese language and culture all over the Korean countryside

Ever since Imperial Japan annexed Korea in 1910, subduing the countryside proved to be one of the most difficult tasks. The Imperial Japanese central government in Seoul struggled to exert control over traditional rural communities, which remained bastions of Korean language, culture, and identity. Imposing Japanese language, culture, and ideology on these far-flung regions was a daunting challenge.

Original Caption: Governor-General Koiso gets into a truck at Gapyeong Mine

By 1942, Governor-General Koiso Kuniaki (1942–1944) sought to accomplish what his predecessors had failed to do: win the “hearts and minds” of Korean villagers and persuade them to accept Japanese rule, abandon Korean culture, and adopt Japanese language and Shinto practices.

In the February 1943 inspection tour, Koiso asked the local myeon (township) chief in Gapyeong whether he had been conducting “rensei” (錬成, “training”). This was not mere vocational training. Rensei was a euphemism for ideological indoctrination: compulsory bowing toward the Imperial Palace every morning, mandatory visits to Shinto shrines, adoption of Japanese language, Shinto purification rituals like misogi, and other practices intended to transform Koreans into loyal imperial subjects. The myeon chief—often a local villager chosen for his charisma and leadership—was expected to shepherd his people into these unpopular and humiliating activities.

In the October 1943 inspection tour, Koiso makes a surprise visit to a random hamlet in a rural part of Southeastern Korea. He startles the Korean hamlet leader, named Mr. Toriyama, and peppers him for 40 minutes with questions about cotton production and food preservation. Koiso encourages to report to the myeon leader, county leader, provincial leader, or even to him personally if there is "anything troubling". Mr. Toriyama is described as being overcome with emotion as he struggles to find words.

The surprise nature of these visits conveys the following ominous message to the Korean people: We are watching you, and you better be at your best behavior, because you won't know when we will be paying you a visit.

The format of these inspection tours will feel familiar to anyone who follows North Korea today: the “Great Leader” style of visiting factories, farms, and villages, giving advice, and presenting himself as the wise teacher and commander. In the 1943 article, Koiso is portrayed arriving in remote villages, inspecting workplaces, lecturing officials and workers on everything from farming to mining, and dispensing “guidance” in a paternalistic tone.

The key concept repeated in these articles and throughout the news coverage in this period is 末端行政 (mattan gyōsei), meaning “grassroots administration.” By 1943, the colonial regime recognized that real control had to be enforced at the lowest levels—hamlets and townships. So, they began reinforcing staffing at this level and making more inspection tours to make its presence felt more palpably in everyday life. For rural Koreans, this must have felt like the government was constantly breathing down their necks, pressuring them to abandon their culture and conform to Imperial rule.

TLDR: Imperial Japan conducted surprise "Great Leader" inspections all over Korea to keep Koreans on their tiptoes in a state of fear, even at the grassroot level. Governor-General Koiso fashioned himself as a hands-on, fatherly strongman who gave “guidance” on everything from farming to mining.

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) February 26, 1943

“Harmony between the township and the police”
Governor-General preaches local administration in Oeseo-myeon

The Governor-General rode a truck into the mountains for an inspection. This was no idle outing. Wherever war-related material is being produced, he ventures even into the remote mountains to comfort and encourage the industrial warriors, determined to contribute even a little to strengthening the war effort. We must recognize both Governor-General Koiso’s firm resolve and the gravity of the war situation that brought it about. Fierce battles are being waged here too.

This was the Governor-General’s frontline command, his angry determination to annihilate the U.S. and Britain exploding as he ventured into the first line of defense of the home front. On his shabby work desk, the medal ribbons that tell of many military achievements shone brightly. On February 25th, Governor-General Koiso, accompanied by Governor Seto of Gyeonggi Province and Secretary Kobayashi, left his official residence at 9:30 a.m. and headed for Asano Cement’s asbestos mine in Gapyeong-gun, Seorak-myeon.

Before the Cheongpyeong Dam of the former Han River Hydropower was built, the river could not be crossed, so remote was this mountainous region that even the county governor had never once set foot there.

At 11:00 a.m. the Governor-General arrived at the Seorak-myeon office. He was welcomed by the governor of Hansan-gun and Police Chief Mr. Kuwana, entered the office, received a report on local conditions, and gave instructions to township (myeon) staff.

He asked in a friendly tone, “Well now, myeon leader, are you conducting training?” The Governor-General explained the essence of training in plain language: “For agricultural production, the landlords must work diligently. Since the myeon is the grassroots of administration that directly touches the masses, you must work thoroughly. To do that, you must put yourself in the place of those you govern and carefully look after them.”

After 11:00 a.m. he changed vehicles and boarded a truck. Sitting heavily beside the driver, he stared intently ahead. What was he thinking? Perhaps in his heart he was saying: “Warriors who sacrificed themselves at Kwajalein and Roi-Namur, rest in peace. The home front, burning with anger for vengeance, is rising.”

