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"

 

This article from Japan-occupied Korea in 1943 describes an aggressive Japanese language campaign that was conducted in Korean villages in the 1930s and 1940s, with one village, Guri-myeon, highlighted as a successful model for the rest of Korea. Today, Guri-myeon is now Guri-si and its adjacent Donggureung mausoleum appear to have been swallowed up by the urban sprawl of Seoul.

(my translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) August 6, 1943

Patriotic peninsula in excitement over conscription
Japanese language engraved in all villages

The shining well-being of Guryong-myeon

The conscription system has been strictly enforced in the peninsula with glory and joy, and it has become an urgent issue that the whole peninsula must achieve excellent results in this brilliant system. The basis of this system is the need for the people of the peninsula to be rapidly transformed into true imperial subjects. As the first step in this process, understanding the Japanese language is of the utmost importance. The young men who will go to war as members of the Imperial Military in the next year are being trained with sweat and fervor in their hearts, but the peninsula in general must ceaselessly work hard not to be surpassed by these young men. All sides are now frantically rushing into a fierce campaign saying, "It is the Japanese language! All Korea should rise up to fully understand the Japanese language!" There is a beautiful patriotic village that is making a concerted effort to follow the example of this Japanese language movement.

If you go east from Seoul along the Gyeongchun Road for a while and pass Manguri Cemetery, you will come to Guri-myeon, Yangju-gun, a green farming village that has been cleaned of the dust of the city. This is the village that took the initiative early on in the campaign for the regular use of the Japanese language, pouring their shining efforts in preparation for the military draft. As soon as you step into the village, you will see the slogans and signs of the Japanese language campaign written in Japanese kanji, Japanese kana, and Hangul on signboards, gates of farmhouses, and pillars, such as "Start with the Japanese language for Japan and Korea to unify".

It's not just slogans and signs. If you take a step into a house in the village, you will find that everything is written with Japanese furigana, such as "wall," "pillar," "clock," "hoe," and so on, with explanations in Hangul, such as "this is a wall," "this is a pillar," "this is a clock," and "this is a hoe".

In this village, they call this teaching method the "Wall Reader" to promote the understanding of the Japanese language through hands-on education. However, it took a lot of careful planning and painstaking efforts to bring this complicated educational movement to fruition today.

Dongchang-ri, Guri-myeon, a model village, is located at the entrance to Donggureung, the site of the royal mausoleum of King Taejo of Joseon and his successors. Most of the villagers lived lives of idleness serving the mausoleum in the days before the annexation of Korea to Japan, and their customs lasted long after the annexation. As it was not easy to awaken into the new age when they were still dreaming of the idleness of the past, at one time they became a delinquent village outside of any administrative control due to the ineffectiveness of the government's guidance, to the point where descended through idleness into a pit of poverty with the vicissitudes of time.

However, with the outbreak of the Manchurian Incident in 1931, the movement for the promotion of rural areas was vigorously stirred up in 1932, and the warm hands of the fervent spiritual mobilization movement were extended to these delinquent villages. The unyielding whip of welfare was applied to the stubborn villages, so that the villagers tended to wake up one by one from their dreams of idleness.

At this time, the events of the Second Sino-Japanese War strongly pulsed in our ears, and the leaders held many meetings, lectures, and round-table talks to inject the significance of the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Holy War from all angles, and started a fierce movement for the imperialization of the country through school children. The current mayor of the ward, Mr. Yoshikazu Kido, took the lead giving beneficial guidance in this movement, and through his dedicated efforts, he succeeded in breaking down the customs and stray dreams of the village and reforming them. The Second Sino-Japanese War soon developed into the Greater East Asia War to defeat the United States and Britain. Upon seeing the results of the various battles, the villagers came to truly see themselves as imperial subjects. We have traversed many difficult paths to reach this point, considering that we expended an all out effort towards imperialization.

The core of the movement for the imperialization of Korea was the movement for the regular use of the Japanese language, but at first, the unawakened villagers made the myeon leaders and school principals suffer a great deal of hardship. Now, after four years of painstaking efforts, we have been rewarded with the results of this language training, and even the illiterate women of the village, who could not read a single character, are now able to understand Japanese katakana.

It is the pride of this model village that there is not a single man or woman from school-age children to 50-year-olds among the 16,000 people of Guri-myeon who does not understand the Japanese language.

The two men taking the lead are Mr. Aomatsu the myeon leader and Mr. Takayama the principal of Inchang Elementary School, and they have been working tirelessly to provide guidance. The painstaking work that these two leaders have put in can be traced back as follows.

