Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) February 14, 1943 The Model Korean Maiden "Banzai to the Emperor" at the Moment of Death The Warmth of the Governor-General's Heart for the Bereaved Family
This is a story of Governor-General Koiso's gift of a sealed envelope of money to a young Korean girl of unhappy circumstances who passed away after singing 'Banzai to the Emperor'. Kim Gi-seon (김기선/金基仙) (12), a fifth-year student at Komamoto National School in Hongō Ward, Tokyo, contracted diphtheria on April 1 of last year. She was hospitalized at Komagome Hospital in the same city, but her younger sister Mitsuyo and mother were also hospitalized to also find themselves in the bottommost pit of unhappy circumstances, and finally Gi-seon died on the 18th of the same month.
Afterwards, her father died suddenly, perhaps unable to bear the pain in his heart due to his repeated misfortunes, and her mother and younger sister, Mitsuko, who were finally discharged from the hospital, are now living a lonely life.
At the moment of her death, she sang a patriotic march from beneath her labored breathing while holding the hand of her father, Kim Soon-baek (김순백/金順百), and sang three chants of 'Banzai to His Majesty the Emperor!' before passing away holding her father's hand and saying, "Father, I'm sorry."
On the seventh day after her death, a piggy bank containing 26 yen 8 sen, which she had saved from her small allowance, was found, and it was immediately donated to the Imperial Army and Navy in accordance with Gi-seon's intentions.
When Governor-General Koiso heard this sad story, he was deeply moved by Gi-seon's disposition as an Imperial person, and he sent a sealed envelope of money to the bereaved family to pray for Gi-seon's repose.
This is an example of the propaganda media spin machine taking what was otherwise a tragic, private story of a young girl who died of a communicable childhood disease, relatively common in the days before widespread childhood vaccinations, and turning it into some bizarre 'feel-good' story of Imperial patriotism. It was the dream of Imperial soldiers to die gloriously shouting 'Banzai to the Emperor', so this story must have resonated in a heartfelt way with many people in Japan.
I think it's actually not remarkable that this Korean girl sang a propaganda song in the last moments of her life. She was brainwashed in a Japanese school, exposed to the same Imperial propaganda like other schoolchildren in Japan. Given this immersive brainwashing, it's not surprising that she chose this song to comfort herself in the last moments of her life.
There are different ways of interpreting this story. When she said "Father, I'm sorry," was she expressing sorrow for dying so early, or sorrow for offending her father who didn't like Imperial Japan? When her father died of a broken heart, was it just because of his daughter's death, or was it also because she died a brainwashed Imperial person? We may never know for sure.
The 26 yen 8 sen in her piggy bank account is roughly $400 to $600 US Dollars, depending on how you calculate it. Each morning edition of the Keijo Nippo of 1942 was priced at 6 sen. Today, each morning edition of Asahi Shimbun is priced at 160 yen. Depending on which Japanese yen to US Dollar conversion you use, you will get roughly this range.
This article talks about vegetable shortages in Korea in December 1943, two years into an all-out war against the US. In response to widespread vegetable shortages and the proliferation of black markets, colonial authorities implemented a rationing system for vegetables, where vegetable supplies were funneled into a centralized distribution point, and then distributed to non-households (including restaurants) and households, where each person was allotted a measly vegetable ration of about 200 grams per day. The situation with eggs, meat, and fish was also dire. Not surprisingly, ordinary citizens were encouraged to grow their own food and forage for edible wild plants.
Patriotic Groups (local neighborhood cells) were in charge of vegetable rationing. The Korean Federation of National Power (国民総力朝鮮連盟, 국민총력조선연맹), the single ruling party of Japan-colonized Korea, organized these patriotic groups (愛国班, aikoku-han or aeguk-ban) to control the colonized population at the local level. Members of the cells would report each other for infractions, perhaps for breaking rules like speaking Korean in public. They would also organize 'patriotic' activities like worship rituals at Shinto shrines, mandatory Shinto prayer sessions twice a day, etc. Food rationing was often withheld when a cell member refused to participate in Shinto worship at shrines. Similar local cell organizations still exist in countries like Cuba and North Korea.
(Translation)
Gyeongseong Daily (Keijo Nippo) December 18, 1943
Selfishness leading to rotting vegetables
Dry Storage in Preparation for Winter
Tomorrow's posture to win through to victory
A Focus on Eating Habits (2) (Vegetable Edition)
A pile of green onions at a central market in Seoul.
A considerable amount of daikon radishes and bok choy, which had arrived in considerable quantities during the fall and early winter for processing into pickles, has rotted away. This was due to the fact that the vegetable buying teams that were dispatched to the surrounding countryside in the fall brought in a larger quantity than expected, and the efforts by the Seoul government to collect the vegetables were betrayed by the individualistic behavior of the people of Seoul.
The fact that these bok choy and daikon radishes, which arrived at the central market everyday, were left to rot during wartime due to the lack of consumption by the consumers is an indication that it is impossible to simply sum up the situation by using the word "wasteful".
While there was a huge surplus of these vegetables, there were still households in need of more vegetables for pickling. With these contradictions in mind, the vegetable problem was dealt with by the Seoul Central Fruit and Vegetable Corporation, the receiving agency of the Seoul government under the Korean Fruit and Vegetable Storage Regulations, and in October all vegetables were put under a strong wartime distribution system.
The 560 newly designated vegetable retailers formed blocks for each town council. While maintaining close relations with their own town councils, they began centralized distribution of vegetables to the Patriotic Groups through the town councils.