At 12:30 p.m. he arrived at the Gapyeong Mine office. He immediately heard a summary of the mine from Director Shōji of Asano Cement, then a detailed explanation of the current situation from Director Taniguchi. As usual, he asked questions about management and labor administration. He entered the mine tunnel, addressed the workers: “Men, do your best!” and encouraged them. Afterwards, he inspected workers’ housing and cautioned management to “study labor issues more thoroughly.”

Once again he descended the mountain by truck. At 3:50 p.m. he arrived at Cheongpyeong Power Plant, listened to explanations, and at 4:30 p.m. inspected the Government Fish Hatchery at Cheongpyeong. At 5:00 p.m. he entered the Oeseo-myeon (외서면, 外西面) office, received a report on local conditions, and gave instructions to township (myeon) staff and police officers.

A major defect of administration in Korea is that grassroots governance has not fully penetrated. No matter how hard Koiso strives, no matter how much the governor studies, it is useless unless the township (myeon) officials, who directly contact the people, do their work properly. The township and the police must cooperate in harmony.

Thus ended the third day of encouragement and inspection. He returned to the residence at 7:30 p.m.

Photo: Governor-General Koiso gets into a truck at Gapyeong Mine

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) October 29, 1943

“Tell Me Anything”: A Paternal Concern for Grassroots Administration
Governor-General Koiso’s Lightning Inspection of a Rural Village

Reported by Special Correspondent Sakamoto from Masan

Not long after leaving Samcheonpo, Governor-General Koiso’s car once again came to a stop. Because the schedule for this inspection tour was deliberately kept secret, the car often halted at unexpected places. This time it was at Yeha (예하, 禮下), a model hamlet in Jeonchon Township, Jinyang County (진양, 晉陽). Guided by County Governor Takashima and Hamlet Federation Chairman Toriyama, the Governor-General entered the hamlet office. He then listened for about forty minutes as Chairman Toriyama explained the hardships and efforts behind the hamlet’s construction and management.

As befitting a model hamlet, facilities such as a communal bathhouse and a daycare center were in place. Standing with Chairman Toriyama on a rice-paddy path, Governor-General Koiso remarked:

“The cotton seems to be growing very well, but are you not planting too much of it? It is not that cotton is unnecessary, but right now food is more important. Even if cotton must be reduced, food must be secured. How many bolls does one stalk bear?”

He engaged Chairman Toriyama in a detailed, technically informed conversation. Then he shifted the subject to ask closely about the state of material distribution.

“Is there anything troubling you? Feel free to tell me even when the Governor or the Chief of Police are present. If you have any requests, speak directly to me,”

he said with heartfelt sincerity. Deeply moved, Toriyama’s face flushed, and he struggled to find words.

The Governor-General continued:

“From now on, I want you to be the central figure in your hamlet and build it into the finest model hamlet in all of Korea. If there is something you cannot handle alone, consult with your township (myeon) leader. If the myeon leader cannot manage it, then go to the county governor or even the provincial governor. And if even then there is some matter unresolved, do not hesitate—consult with me directly.”

To Governor-General Koiso, who ceaselessly strove for administrative penetration to the very grassroots, the heartfelt zeal of an obscure Hamlet Federation Chairman for village management must have been truly gratifying. Chairman Toriyama was overcome with emotion.

The Governor-General pressed further:

“Do you grow potatoes?”
“Yes, we do.”
“And how do you store them?”
“We build a rack in our home’s ondol (heated floor system) and pile them there.”
“That risks rotting, does it not? Is there not a way to store them in greater quantity and for longer periods?”
“We have a communal storage facility just ahead.”
“I see. Then let me have a look.”

With a gentle gaze meeting the moist eyes of the moved Chairman Toriyama, the Governor-General returned to his car. His conviction remained firm: the farmers were dependable, the farmers were the soundest element of society. In this place too, that conviction was scarcely betrayed. Thinking constantly of food production increases and never allowing himself a moment’s rest, Governor-General Koiso’s car once again sped forward at arrow-like speed.