Based on the firm belief that "without an understanding of the Japanese language, there can be no all-out national movement," a leadership consultation conference was held among the leaders of the village offices, schools, police stations, financial associations, etc. As a result, the first thing they did was to set up academic training centers at five locations other than Inchang Elementary School. 1,200 children who have not graduated elementary school were housed in these academic training centers, and the young men of the village acted as instructors in embarking upon service education. On Wednesdays it was the turn of the boys group, and on Saturdays it was the turn of the girls group - both groups continued their earnest studies in two hour sessions. On the second Saturday of each month and on the 25th day of the month, a joint class was held at Inchang Elementary School, where the first year was spent learning vocabulary and the second year was spent learning conversational skills.

Not satisfied with merely teaching, officials have been actively encouraging and practicing the regular use of the Japanese language by doing things such as: 1. Attaching labels with the names of household items written in Japanese, 2. Placing Japanese slogans at required places, and 3. Having them agree to say simple words, such as greetings, all in Japanese. Officials gave teachers a monthly reward payment of 10 sen, and the village offices also gave priority distribution of kerosene to the language class sites, and designated the "Houses of the Japanese Language" as a model for the villagers to encourage them to continue their lofty endeavors. The process of Japanese language training continues to this day, and there is a night meeting for Japanese language training held in the community workshop of the village.

Those who gather there are divided into three groups according to their memory abilities: from 8 to 15 years old, from 16 to 20 years old, and from 31 to 55 years old. The young men in the village who are well versed in the Japanese language serve as teachers and give detailed guidance. Upperclassmen and graduates of the Elementary School always provide thorough instruction to women from ordinary households. In addition to holding occasional "speech presentations" at the workshop, efforts are being made to have the children of the Elementary School and the villagers use the Japanese language as much as possible, so that they can memorize and become familiar with as many words as possible.

This campaign for the regular use of the Japanese language has led to the complete rehabilitation of the village. Today, the village is working together to develop an all out comprehensive campaign for all men between the ages of 14 and 60 and all unmarried women between the ages of 14 and 25. A national labor corps was formed, and it is yielding good results. Savings are also booming. Today, Guri-myeon is a beautiful, patriotic model village that is taking giant steps toward producing true imperial subjects, cooperating in crime prevention and building a village without a single criminal record in preparation for conscription, and making great strides in hygiene. Photo: Nighttime Japanese language class for women at the Elementary School.

(my transcription into modern Japanese orthography with punctuation marks modified and added for clarity)

Source: https://archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-08-06

昭和十八年八月六日　京城日報

徴兵に沸る愛国半島
全村に刻む”国語”

九龍面の輝く厚生ぶり

徴兵制は栄光と歓喜のうちに半島に厳と布かれ、半島あげてこの輝く制度に見事なる成果をあげることが課せられた焦眉の問題となった。その根本をなすものは何を措いても速く真の皇民と純化されること。その実践の第一歩として国語の理解が何よりも緊要である。晴れて明年、皇軍の一員として戦争に起つ若人はいま汗と熱血の赤心を沸らせて錬成されているが、この若者達に断じて負けることなく半島一般も絶えず努力が払われなければならないーー国語だ、国語の全解に全鮮は挙れーーと各方面はいま必死となって猛運動に突入している。この国語常用運動に全部落挙って懸命な努力を払い垂範している麗しい愛国の村がある。

京城から東へ京春街道をしばらく行き、府の共同墓地忘優里を超えると都塵を洗い払った緑豊な農村楊州郡九里面がある。この村こそは晴れの徴兵制に備えて早くから国語常用運動に率先挺身して来た努力輝く村なのだ。この村に足を一歩踏み入れるや、立看板に、農家の大門に、柱に”内鮮一体まず国語”といった風な国語常用運動の標語、標識がそこにも、ここにも漢字と仮名と諺文とを併せて書き連ねてある。

標語や標識ばかりではない。一歩部落の民家を訪ねると、壁柱、時計、鍬など何から何まで振り仮名をつけ、それに諺文でこれが壁であり、柱、時計、鍬であると言った風な説明をつけている。

この村ではこれを”壁読本”と称して国語の理解を実物教育で推し進めているのである。しかし、この手数のこんだ困難な教育運動が今日よく結実するまでには精緻微密な計画と涙ぐましい努力が秘められている。

模範部落九里面東倉里はそのかみの李太祖以下代々の王陵のある地で東九陵の入口にあり、部落民のほとんどが陵に使え遊衣遊食の併合前の風習は、その後も長く続き、昔日の遊食を夢見ては容易に新時代に目覚めず、官の指導も一時は効果なく行政上全く手のつかぬ不良部落となり、遂には無為徒食から時代の嵐を喰って貧民窟にまで転落したのであった。

しかし満州事変の勃発とともに昭和七年農村振興運動が活発に捲き起こされ、この不良部落にも熱のこもった精神総動員運動の温かい触手が伸ばされ、頑迷の部落民に対して撓みない厚生の鞭が加えられ、部落民たちも何時か惰眠の夢から順次目覚めて来る傾向にあった。