However, when it came to rationing, the green vegetables were always the same: daikon radish and bok choy, with the occasional small amount of lotus roots and burdock roots. However, carrots, taro roots, and other special vegetables have all but disappeared from rations.
This has caused some controversy, and we asked Mr. Masaji Toya, president of Seoul Central Fruits and Vegetables Corporation, to explain the phenomenon of carrots, burdock roots, yams, and other vegetables making appearances in the public market, albeit being sold openly at horribly high black market prices.
He explained that the rationing of vegetables to retailers is allocated based on the population living in the district to which the retailers belong, so there is no need to worry about the rations being small because of the small number of retailers in certain districts. According to the Patriotic Groups, the vegetables are apparently being rationed equally by household. However, since rationing by the central market to the retailers is done based on population, it is appropriate for the town councils and Patriotic Groups to allocate rations based on the number of families, not based on the number of households.
The shortage of vegetables in general seems to be a problem, but the green vegetables shipments have been rationed at an allocation of 70% for households and 30% for non-home use, and we actually plan on reducing the allotment for non-home use even further. We know that the amount of carrots, burdock roots, tubers, and other vegetables that make it to the kitchens of ordinary people from the retailers is very small due to their very small shipments. But we would like you to endure some shortages with the intention of establishing a wartime lifestyle. We would like the people of Seoul to understand that most of the retailers in town are not selling in the free market, but rather putting all their effort into distributing the vegetables to the Patriotic Groups through the town councils.
It has been said that, the fact that there are special vegetables available at restaurants means that, if we had to distribute these especially scarce special vegetables to 1.2 million households, then the rations would not amount to as much as the tip of a pinky finger. However, if we had a clearly known supply amount of special vegetables along with a good prospect of distributing them to all households, even if it was a little bit, we would be able to distribute the special vegetables in a more orderly fashion. The fact that matsutake mushrooms, which were particularly scarce this fall, were all allocated to restaurant use may have been the cause of the misunderstanding.
In addition, the black market is considerable, and the fact that the market offers a wide range of products at high prices means that undesignated producers from the surrounding areas are appearing in the vicinity of the markets as smugglers, so we have no choice but to wait and see what the economic police authorities will do to crack down on this. The 22 public markets and department stores in Seoul have buffer zones where there is a free market of goods other than those rationed by the town councils. When a given vegetable shipment is small, then those vegetables are not rationed.
Since the introduction of controlled rationing, rations distributed by town councils have not been plentiful, but they have been adequate, and the fact that the vegetables are not distributed to general households is due to the small amount of vegetables arriving at the markets. The market strives to secure 50 to 70 momme (187.5 to 262.5 grams) of vegetables per person per day, and they are receiving close to this amount of vegetables, but there may be some shortages from this time through the winter season.
Regarding the rationing by the retailers to the town councils, when the vegetable shipment is small, free market sales are carried out after discussions with the town council. The first priority is to secure sufficient amounts of vegetables to avoid these free market sales, but shipments of vegetables to the market are getting smaller due to transportation problems and pricing issues.
We asked about the winter supplies of vegetables and future countermeasures….
The Seoul government seems to be working on a concrete plan for the frozen storage of vegetables, but we have no choice but to expect shipments of winter vegetables from producing areas and distribute them according to the amount of vegetables received. To cope with the annual shortage of vegetables from late December to around March, we would like to ask consumers to try to store dried vegetables, such as by splitting and drying daikon radishes which are plentiful in early fall, and storing bok choy tightly wrapped in newspaper sheets in a corner of the kitchen. The market is also doing its best to collect shipments as much as possible. In addition, when shipment amounts are very small, all free market sales will be suspended, and non-home use allocations will be reduced and redirected to general households instead.
Future measures include a registration system to connect traders and consumers, and having town councils take charge of all rationing. Retailers will be strengthened by having them assume full responsibility for rationing. We will carefully select retailers to ensure proper rationing. We are currently conducting a fact-finding survey of designated retailers, and we are readily taking action against those retailers who are of bad character in order to ensure that rationing is strictly enforced.
Regarding fruits, it seems that a few tangerines have been distributed recently for New Year's Day, and apples have been seen from time to time, but persimmons and other fruits have not been seen at all. Fruits are also distributed by designated retailers through the town councils in the same way as vegetables, but there is almost no supply at all. We will soon receive a considerable amount of apples, but we are trying to collect all the fruit that comes in, even if only a little, as rations for the town councils, so that we can give the fighting residents of Seoul a taste of the four seasons. [Photo: A pile of green onions that have just arrived.]
If you suddenly found yourself in Seoul in 1943 and couldn’t stand your oppressive surroundings, you would have probably been tempted to hang out with friends at the local bars or cafes in the evening. For a little more privacy and to feel freer to speak in Korean, you may have chosen to hang out at a local park with friends late at night. But apparently, local police were conducting raids on all these places, deciding that you were an insolent ‘idle person’ or ‘neon bug’ worthy of ‘extermination’. Those caught up in the raids conducted in August 1943 included a government employee, a bank employee, students, a store owner, and a film distributor.
It may seem a bit strange that the Battle of Attu is mentioned in this article, because it resulted in defeat for Imperial Japan in May 1943, but the propaganda media machine routinely spun military defeats into stories of inspiration.