[Transcription]

京城日報 1943年2月26日

”面と警察が仲よく”

総督、外西面で末端行政を説く

総督がトラックに乗って山を視察した。これは一片の茶飲み話ではない。戦力物資の生産が行われるところ、どのような山奥にでも出かけて行って、産業戦士を慰問激励少しでも戦力の増強に資しようという小磯総督の固い決意と、総督にこのような決意を起させた戦局の重大性を認識せねばならない。激戦は此処にも展開されているのだ。

銃後の第一線に米英撃滅の怒りを爆発させに出かける総督の陣頭指揮だ。数々の勲功を語る略綬がみすぼらしい運営台に燦と輝いている。二十五日、小磯総督は瀬戸京畿道知事、小林秘書官を帯同して午前九時三十分官邸発、加平郡雪岳面の浅野セメント加平石綿鉱山に向った。

旧漢江水電の清平ダムが出来るまでは河を渡れなかったので、この地方には郡守にも遂に一度も足を踏み入れずに過ごした者があったほどの山奥である。

十一時雪岳面事務所着。韓山郡守と桑名警察署長の出迎えを受けて事務所に入り、管内情況の報告を受け面吏員に訓示を行った。

『どうかな面長さん、錬成やっとるかい』といった。ざっくばらんな調子である。総督は錬成の本質を説き、『農業生産には地主さんというものがよく働いてもらわねばならぬ。面は大衆に接する行政の末端であるから、しっかりやってもらいたい。それには治められる者の身になってよく人々の世話をすることだ』と易々しく説明する。

十一時過ぎ車を替えてトラックに乗る。総督は運転手の横にドッカと坐って前方を睨む。何を見つめているのだろう。恐らく心ではこう云っていたであろう。

『クエゼリン、ルオットに散華せる勇士よ、安らかに眠れ。復仇の怒りに燃える銃後は立ち上がっているぞ』

十二時三十分、加平鉱山事務所着、直ちに浅野セメント荘司理事から山の概略を聞き、更に谷口所長から現況について詳細な説明を聴取した。そのあとで例によって経営、労務管理に対する質問を発する。坑道に入る。労務者に訓示。『諸君しっかりやって下さい』と激励する。そして後に労務者の住宅を見て山を辞したが、『労務者の問題をもっと研究するように』と注意を与える。

再びトラックで山を降って、三時五十分清平発電所着、説明を聞き、四時三十分清平の総督府養魚場を視察。五時外西面事務所に入って管内情況を聴取し、面吏員、警察官を訓示する。

朝鮮に於ける統理の一大欠陥は末端行政が十分に滲透していないことだ。小磯が如何に努力しても、また知事がどんなに勉強しても何にもならないので、大衆に直接接触する面の方々がしっかりやってもらわねばならぬ。面と警察とが仲よくせねばならないのです。

こうして激励と視察の第三日は終わった。七時半帰邸。

【写真＝トラックに乗り込む小磯総督ー加平鉱山にて】

京城日報 1943年10月29日

何でも私に話せ：末端行政に細かい親心
小磯総督農村を電撃視察

【馬山にて坂本特派員】三千浦を出て間もなく小磯総督の自動車がまたとまった。何処を視るのか最初から予定を伏せている視察行だけに時ならぬ所でよく停まる。此処は晋陽郡井村面礼下模範部落だ。高島郡守、鳥山部落聯盟理事長の案内で部落の事務所に入った。鳥山理事長から部落の建設経営苦心談を約四十分に亘って聴取する。

模範部落だけあって共同浴場、託児所などの施設が整っている。田の畔道に小磯総督は鳥山理事長と並んで立った。

『綿花が非常によく出来ているようだが、作付段別が多過ぎはしないかね。綿が不必要というのではないが、それよりも現在は食糧の方がより大切だ。綿を減らしてでも食糧を確保しなければならない。これは一本に幾つ実をつけるかね』と専門的知識を傾けて鳥山理事長と綿々問答。今度は話題を変えて物資の配給状況をこまごまと訊ねる。そして、『何か困っていることはないかね。知事さんや警察部長さんがいても宜いから、希望があったら私に話しなさい』と真情こめて語れば鳥山理事長は感極まったが顔を火照りして言葉をつまらせる。

『今後とも部落の中心人物となって全鮮一の模範部落を作って貰いたい。自分で出来ないことがあったなら面長さんに相談しなさい。面長さんで駄目なら郡守さんでも知事さんでも宜しい。それでも判らない問題があったら遠慮はいらないから私に相談しなさい』と総督はいう。行政の末端滲透を希求して止まない小磯総督にとって名もない一部落聯盟理事長の部落経営に対する熱情はこよなく嬉しかったに違いない。鳥山理事長はただただ感激するばかり。総督は更に話をついで、

『芋は出来るかね』
『出来ます』
『貯蔵の方法は』
『自宅の温突に柵を作ってそこに載せています』
『そんなことでは腐る恐れがあるんじゃないかね。もっと沢山長期に貯蔵出来る方法はないかね』
『部落の共同貯蔵所がこの先にあります』

『そうかね、では見せて貰おう』と感激にうるむ鳥山理事長の眼差しを優しく見返しながら自動車の人となった。農民は宜しい。農民はもっとも健実だという総督の抱懐はここでも殆ど裏切られることがなかったのであろう。食糧増産を念じて心休まる暇とてない小磯総督を乗せて自動車はまたも矢のようなスピードで驀進する。

Source: National Library of Korea, Digital Newspaper Archive