この時支那事変は彼等の耳朶を強く搏って、指導者たちはまず支那事変と聖戦の意義を総ゆる角度から注入するために数多くの集会をなし、講話を続け、座談会を開き、学童たちを通じて皇民化への猛烈な運動の口火を切った。この善導の陣頭に起ったのが現区長の木戸義弼氏で、献身的努力はよく部落の因習と迷夢を打破し改革に成功したのであった。事変は直に米英撃滅の大東亜戦争に発展、緒戦の藹々の戦果に部落民は真に皇民として活眼し、皇民化一路にいま総力を挙げている思えば、幾多困難の道を踏み越え辿り来たのであった。

皇民化運動の中核をなしたものは国語常用運動であったが、覚醒せぬ部落民たちは最初は面長や校長さんたちを散々に手古摺らせたものだった。いまでは忍苦努力の四年に亘る国語講習成果は報いられ、一丁字もない文盲の部落婦人たちにも今では片仮名を解するまでに仕上げたのである。

九里面一万六千人のうち就学適齢児童から五十歳に至るまでの男女で国語を解しない者はまず一人も居ない…と言うのがこの模範部落の大きな誇りである。

いま陣頭にあって血みどろの指導に当っているのが青松面長と仁倉国民学校高山校長の二人であるが、この二人の指導者が注いで来た苦心の跡を辿るとこうだ。

”国語の理解なくして総力国民運動は駄目だー”との強く固い信条から部落の指導的地歩に起つ面事務所、学校、駐在所、金融組合等の首脳が鳩首協議の結果、まず仁倉国民学校の外五ヶ所に学術講習所を設け、未就学児童の千二百人を収容して部落の青年たちを指導者として奉仕的教育に乗り出した。一週間のうち水曜が男子組、土曜が女子組で二時間宛懸命になっての勉強を続けた。そして毎月第二土曜日と廿五日には仁倉国民校で聯合教授を行い、最初の一年は単語を覚えることで押し通し、第二年目から会話に移った。

教わるだけでは駄目だと班員たちは積極的に、各家庭の品物には名前を国語で記入した札を貼ること、◇所要の場所には国語常用の標語を掲げること。◇挨拶など簡単な言葉は総て国語で対話することを申し合せて、積極的に国語常用を励行実践して来た。班員は教師への謝礼として毎月十銭宛を持ち寄り、また面事務所でも国語講習会場には灯油の優先配給を行い、また激励のため『国語の家』を指定して面民たちの範とするなど尊い努力を続けて来たのである。いまも続けられる国語錬成の過程を見ると、部落の共同作業所内に国語の夜学会が開かれている。

ここに集って来る者は記憶能力に応じて八歳から十五歳迄、十六歳から廿歳迄、丗一歳から五十五歳迄と三組に分れ、部落の青年で国語に精通した者が講師として懇切な指導に当っているのである。また一般家庭の婦人に対しては国民学校の卒業生、上級在校生等が必ず一日一語の徹底した教授をする。時々作業場に集合して”話方発表会”を催すほか、国民学校の児童と部落民との話はなるべく国語を使用させて一語でも早く、一語でも多く記憶させ、しかも慣熟させるように努力を払っている。

こうした国語常用の運動は部落を全面的に更生させ、今日では共同作業、男子は十四歳以上六十歳未満、女子は満十四歳以上廿五歳未満の未婚者に対して総皆労運動を展開、勤労報国隊を編成して好成績をあげている。貯蓄も大いに振っている。衛生思想も今日では大いに挙り、防犯にも協力今日一人の前科者もない村に築きあげ徴兵制に備え、真の皇民への巨歩を踏み出している麗しき愛国模範部落なのである。【写真＝国民校における婦人の夜間国語講習】

Why did many Koreans "voluntarily" enlist in the Imperial Japanese military during WWII? Partly due to ominous Japanese government edicts like this one in 1943 threatening Korean students with worse treatment under punitive conscription for missing the deadline to voluntarily enlist

 

On October 20, 1943, the government of Japan-occupied Korea selected certain groups of male students in Korea, like liberal arts college students, to be targets of recruitment into the Japanese military, and it gave these students one month to voluntarily enlist. One day before the deadline, 30% of those students still had not voluntarily enlisted, so this edict was published in the Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) newspaper in Seoul on November 19, 1943 to push the remaining students to enlist, threatening them with "special training" under punitive conscription, and spewing death cult propaganda calling on them not to want life and not to fear death, and to obey and martyr themselves for the Emperor. There are mentions in this edict of the Bougainville campaign, which ultimately ended in defeat for Japan. In September 1944, Japanese government did follow through on their threat to implement punitive conscription, but the war ended before these punitive conscripts had a chance to enter the battlefield.