(Translation)
Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) August 31, 1943
Simultaneous lighting raids on gathering spots
Honmachi Police Hunt for Delinquents
“Follow in the spirit of Attu!” Thus, Colonel Yamasaki‘s exalted spirit of loyalty, whose glory shone forth from the hearts of the people, serves as inspiration and encouragement for the hearts of the people on the home front. Now is the time for all 100 million people to rise up. Every single idle person must be exterminated at this time. In order to bring down the hammer on the “neon bugs” that are randomly piling up in Seoul at night, the Honmachi Police Department, led by Chief Masaoka, called an emergency meeting of several dozen members of the Judicial, Higher Police, and field work personnel, including Chief Shōji and other high officials. The police then carried out a simultaneous hunt for delinquents throughout the entire area covering Meiji-chō (now Myeong-dong), the Honmachi belt through Shin-machi (now Mukjeong-dong), Namiki-chō (now Ssangnim-dong), Sōkei Temple (now on Dongguk University campus), and Namsan Park on both August 28th and 29th.
More than 50 men were rounded up, including rebellious intellectuals who were found very drunk in the neon district, herds of students who spent their idle time in corners of coffee shops ignoring the autumn training season, and insolent fellows wriggling around like bugs in the darkness of the parks late at night. About half were detained, and the rest were released after strict admonition. The Honmachi Police Department’s wise decision to clear out the idle population attracted a great deal of attention. Among the drunks in Shin-machi were Yoshio Umada (pseudonym, 40-years-old), an engineer for a certain government agency, paper retailer Sōki Minami (26-years-old) of Jongno-3-chōme, who is thought to be a regular of a certain amusement center at Honmachi 5-chōme, and over ten others who were taken away chained together in a single file.
There were many male students from specialized schools in Seoul, and there was a surprisingly large number of students who had returned home from mainland Japan, including two students from Tokyo Women’s College. A group of three delinquent girls who frequented a certain coffee shop in Namsan-dong, a bank employee, a film distributor, and many other intellectuals were arrested. They were caught by surprise, and we will continue this and other efforts in the future to clean up the idle population.
Tobacco Retailers Perform Volunteer Work
1,000 of the 1,100 tobacco retailers in Seoul, who have sold cigarettes for a long time but have never experienced firsthand how cigarettes are actually manufactured, will perform volunteer work at the Uiju Street (now Tongil-ro) and Inui-dong factories for 20 days, excluding Sundays and holidays, starting on September 1. A total of 1,000 workers, including 800 workers at the Uiju Street factory who will serve for 16 days, and 200 workers at the Inui-dong factory who will serve for four days, will work from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day among the male and female workers to learn the actual production of cigarettes and increase production, so that they can appreciate the hard work of the laborers.
This is my translation and transcription of a news article from Keijo Nippo, a propaganda newspaper and mouthpiece of the government of Japan-colonized Korea. It has never been republished or translated before, to the best of my knowledge. Ever since someone dumped these old newspaper issues onto the Internet Archive last October, I have been slowly translating and posting select articles at various subreddits to share my findings with the wider community.
This article is meant to be a feel-good story about a Japanese flower shop owner in central Seoul who 'adopts' an unemployed 18-year-old Korean orphan to live with him for four years, employing him at his store. Afterwards, the Korean orphan moves to Japan and eventually settles in Okayama to start his own upscale Japanese restaurant, marries a local Japanese woman, and has three daughters. He later has a tearful reunion with his adoptive Japanese parents when he returns to Seoul to set up a family register for his daughter. His adoptive Japanese parents reciprocate by visiting their adoptive son's family in Okayama.
Unlike the other 'model Korean families' featured in other propaganda articles, which praise Korean families for speaking only Japanese at home and identifying themselves as Imperial Japanese, this featured family stood out from the others because it was an ethnically mixed family, where the husband was ethnic Korean and the wife was ethnic Japanese. The ethnically mixed daughter had to set up her family register in Korea, because under the Japanese koseki (family registration) system, every citizen had to register at their father's family domicile.
(Translation)
Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) November 13, 1943
An angel without a home moves up in society with warm humanity
A flower of Japanese-Korean Unification blossoms at a crossroads
Fourteen years have passed since a Korean boy with no relatives was rescued, and now he has grown up and established his own respectable family in mainland Japan. After managing to reunite with his former master through chance circumstances, his former master visited him, traveling a long distance to encourage him, and they vowed to each other, "Let us both fulfill our duties as Imperial subjects on the home front". The following is a beautiful story of Japanese-Korean Unification.
Mr. Shōichi Yoshida (32) and his Japanese wife Atsue (27). To the left of Mr. Yoshida is his eldest daughter Masako (8). Atsue is carrying their youngest daughter, and to her right is their middle daughter. Top right insert is Mr. Yoshida's adoptive Japanese father, Mr. Einosuke Furusawa (59)
The subject of this story is Mr. Einosuke Furusawa (59), owner of Musumeya Flower Arrangement Shop, located at 2-2 Honmachi Avenue in central Seoul, whose innate chivalrous spirit led him to save a Korean boy who was struggling on the roadside 14 years ago. The boy who worked for him for four years and then went to Japan is Mr. Shōichi Yoshida (32), who is now involved in running all aspects of a restaurant called "White Fox" at 75 Nishi-Nakasange, Okayama City. He and his wife Atsue (27), whom he married in mainland Japan, have three daughters, including their eldest daughter Masako (8), and are now living happily ever after. With the help of Judge Shirakawa at the Seoul Oversight Court, they set up a family register for his eldest daughter to complete her school enrollment paperwork, and it was then that the story of his former master Mr. Furusawa's chivalry and deep compassion came to light. Here we look back at their story.