(my translation)

November 19, 1943 Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo)

Choose one of two paths
Don't carry the shame of being an unpatriotic student
One day left until the day of destiny

Whether it be glory or shame, the day of destiny that will forever determine the lives of students in the Korean peninsula is only one day away.

On October 20, the great path to military service, which had shone so brightly in the 3,000-year history of Imperial Japan, was stunningly extended to the students of the Korean Peninsula, after the honor was bestowed on the students in Japan proper. The martyrdom of the nation and the devotion to loyalty that sprang up in the hearts and minds of the Korean peninsula's students finally coalesced into a fervent volunteerism. They closed their books, threw away their pens, and changed their school uniforms into military uniforms. The melancholy students of the nation rising up with determination to destroy the ugly enemy, the United States and Britain, numbered six hundred and ninety. The dignified appearance of the students of the Korean peninsula, clicking their heels as they passed through the glorious military gate in the crucible of patriotism that burned through the Korean peninsula, was truly reassuring and powerful.

However, according to the reports of volunteers received by the Japanese Korean army from various schools in Korea by 3 p.m. on the 17th, the number of volunteers was less than 70% of the total number of qualified applicants. Although I dare not doubt your enthusiasm, this is definitely not a figure to be proud of. We firmly believe that in the remaining one day, all the students on the peninsula will finish volunteering themselves, and that not a single person will be left out.

Students, Governor Koiso has given you words of encouragement: "The Governor is convinced that all you students will go into battle". What strong words of compassion and trust in you! But your conscience surely shall not allow you to betray the spirit of the nation, which is unparalleled in the 3,000-year history of Imperial Japan, as you have been studying to find the truth in your academies.

However, as the Governor has pointed out, if any of you dare not volunteer for this honorable request of the nation, you are nothing but "unrighteous fake students" and "ingrates" who should be spat upon. Do you have the courage to take this stigma in stride? Do you have the courage to accept this stigma, to be branded as fake students, to be thrown into the waste basket of society as ingrates, and still have hope to live in this world?

Will you unintentionally miss this opportunity and remain outside of the battlefield, or will you intentionally put yourself in the battlefield? How will this turn out?

Students, your schools are about to be shut down. No matter how much you try to stay in your ivory towers and devote your youthful passions to the pursuit of truth, remember first that the means to do so are about to be lost. The academies have already gone into battle in accordance with the demands of the nation. In addition, for those students who do not volunteer, there is already a big order being prepared for national conscription. Moreover, this conscription is not a general conscription, but rather a training conscription especially for those who lack the qualifications to become imperial subjects. Are you willing to be branded as non-imperial subjects for not going to war? Certainly not, you must certainly be imperial subjects. Is there anything more humiliating than being a male student who has to undergo special training to become an imperial subject?

You must reconsider and reflect. The drums of determination are now sounding from the front lines of the south seas. The sound of the guns off Bougainville Island has struck our ears, and the smoke of the gunpowder has filled our nostrils, urging us to make a great resolve to ceaselessly shoot. The triumphant songs of victory off the coast of Bougainville Island have brought 100 million of us to the summit of excitement. The world's ears were astonished, and a brilliant glow was released on the history of world warfare. But what is hidden behind this great victory?

Under the great sovereign, what do we see in the precious heroes who do not fear death, who do not want to live, but obey and become pillars of the nation's defense, martyring themselves for their country with loyalty and fidelity? Behold the brave fighting and good planning of our soldiers just singlemindedly shooting the enemy without ceasing. What is more, the enemy, undeterred by fatal damage and insolent in its iron strength, is still biting down on our strategic battle line, and is relentlessly repeating a total counterattack. Look at the vigorous war spirit of the frenzied enemy. Look at the enemy's boundless war potential. As a nation of 100 million people, who can fail to be inspired by this pathetically brutal battlefield?

Students, the decisive battle continues. At this time, at this moment, beyond the south seas, the bloody battle between our two countries is being repeated to the death. It is we, young men, who will follow the heroic spirits to the front lines of battle. We will brandish our swords and take our guns to pierce the enemy. There is no other way to describe the true spirit of Japanese men.

Students of the Korean peninsula, rise up now. The time has come for you to stand up against the enemy. The nation waits for you to rise up, and the people pray for your determination. The whole peninsula and the mountains and rivers are waiting for you.

Students, will you conquer and make the glory of the Korean peninsula, which is entrusted to you, shine even brighter? Or will you drop out of the line of fire and die in the shame of being a non-imperial subject? Choose one of two paths. The day of destiny is only one day away. Students, reflect! Students, reconsider!

(my transcription into modern Japanese orthography with punctuation marks modified and added for clarity)

Source: https://archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-11-19

Reddit Link: Why did many Koreans "voluntarily" enlist in the Imperial Japanese military during WWII? Partly due to ominous Japanese government edicts like this one in 1943 threatening Korean students with worse treatment under punitive conscription for missing the deadline to voluntarily enlist : korea (reddit.com)

昭和十八年十一月十九日　京城日報

途は二つにして一つ
非国民の恥を貽すな
運命の日はあと一日

栄光か、恥辱か、半島学徒の一生を永劫に決すべき運命の日はあと一日に迫った。

十月廿日、皇国三千年の歴史に燦として輝く兵への大道は、内地学徒への栄誉に引きつづき半島学徒の前にも豁然として拓けた爾来三旬。勃然として半島学徒の全身全霊に湧き立った殉国尽忠の至誠は遂に凝結して熱血の志願となり、書を閉じ、筆を捨て制服を戎衣に替えて、醜敵米英撃滅の決意に蹶然奮起せる憂国の学徒既に六百九十、なお全半島をあげてたぎる愛国の坩堝の中に栄えある兵門を潜らんとするもの踵を接せる戦う半島の凛然たる姿こそ、洵に頼母しくも力強き限りである。

然しながら、朝鮮軍が十七日午後三時まで接受した鮮内各学園からの志願者報告によれば、その志願者数は適格者の七割に満たざるという、敢えて諸君の熱量を疑うるものではないが、断じてこの数字は誇り得べき数字ではない。われらは残されたあと一日に、全半島学徒あげての志願を終了、一人の落伍者も出さざることを固く信じて疑わない。

諸君、小磯総督は何と諸君に激励の言葉を与えたが『総督は全学徒の出陣を確信する』と、何と諸君を信頼することの強き慈愛の言葉であろうが、学園にあって真理の探求に研鑽し、皇国三千年の歴史に万邦無比の国体の精華を裏切ることは諸君の良心が許さぬ筈である。

然り、総督の喝破指摘せる如く、若しこの光栄ある国家の要請に対して敢えて志願せざるものありとすれば、それは『非道義的偽学生』であり、唾棄すべき『忘恩の徒』にほかならぬのである。諸君はこの汚名を甘んじて享けんとする勇気があるか。偽学生としての烙印を捺され、忘恩の徒として社会の屑籠に放り込まれ、尚且現世に生きんとする希望を果して諸君は持つことができるか。

若し不用意にも、この好機を逸して銃後に残り、若くは故意に征かざらんとを欲して銃後の人たらんとするものありとすれば、この結果、果して如何。

諸君、諸君の学園は既に停止されんとしているのだ。諸君が如何に象牙の塔にたてこもり、真理の追求に若き情熱を傾けんとしても、その術はも早や失われんとしていることを先ず想え。学園そのものが既に国家の要請に従って決戦場裡に出陣しているのである。また、志願せざる学徒に対しては、国民徴用の大号令が既に用意されている。しかもその徴用は一般的の徴用ではない。皇国民としての資格なお足らざるものとしての錬成徴用である。諸君は征かずして、なお非皇国民としての烙印を捺されてよいのか。否、断じて諸君は皇国民であるはずだ。今にしてなお皇国民たり得る錬成を受けるー男子学徒としての恥辱これに過ぐるものがあろうか。

諸君再思三省せよ。決意を促す陣太鼓がいま南海の第一線より鳴り響いて来る。ブーゲンビル島沖の砲声はわれらの耳朶をうち、硝煙はわれらの鼻腔にむせんで、撃ちてし止まむの大決意を促して止まない、ブーゲンビル島沖に相次ぐ勝利の凱歌はわれら一億をして感激の頂上に押しあげ、世界の耳目を驚倒せしめ、赫々の光芒を世界戦史の上に放つ、然しこの大勝利の陰に何が秘められているであろうか。

大君の下、死を恐れず、生を欲せず、従容として護国の人柱となって散華する尊き英霊を何と見る誠忠殉国、ただ一念仇敵を撃たずば已まざるわが将兵の勇戦善謀を見よ。しかも、敵は致命の損害をも物ともせず、その鉄量を悖んで、なおもわが戦略線に喰い下り、執拗にも総反攻を繰返して来るではないか。狂える敵の旺盛なる戦意を見よ。もだゆる敵の無限の戦力を見よ。一億国民たる者、この凄愴苛烈なる戦局を前にして誰か感奮興起せざるものあらん。

諸君、決戦は続く。この時、この瞬間にも、南海の彼方には彼我の血戦死闘が繰り返されているのだ。今ぞ征かん決戦場へ、英霊につづき第一線将兵に従うものこそ、われら若人青年である。剣を翳し、銃を執って敵を刺す。日本男子の本懐これに過ぐるものはない。

半島学徒諸君。今こそ起きて。一億総蹶起の秋は来た。国家は諸君の蹶起を待ち、国民は諸君の決意を祈る。半島またこの山河をあげて諸君に待望する。

諸君、諸君は征きて諸君に託されたる半島の栄光を一段と光彩あらしめるか。戦列の外に脱落して、自ら非皇国民の恥辱に死するか。途は二つにして一つ、運命の日はあと一日、反省せよ学徒、三思せよ諸君！