In the early spring of 1928, Mr. Furusawa took in and cared for a poor orphan boy who was wandering around the Meiji-machi neighborhood every day. He got along unusually well with customers, beloved by everyone who came and went, and he spent four years at Mr. Furusawa's home. This boy was Shōichi, who had long wanted to work in mainland Japan. He subsequently moved there, and after ten years of hard work in the Osaka and Okayama areas, he became so successful that he opened his own high-class kappō Japanese restaurant.
He married a mainland Japanese woman and had three daughters, but when his eldest daughter entered school, he was troubled by the issue of her family registration. This spring, Shōichi came to Seoul and visited the family of his former masters, Mr. and Mrs. Furusawa. When he met Mrs. Jitsuno Furusawa (52) at the storefront, he greeted her saying "Mother, you are just as healthy as you were in the past". She was stunned by the suddenness of his greeting, but when she recognized Shōichi's appearance, noticing how he had moved up in society, she said with tears in her eyes, "Well, you've grown up so fine..." Mr. and Mrs. Furusawa were as happy as if they were welcoming their own child. With the help of Mr. and Mrs. Furusawa, his daughter with no family register was granted the privilege of creating a family register, which is considered a groundbreaking system on the Korean peninsula along with the Sōshi-Kaimei system under which Koreans adopt Japanese names. Then they went home in high spirits.
Mr. Furusawa visited Okayama City on November 8th, and spent the night with Mr. Yoshida and his family, parting with a vow to "make sure to protect each other on the home front as a national people at war". Judge Shirakawa, who worked hard to create the family register, praised Mr. Furusawa's chivalry. [Photo: Mr. Furusawa with Mr. Yoshida and his family]
Unfortunately, I could not find any trace of Mr. Yoshida's "White Fox" restaurant anywhere in Japan today. However, I looked up Mr. Furusawa's old store location in Seoul on a 1933 map and on Google Maps in an area just to the west of Myeongdong Cathedral, and it is still a lively, busy apparel retail district, just as it was in the colonial era. The local Russian Tatar community also likely had its clothing businesses in this area.
Mr. Furusawa's flower arrangement shop, Musumeya, in 1933 Seoul.
The former location of Mr. Furusawa's store in 2022 Seoul today (Google Maps).
This is my translation and transcription of a news article from Keijo Nippo, a propaganda newspaper and mouthpiece of the government of Japan-colonized Korea. It has never been republished or translated before, to the best of my knowledge. Ever since someone dumped these old newspaper issues in the Internet Archive last October, I have been slowly translating and posting select articles at various subreddits to share my findings with the wider community.
This article talks about fish shortages in Korea in December 1943, two years into an all-out war against the US. In response to widespread fish shortages and the proliferation of black markets, colonial authorities implemented a rationing system for seafood, where fish supplies were all supposed to be sold by fishermen to the colonial government at officially set prices, funneled into a centralized distribution point, and then distributed to non-households (including restaurants) and households, where each customer was allotted a measly fish quota of 750 grams per day.
However, the rationing system ran into problems as fish was very perishable, and supplies could often be irregular depending on the daily catch. Before rationing, fish was efficiently auctioned off at wholesale markets to middlemen who knew how much fish and what kinds of fish to buy. But, when the rationing system eliminated the middlemen, this prolonged the process of sorting and allocating the fish, since distribution was now done by workers who weren’t familiar with how much fish and what kinds of fish to pack, which led to increased spoilage, especially in the days before modern refrigeration. The ignorance of the workers also led to ridiculous situations were poisonous fugu fish were inadvertently shipped to households, which could have been fatal to the consumers, since very specialized training is needed for cooks to prepare fugu without leaving any fatally poisonous parts behind.
Further, fishermen as well as retailers were incentivized to bypass official channels and sell fish on the black market at higher prices, similarly to what happened in the Soviet command economy.
(Translation)
Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) December 17, 1943
What’s missing is preparedness (fresh fish edition)
Registration system for consumers and retailers being considered
Tomorrow’s posture to win through to victory
A Focus on Eating Habits (1)
In the autumn, as wartime food problems were being loudly voiced, we reflected on dietary habits in the second year of living victoriously fighting decisive battles, and we dealt with reports of supply shortages floating around in the city. We got to the bottom of the realities of the wartime dietary habits of the 1.2 million residents of Seoul dashing to implement a more robust wartime lifestyle as they prepared to welcome the spring of victory. We recorded the authorities’ preparations, the measures taken by vendors, and the voices of consumers in order to deepen our correct understanding and awareness of food rationing as we prepare for a renewed assault next year. The following is a valiant depiction of wartime dietary habits.
[Photo: Sorting fresh fish arriving at the city’s central market]
[Photo: Sorting fresh fish arriving at the city’s central market]
It has been a month since fish supplies were brought under central control to prevent the precious protein source of Seoul’s 1.2 million people’s from flowing into the black markets, which had been a major obstacle in improving the physical condition of city residents on the home front. The problem was supposed to have been completely resolved in this way…
However, the problem of fish shortages has since become a common complaint in the city, with people complaining about the inadequate distribution of fish, and busy housewives screaming about the irregular sales hours of retailers. Let us now figure out what the people of the city have to say about their fish supplies.
Due to the centralized control of incoming and outgoing shipments, all fish and shellfish entering the city of Seoul are now centrally collected. As a temporary measure until a new company is established, the Fresh Fish Department of the Seoul Central Wholesale Market has taken over as the receiving agency for the fish supplies of Seoul. The daily fish collected at the central market is divided by staff into two separate lines, one for household use and the other for non-household use, and then directly delivered to household kitchens. That was supposed to have completely eradicated the involvement of black markets.
We thought that there was no reason why there would be no fish supplies when they were supposed to be smoothly distributed, so we went to the Seoul Central Market. Just as the freight cars were entering the market, the staff was busy sorting the fish shipments, sweating in the slight chill of the cold air. They were busy breaking down piles of fish from here to there and making small piles one by one. Their work was very long and slow compared to the vigorous and quick fish auctions of the olden days, so much so that we wondered whether the fish was going to spoil. No wonder the small retailers were setting their sales hours later in the day. When we unthinkingly suggested to our tour guide Mr. Murata, the supervisor, “At this rate, all the fish will spoil in the summer,” he frankly affirmed, “That’s right”. Adding that he was taking measures to set up large distribution centers for each region, he also addressed the fish shortages as follows.
First of all, explaining the route of fish shipments from arrival to distribution in earlier times, fish supplies were previously purchased by middlemen and then placed in the hands of waiting small retailers, so they were processed quickly and sold to the public at regular times. In this sense, fish seemed to be available in comparatively abundant supplies, especially since suburbanites and residents of upscale neighborhoods were able to sit back and buy fish, albeit at high prices akin to black market rates, thanks to the presence of fish dealers.
Today, incoming fish and shellfish are divided into household use and non-household use, and the fish and shellfish are sorted by the staff without middlemen. For household use, since greater Seoul is divided into seven regions and further divided into 48 retailing districts, the market has to divide the incoming fish and shellfish into 48 shipments. At this time, even though it would be easy if the incoming fish had to simply be divided into 48 shipments, it is actually important to divide the incoming fish and shellfish into different varieties to account for differences in regional consumption patterns, so it takes time and effort to allocate the fish. Then each regional representative takes their respective shipments and distributes them to the small retailers in their retailing district to be sold.
This is why sales hours have become late or irregular, and fish is now mainly sold in the evening. Therefore, many housewives visit seafood stores and find that fish is always unavailable, because they always miss those late sales hours. In addition, some people blame the inappropriate allocation of fish on the fact that the fish middlemen have been abolished and the staff is now made up of people who are ignorant of the fish business. However, when multiple shipments of one fish species arrive, sometimes the fish is diverted to households, even if they were meant to be received by restaurants. In the initial days, a large quantity of fugu (toxic puffer fish) arrived in the market, so some of them were diverted to be sold for household use, and housewives in general had trouble cooking them, which was criticized, but it would be nice to be able to eat any kind of fish during wartime.
As he earnestly talked, I asked him the following question: “It seems that there are areas where fish is abundant and areas where fish is scarce, especially in the suburbs?”
The reason for this is that the allocation of fish shipments to the district representatives is made in consideration of past consumption patterns. There has been high fish consumption in the city center due to the rush of buyers from the suburbs, while the suburbs have mainly been serviced by fish dealers and a few fish retailers, so the fish market is concentrated in the city center. In fact, there are many more people from the suburbs than from the city who buy fish at the 22 markets and department stores in Seoul. However, if we immediately increase the fish quota for the suburbs, that may cause more fish to spoil. To address this issue, we plan to establish a registration system that will link consumers and retailers, which will then be used to distribute and ration the fish supplies.
Now that we had a better idea of how fish supplies were distributed, we asked him why they had decided on selling less than 200 momme (750 grams) of fish per customer at the small fish retailers. He replied that they were certain that 60% of the planned daily fish shipments of 45,000 kan (168,750 kg) arriving at the central market would be consumed by 200,000 households in Seoul, and they came up with this number by dividing the daily fish shipment weight by the number of households. Since fish and shellfish are living organisms that change depending on the fishing conditions in the area where they are shipped, supplies are sometimes very low and often uneven, so consumers should be well aware of this point.
We are hearing that some small retailers are diverting fish supplies to restaurants, and some stores are even avoiding paying duties. The quantities of each fish variety arriving that day are supposed to be clearly posted at the store, so inspectors from the market are doing patrols and rescinding retail permits from fraudulent vendors without delay. In addition, there is a law that allows for special delivery of fish directly from the market to volunteer soldiers and conscripts who need to receive one fish to celebrate their departure for military service, as long as they bring a certificate from the town council through the head of the patriotic group. The Seoul government is taking all possible measures to secure fish for household use.
In short, the consumers are trying to eat a little more than their neighbors by buying up fish supplies at retailer A and then moving onto retailer B, which is the cause of supply shortages and disruptions to the rationing system. Therefore, Mr. Senda, Director of the General Affairs Department of Seoul, exhorts the fighting people of Seoul to reflect more on their own dietary habits, which are more than adequate, before lodging complaints about irregularities in fish distribution.
Rabbit Hunting by Yongsan Middle School (Sosa)
At 7:00 a.m. on December 16th, all the students of Yongsan Middle School in Seoul gathered in front of Sosa Station to hunt for rabbits in the mountains behind the [illegible] areas.
My condolences to the residents of Seoul who lost their lives in the flooding yesterday. I read a tip from someone on Twitter who said that this was the worst flooding in Seoul since August 5, 1942, so I did some searching in Keijo Nippo and found the relevant articles which describe the great flood that hit Seoul on that day. These articles will give you some historical perspective into the natural disaster which just befell Seoul. I hope you will find these helpful and useful.