Korean girls in a "women's volunteer corps" learn Japanese tea etiquette at a naval weaponry factory in Toyama Japan, June 1944

 

So this article shows an example of a Korean "women's volunteer corps" (joshiteishintai, 女子挺身隊), one of many that were organized by the Japanese military to extract more labor from Korean women. According to South Korean estimates, some 200,000 Korean women were recruited into the "women's volunteer corps", among whom 50,000 to 70,000 became comfort women. That means some 25% to 35% of the Korean women in the "women's volunteer corps" ended up as comfort women. That's a pretty shocking number. Let's remember that many of them were school age girls - the article itself describes them as children. So not only was it adult sex trafficking, it often was also child sex trafficking. The women covered in this article were working at a factory in Toyama, Japan, but they could have easily been shifted to any other type of work depending on the constantly changing immediate labor needs of the Japanese military.

Although the name of the factory in Toyama is redacted in this article, we now know that, from June 1944 onwards, some 1090 Korean women in the "women's volunteer corps" were brought to a factory in Toyama run by Nachi-Fujikoshi, a company which made naval weaponry during the war. At first, girls aged 17 to 20 years old were recruited at the Toyama factory, but then the age range was expanded to 13 years to 21 years old by January 1945. It's pretty likely that this article is describing the same factory. About 300 other Korean women in the corps were also sent to Nagoya to make Mitsubishi warplanes, about 100 were sent to Tokyo to a textile factory, the list goes on and on.

(my translation)

June 13, 1944 Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo)

Even etiquette is taught

Sufficiently prepared to accept women's volunteer corps

In Gyeongnam and Gyeongbuk, the women's volunteer corps have already been formed to go to Japan proper to fight for the urgent increase of production, and 200 women have been recruited in Seoul and Incheon. The head of the labor section of Seoul, Mr. Tamotsu, spoke about the application process.

"Joining the women's volunteer corps means directly participating in the holy war. Just because you're a woman doesn't mean you can sit back and relax in this time of crisis. Fortunately, there is a deep understanding of this point, and since the application process began, many applications have poured in, which is very encouraging. There is no need to worry about the living environment, health, hygiene, and morals at the host workplace, as it is fully equipped."

Mr. Kimura, General Manager of the Personnel Department at Toyama Prefecture's [redacted] Plant, who is hosting the volunteer women, said the following:

"We recently took a group from Gyeongbuk, and all of them were very enthusiastic about their work and their performance was very good. The factory is making every effort in all areas, including labor management, wages, and education. As for the labor corps from the peninsula, they are housed in dormitories according to their region of origin for the first six months until they become accustomed to life. There are no hygienic concerns since there are 12 or so people to a 20-tatami mat room, and there is ample food available. The factory takes every precaution to ensure that there are no omissions, as the children are very important to them. The dormitory mothers are women who understand the situation on the peninsula." (Photo: Maidens of the Gyeongbuk Volunteer Corps learning etiquette at the [redacted] Factory)

Source: https://archive.org/details/kjnp-1944-06-13

Reddit Link: Korean girls in a "women's volunteer corps" learn Japanese tea etiquette at a naval weaponry factory in Toyama Japan, June 1944 : korea (reddit.com)

(my transcription into modern Japanese orthography with punctuation marks added or modified for clarity)

昭和十九年六月十三日　京城日報

作法まで仕込む

女子挺身隊を受入れる用意充分

戦う半島乙女の自発的生産職場への進出により慶南、慶北では既に女子勤労挺身隊を編成して内地に赴き緊急増産へ血みどろの敢闘を続けているが、京城及び仁川でも二百名を募集、七月二日勇躍出発することになった。保京城府労務課長は応募に当り語る。

女子勤労隊に参加することは直接聖戦に参加することである。女子だからとて、この時局下に於いて安閑としてはいられないのだ。幸いに、この点につき深い理解を持ち応募開始以来申込みが多数殺到して非常に心強い。受入れ職場に於ける生活環境や保健衛生風紀等の施設が完備しているから、この点については何等心配する要はない。

なお受入側富山県〇〇工場人事部長木村氏は、

この前、慶北の隊員を連れて行ったが、これらの隊員たちは皆仕事に熱心で成績が非常に良い。工場側としては労務管理は勿論給料、教育等の各方面に亘って細心努力をしているし、半島の勤務隊に対しては生活に馴れるまで最初の約半年間は出身地域別に寮に収容している。部屋も廿畳部屋に十二人程度であるから衛生的に心配はなく、食糧も十分確保している。工場としては大切な子供を預かっているのだから粗漏のないよう万全の努力を払っている。寮母も半島の事情に理解ある婦人が指導に当たっている。【写真＝〇〇工場で礼儀作法を習う慶北挺身隊の乙女達】

Imperial Japan published propaganda science fiction during World War II - this story predicts that Japan will win the space race against the US and become the first nation to land a man on the moon and televise it to the whole world, much to the chagrin of the Allies

 

This article appeared in Keijo Nippo, the main newspaper of Japan-occupied Korea from 1905 to 1945. The author, Juzo Unno, is considered the founder of Japanese science fiction. This story predicts that Japan will win the space race against the US and become the first to land a man on the moon and televise it to the whole world.