(Translation) Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) August 7, 1942 Heavenly Blessings Abound on the Breadbasket Peninsula Five Days of Obon Festival Rains Enveloped All of Seoul
It rained. Water was poured into the mouths of the rice paddy fields! It rained as though rice was going to be planted. The fierce rain that began on the morning of the 5th and enveloped all of Korea, both the northern and the southern parts, did not stop falling even in the afternoon, and in Pyeonganbuk-do, the rainfall exceeded 320 mm in total. Under the skies, where the breadbasket peninsula was joyfully fulfilling its mission, houses were collapsing but with minor damage to people and livestock. Against this backdrop, the Imperial farmers sprang forth into the rice paddies and the farm fields, and they are now hard at work holding their hoes. The following is a report on the amount of rainfall and damage to houses and livestock in each region that has guaranteed this year's rice crop.
Flooding in Central and Northern Korea Information reported to the Defense Division The following is the status of flood damage in Central and Northern Korea as reported to the Defense Division of the Police Department on August 6. 7 Gyeonggi residents were injured, 10 dead in Gyeonggi, 3 dead in Hamgyeongnam-do, 7 missing; 9 structures washed away in Gyeonggi, 10 structures washed away in Hamgyeongnam-do; 28 structures collapsed in Gyeonggi, 12 structures collapsed in Hamgyeongnam-do; 7988 structures flooded in Gyeonggi, 2906 structures flooded in Hamgyeongnam-do, 20 structures flooded in Pyeongannam-do, 2300 structures flooded in Pyeonganbuk-do; 169 mm rainfall in Gyeonggi, 142 mm rainfall in Hamgyeongnam-do, a large amount of rainfall in Pyeongannam-do, 323 mm of rainfall in Pyeonganbuk-do, 788 mm of rainfall in Yellow Sea; no rainfall in Jeollanam-do, Gyeongsangnam-do, Gangwon-do; 5 to 13 mm of rainfall in Hamgyeongbuk-do, no rainfall in Chungcheongnam-do, 150-200 mm of rainfall in Jeollabuk-do.
Struggles of the Telecommunications Defense Corps Working hard in the rain The muddy water flowing into Cheonggyecheon River in Seoul overflowed Gwanghwamun Street and entered the basement of the Health Management Division of the Bureau of Telecommunications, and by 1 p.m. on the 5th, the water was pouring into the warehouse. The members of the special Defense team of the Bureau of Telecommunications rose to the occasion and took advantage of the occasional pauses in the downpour to remove safes and documents from the building. After the rain stopped, the team members worked tirelessly to drain the water, and on the 6th, from early in the morning, Health Supervision Section Chief Ogawa took the lead in encouraging the team members, who showed the results of their daily training by moving documents through a relay system and performing drainage work without regret.
Traffic is fine! Trains were restored despite a 20% reduction in the number of trains The Dongdaemun area, which is the transportation hub for the Seoul Train Depot, Gyeongchun Railway, Seoul Transportation Company, and Seoul Trolleys, was not affected at all by the flooding, as appropriate measures were taken. Seoul Railway's dispatch of train cars, which was to be reduced by 20% on the 6th, was restored without any inconvenience to the city residents.
Telephone lines in Seoul partially damaged, but steadily restored The rains of the 5th caused partial damage to the telephone lines in Seoul, but by noon of the 6th, most of the lines had been restored thanks to the efforts of the Bureau of Telecommunications. The damage in Seoul included flooding of cables at the Yongsan Branch Office, and some malfunctions in the main branch office and outside lines, for which the restoration work is progressing extremely well with all the engineering staff mobilized, and there were no accidents on any of the city's outside lines. Although there were some problems with the transport system, the results of the training the Bureau of Telecommunications had received in the past were put to good use, and the prompt emergency measures taken by the Bureau in the midst of Holy War ensured that the telecommunications team was not affected in the slightest.
Complete recovery this morning, Jongno Police Station reporting The number of flooded houses in the jurisdiction of Jongno Police Station in Seoul was 2,439, of which 12 were destroyed, 5 were swept away, and 1 person was killed, but the damage was limited to the northern foot of the mountains and the Cheonggyecheon riverfront. The survivors were temporarily housed in the auditoriums of Sookmyung High School, Maedong National School, and other schools on the 5th, but thanks to the efforts of the defense brigade, everything was restored on the morning of the 6th.
Defense team in action, Honmachi Police Station reporting In the Hommachi Precinct, damage was minimized to the extent that some houses slumped due to the relatively elevated conical shape of the hill, thanks to the efforts of all the members of the Defense Brigade and the Patriotic Groups.
Surprisingly minor damage, Seongdong Police Station Reporting The flooding in the Seongdong district in the eastern part of Seoul was expected to cause considerable damage due to its low location, but the damage was less severe than expected, and all of the affected residents returned to their homes early in the morning of the 6th. They are now vigorously working to clean up their household goods and restore their fields.
Take Care of Sanitation Director Amagishi of the Gyeonggi Provincial Sanitation Department speaks of the situation Seoul was hit by torrential rains on the afternoon of the 5th, and an outbreak of epidemics is expected to occur soon due to the accumulation of contaminated materials everywhere. However, since the outbreak of infectious diseases in the normal year has been extremely low, the Gyeonggi Provincial Sanitation Department has decided to conduct a temporary post-rain cleanup in the near future to ensure epidemic prevention. On August 6, Director Amagishi of the province's Sanitation Department spoke as follows. "We are happy that the heavy rains have washed away the dirt curtains on the mountain, but it is a problem that the sewage has flowed into the town, creating a convenient condition for the outbreak of infectious diseases. We are planning to conduct a temporary cleanup in the near future, but I would rather that the residents of the province themselves take care of their own sanitation. In addition to disinfecting wells and cleaning houses, the best way to practice simple hygiene is to wash your hands first. If possible, wash your hands with soap and water after using the toilet. Shigella bacteria can pass through about 30 sheets of paper with no problem, so not washing your hands is the most dangerous thing you can do. In addition, children, in particular, should not neglect to wash their hands because many parasites can be found under their fingernails. The statistics often prove that washing hands is effective to some extent in preventing disease. In addition, I think we must also encourage people to get vaccination shots and take preventive medication, which is something we must all keep in mind as we have more opportunities to eat out."