Hakko Ichiu refers to the grandiose expansionist idea that the Japanese emperor has the divine mandate to extend his "benevolent" rule over the whole world.

(my translation)

April 22, 1944 Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo)

Palm Tree (203)

Juzo Unno (writer), Shojiro Murakami (artist)

The Great Circle (4)

"The spirit of Hakko Ichiu is the most precious thing in the world. Only by realizing this ideal will the human race of the earth be able to become the greatest victor and the greatest leader in the universe.

Therefore, any nation that does not understand the spirit of Hakko Ichiu, no matter how materially powerful or golden, will not be allowed to lead our world. The only people who can truly promise the safety of the global human race are those who are truly strong, who are burning with the belief of Hakko Ichiu and who will realize it. The anti-Axis camp will never be able to find such a suitable nation.

For this reason, spacecraft must be completed by our own hands. And we must lead the world and prevent attacks from other stars with all the power of the world."

This was the belief of Director Meguro.

As a result, the American spacecraft Freedom 1 crashed tragically in midair and fell from its seat as the pioneer of space exploration. Our spacecraft Fuji, under the general direction of Director Meguro, succeeded in a remarkable test flight. After that, preparations were made in earnest, and a month later, spacecraft Fuji departed from Earth in a very solemn manner, with one hundred and sixty crew members on board, including Director Meguro.

This time, there was no ridiculous commotion as in the case of Freedom 1. It was not because they had learned their lesson from Freedom 1, but rather because the news media had shown their antipathy towards the Axis side, and had adopted a policy of complete obliteration, refusing to report even a word or two about the fortitude of spacecraft Fuji.

They predicted that spacecraft Fuji would suffer the same disaster as Freedom 1, and at that time they intended to write and talk extensively in the newspapers and on the air about the outrageous fate of spacecraft Fuji's flight and its tragic end.

Unfortunately, however, spacecraft Fuji defied their expectations and continued to sail through space without a hitch.

On the day of its departure, it already reached the entrance of the stratosphere, and at noon the next day it broke through the stratosphere, and on the third day it conquered the ionosphere. Afterwards, it accelerated and, in one week, it had already reached the gravitational neutral point between the Earth and the Moon, which is a part of space that is fraught with danger. But it kept flying proudly without encountering any mishaps, steadily approaching the Moon. On the fifteenth day, spacecraft Fuji suddenly began to broadcast to the Earth an awesome sight showing a bird's eye view from the Moon.

While the Axis broadcasters began broadcasting this epoch-making television broadcast at once, the anti-Axis side tried to kill it off, but the listeners of the anti-Axis side fought to listen to the Axis broadcast. Not only did the spacecraft Fuji become popular all over the world, but the anti-Axis press also exploded with grievances against the Axis press all at once, and the anti-Axis press lost their minds. Not only that, some newspapers and stations broke away from their agreement with their colleagues and voluntarily transmitted spacecraft Fuji's Japanese language and television broadcasts, and the confusion and ugliness in their camp became a source of great amusement to the world. By the seeds they sowed, they had to reap the harvest of their deep sins.

Source: https://archive.org/details/kjnp-1944-04-22

Reddit Link: Imperial Japan published propaganda science fiction during World War II - this story predicts that Japan will win the space race against the US and become the first nation to land a man on the moon and televise it to the whole world, much to the chagrin of the Allies (translation in comments) : RetroFuturism (reddit.com)

(my transcription in modern Japanese orthography)

昭和十九年四月二十二日　京城日報

椰子（２０３）

海野十三（作）　村上松次郎（絵）

大団円　（四）

八紘一宇の精神こそ、まことに尊いかぎりである。この理想が実現せられてこそ、地球人類は始めて宇宙に於ける最大の勝利者ともなり、最高の指導者としても約束されるのである。

かかるが故に、八紘一宇の精神を理解出来ない国はいかなる物質的強国であっても黄金国であってもわが世界の指導は許されない。地球人類の安泰な真に約束できる者は、八紘一宇の信念に燃え、それを実現するところの真の強者のみである。反枢軸国家陣営に、かかる適任国家を絶対に発見し得ない。