[Photo: Mr. Amagishi, Director of the Department]
A hundred yen for the victims One gentleman deposited the money at a police stall On the morning of the 6th, a gentleman visited the police stall in Naeja-dong, Seoul, and offered 100 yen, saying, "Please spend it for the victims of the flood", and left without leaving his name. Upon investigation by the Jongno Police Department, they found out that this exceptional gentleman was Kim Sun-heung (김순흥/金淳興), who lives at 167 Naeja-dong.
No damage to the county (gun) According to the Director Miwa of the Provincial Defense Division Director Miwa of Gyeonggi Province's Defense Division described the flood damage as follows [Photo: Director Miwa of Defense Division]. The flooding on the morning of the 5th was only a minor flood compared to the great floods of 1940. The fact that the damage was centered in the urban center and did not extend into the county areas was due to the fact that this was a developed city, and the other regions were probably rather happy to receive the rain. The fact that we have not heard of any damage in other regions so far is also evidence that there has been no major damage. The cause of the flooding was that the Cheonggyecheon and other rivers that flowed through Seoul overflowed due to the heavy rainfall in a short period of time, and the water flowed into the city center. The main areas affected were the riverfronts and the low-lying areas of Donam-dong, Samcheong-dong, and Seongdong-dong, but the rest of the city was not affected in any way different from normal. The provincial authorities need to consider future civil engineering measures based on this experience, and I hope that the people of the province will learn from this flood disaster and study the drainage outlets carefully and think about how to deflect nature's fury so that both the public and private sectors can avoid further damage to infrastructure in the home front.
[Photo: Director Miwa of Defense Division]
A splendid story of police officers which unfolded in the torrential downpour The heavy rains of the 5th showed the remarkable activities of the members of the National Disaster Prevention Team and the Youth Corps in all areas. The members of the Dongdaemun Police Brigade No. 2, both the defense and the poison prevention sections, were led by Captains Kunimoto and Tanari to follow drainage work in Chungsin-dong until 1:00 a.m. on June 6. Ōyama Hitoto, a member of the same defense and poison prevention sections, and Tano Osamu, a member of the rescue section, heard the news that their houses were being flooded every minute, but together with Deputy Commander Matsumoto, they remained at the headquarters in Jongno 5-chōme as liaison officers until the end, demonstrating their splendid defense spirit.
Relief Fund from Donors Hamamura Tamanosuke of 33 Hap-dong, who has long served as the third ward leader while providing aid to the needy, gave 100 yen as part of the relief fund to the more than 300 people who were affected by the torrential rain on the 5th, and delighted the recipients of the funds. Mr. Mamiya Mitsuji, the leader of the 10th patriotic group of the second ward of the town council, also gave 100 yen to the victims.
Temporary cleanliness inspections of flooded houses Conducted at Dongdaemun Police Station In order to quickly curb the epidemic that would hit the city after the heavy rain, on the 6th, the Sanitation Section of the Dongdaemun Police Station immediately ordered each dispatch station in the district to conduct a survey of flooded houses and conduct temporary cleanliness inspections only in those areas. At the same time, all pharmacies in the area were ordered to prepare phenol and other disinfectants. The inspections will be carried out within the next two to three days.
Hope for self-reliance Provincial Governor Taka makes a request to the victims Gyeonggi Province has been providing relief for the victims of the torrential rains that hit the Seoul area on the 5th by spending a considerable amount of money from the Seoul and provincial government's joint enhanced crop disaster emergency relief fund, and has placed the victims in six locations, including Sookmyung High School, Maedong National School and Donam Town Hall. In addition to providing shared meals, they have taken all possible measures, including lending clothes collected from each town council. The governor of Gyeonggi Province, Mr. Taka, made the following remarks on the 6th. "This disaster is not even close to being classified as a flood disaster, but I sincerely regret that so many people have been affected. I am also grateful for the fact that the public and private sectors worked together to restore normalcy without any major problems as soon as the disaster occurred. While the authorities are taking all possible measures to rescue the affected people, I sincerely hope that the victims themselves will not rely solely on the government's relief measures, but will exert a spirit of self-reliance to overcome this difficult situation."
This article talks about the egg and poultry shortage that was rampant in Korea in December 1943, two years into an all-out war against the US. Eggs were all supposed to be sold by farmers to the colonial government at officially set prices, funneled into a centralized distribution point, and then distributed to stores and hospitals. Hospitals and war veteran patients had priority, followed by anyone who had doctors' certificates, who presumably included pregnant women and nursing mothers.
However, this rationing system apparently had problems, as farmers as well as retailers were incentivized to bypass official channels and sell eggs on the black market at higher prices, similarly to what happened in the Soviet command economy.
Black market retailers charged 30 sen per egg (about $6 USD in 2022), and consumers could only buy two or three eggs at a time. Each morning edition of the Keijo Nippo of 1942 was priced at 6 sen. Today, each morning edition of Asahi Shimbun is priced at 160 yen. Using this conversion, 30 sen would be worth 800 yen today, which would be worth US $5.93 today.
(Translation)
Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) December 24, 1943
Tomorrow's posture to win through to victory
A Focus on Eating Habits (6)
Meat and Eggs
Eggs are luxury items!
Regulation demanded to reserve eggs for the sick
The distribution of meat, which is a fatty food and a source of caloric supply for the fighting residents of Seoul, has been going well so far, providing 50 momme (187.5 grams) for a family of up to four, 100 momme (375 grams) for a family of up to nine, and 10 momme (37.5 grams) for each additional family member for a family of 10 or more, according to the rotational purchase coupons for meat for household use. However, unregulated poultry has disappeared from Seoul due to officially set prices as well as issues with feed. When supplies do not appear in the market, we may immediately imagine chicken being siphoned off or sold on the black market, but in fact, there is absolutely no poultry arriving at the Gyeonggi Provincial Livestock Products Sales Association at the moment.
In addition to poultry shortages, there is also a shortage of eggs, which have been kept away from the kitchens of the people of Seoul. Milk and eggs, the most essential source of nutrition for the sick, are not available in Seoul at all, but unlike the situation with poultry, the quantity of eggs received has been gradually improving in 1942 and 1943 since the lowest quantity of eggs was reached in 1941, and the egg supply is showing a steady increase.
Believing that egg supplies are at their lowest level ever, many consumers have already given up on eggs, thinking that they are the most difficult product to obtain. As for the actual situation with egg shipments, most of the eggs laid by poultry farmers in the province are delivered smoothly to Seoul because feed, which is the lifeblood of poultry farmers, is distributed through Gyeonggi Province, and the poultry farmers are forced to provide eggs in exchange for the feed.
The quantity of eggs laid has been significantly reduced due to the decline in the quality and quantity of feed, and the quantity of eggs received this year has dropped to about 30% of the peak level in 1940, when eggs were the most abundant in Seoul. Although 30% sounds like a good figure, the number of eggs that flowed into Seoul without passing through the Gyeonggi Provincial Egg Association at that time was almost double the number of eggs that passed through the Gyeonggi Provincial Egg Association and flowed into Seoul, so the actual figure is about 10% of the peak level in 1940.
At present, all eggs entering Seoul are centrally collected at the Gyeonggi Provincial Livestock Products Sales Processing Station, and from there they are distributed to hospitals and small retailers, with about 30% of the incoming eggs given priority for distribution to hospitals, and the remainder given to the 65 small egg cooperative retailers and 65 small food retailers in Seoul. As for the method of sale:
The eggs are ordered to be preferentially distributed as hospital food to those who have doctors' certificates. The average quantity of eggs received per day is approximately 100 kan (375 kg) per day, of which the quantity for general consumers is estimated to be over 60 kan (225 kg). If 7 eggs weigh an average of 100 momme (375 grams), that means that an average of 3,600 eggs come into the hands of small retailers.
In reality, however, there are no eggs whatsoever in the market. Although eggs are not distributed daily to the 130 egg distributors in Seoul due to a decrease in the number of eggs received, they are distributed wholesale once or twice a week, so to sum it up, eggs are definitely being allocated to the small retailers.
When we asked one retailer in Hanazono-chō (now Yegwan-dong), Seoul, about the actual situation of eggs being sold as a rationed food, he replied,
"We usually receive egg deliveries of about 3 to 5 kan (11.25 to 18.75 kg) once a week in general. When the eggs arrive at the store, we post a notice at the storefront saying that we will start selling eggs on what day and from what time, and those who bring a doctor's certificate are given priority. We sell a maximum of two or three eggs per customer," he disclosed. The current black market price for eggs is around 30 sen per egg, and it is said that consumers will never receive eggs except on the black market. The current situation is that eggs are actually not being sold at general grocery stores. We asked Mr. Satō, manager of the Gyeonggi Provincial Livestock Products Sales Association, about the actual situation of eggs being sold on the black market.
He replied, "The eggs that are now being sold on the black market seem to be brought in by farmers who keep chickens in the surrounding areas and do not receive feed from the Gyeonggi Provincial Agricultural Association. We have no choice but to wait for the authorities to take control of this situation, but depending on how the problem is handled in earnest, we may see a slight turnaround in the egg collection situation. I have heard that some small egg retailers are actually siphoning eggs, but I do not know for sure. In view of the current situation as we fight decisive battles, if the general public would refrain from consuming eggs, and reserve them mainly for the sick, then there would be enough eggs to go to families with sick people who really need them, but it is up to the retailers to be aware of the situation and the consumers to be self-aware.
Since the use of eggs as a general foodstuff is truly a luxury under the current circumstances, some kind of appropriate regulation is desirable for families that desperately need eggs as a special food for the sick.
The current dietary situation of the people of Seoul is far more plentiful than those of the rest of the world on the home front, but in order to make use of eggs as a much more active supply source for the war effort, the righteousness of the small retailers and the self-awareness of the consumers are strongly desired, and together with the urgent measures taken by the authorities, an advancing marching song can be played to provide direction for dietary habits going into the third year of the war. (End of this section)
[Photo: Meat retailers showing a plentiful supply]
A beautiful, beautiful story
Mr. Kiyohiro Ōhara, a chair manufacturer in the 54th patriotic group, 6th Ward, Jugyo-dong, Jung-gu, won 1,000 yen in the October lottery from a 2-yen bullet stamp that he bought at a regular meeting. Since he received extra money in November, he donated four red and white curtains to the town council and 15 cushions for the regular meeting to the patriotic group, and again won 100 yen in the November lottery. Now that he will receive extra money this month, he is asking the town councilor for his wisdom on what to donate this time, which is an enviable beautiful story.