それであるからして宇宙艇は、わが国の手で完成せねばならぬ。そして世界を指導し、世界の総力をあげて、他星からの攻撃を防遏せねばならぬ。

ーというのが、わが目黒所長の信念であった。

かくしてアメ研の宇宙艇第一自由号は悲惨なる空中粉砕をなして宇宙進空の先駆者たる席より転落し去った。そしてわが宇宙艇不二号は、目黒所長の総指揮の下に、目出たく試験飛行に成功した。それが終ると、本格的に準備がなされ、そして一ヶ月後に不二号は、目黒所長以下の乗組員百六十名が搭乗し、極めて厳粛にわが地球を出発したのだった。

こんどは、前の第一自由号のときのように、莫迦莫迦しい騒ぎは見られなかった。それは、第一自由号の場合に懲りたというよりも報道陣は反枢軸側としての反感を現わし、不二号の壮気を一言半句も報道せず、完全なる抹殺主義を執ったのであった。

そして今に不二号が、かの第一自由号と同じような惨事に見舞われることを予測し、そのときこそ新聞紙上に或いは放送で、大々的に不二号進空の暴挙たることと、その悲惨なる末路を書きたて喋りたてるつもりでいた。

ところが不二号は、気の毒にも彼等の期待を裏切り、悠々と宇宙を進航しつづけた。

出発の当日、早くも成層圏の入口に達し、翌日の正午には成層圏を突破し、三日には電離層をも征服し、それから速度をはやめ早くも一週間後には宇宙難所の一つである地球と月世界との引力の釣り合った平衝圏に達したが、これはまた堂々と飛翔して、何の事故を起すところもなかった。そして月世界は、わが不二号に刻々と接近し十五日目には突然不二号は月世界俯瞰の悽愴なる光景を始めてテレビジョンによって地球へ放送を始めたのである。

この画期的テレビジョン放送を枢軸国側の放送局では一斉に放送を始めたのに対し、反枢軸国側では飽くまで抹殺せんとしたところが、反枢軸国の聴取者たちは、枢軸国の放送を争って聴取し、ここに俄然として世界の人気がわが不二号の上に集まったばかりか、反枢軸国側の報道機関に対する不平が一度に爆発したので、彼等反枢軸国側の報道陣営は大味噌をつけてしまった。そればかりか、遂に仲間の申合せを破って、不二号の日本語放送とテレビジョン放送とを自ら進んで中継する新聞社や局が現れたので、彼等の陣営に於ける混乱ぶりと醜態とは、世界の大笑いの種となった。自ら蒔いた種によって、彼等はその深い罪による収穫を刈入ればならなかったのである。

By April 1944, there were 13 internment camps in Seoul for Japanizing Korean girls into wives for Japanese soldiers, with most of the girls enlisted for military labor, and instructional time cut from all day to just the afternoons (photo: Japanese language class at a camp in Jongno-gu, Seoul)

 

This article from April 1944 shows that this system of internment camps had expanded to at least 13 in Seoul housing a total of 650 internees. That is an increase from 2 camps housing a total of 520 internees as described in the February 1944 article (340 internees at Ewha, 180 internees at Sookmyung). But whereas the February 1944 article described pretty intense training 6 hours a day (3 hours in the morning, 3 hours in the afternoon), this article describes a shortened training schedule from 1:30 to 4 p.m. with an average of 2 hours a day. Perhaps the intense pace of training was unsustainable due to the escalating demands of war with labor, material, and food shortages, and physical labor took precedence over academic studies.

One word popped out at me when reading this article: 傭人 (yonin), which is hard to find an English equivalent word for, so I'll just call it "enlisted laborers" here. Many comfort women have been listed as yonin in Japanese military name rosters, as one paper notes. Back then, it was a word generally used to refer to a category of uneducated physical laborers working for the Japanese government or the Japanese military. In the context of the times, this probably means that most of the internees became physical laborers working directly under the Japanese military. That would have meant being eventually sent to Japan proper or some other destination depending on the immediate labor needs of the Japanese military.

(my translation)

April 21, 1944 Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo)

We're Also First Year Students

Women of the Peninsula who strive to become mothers of strong soldiers

"What is this, everyone?" "Yes, it's a cherry blossom." In response to the young female instructor's question, the young women of the peninsula, who were aiming to become the mothers of strong soldiers, chanted clearly and powerfully in the Japanese language, their voices echoing in the quiet classroom window and flowing into the sunny spring sky. The Seoul Provincial Women's Youth Training Centers, which are designed to improve the qualities of young women on the peninsula as imperial women in order to foster strong soldiers in preparation for the implementation of the glorious peninsular draft, opened on the 15th of last month at 13 locations in the province, accommodating 650 young women of appropriate age. From 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. every day, they are taking Japanese language class and other subjects with the passion of peninsular women in imperial training who are engaged in the fight.

On the 20th, we took a look at the students and instructors of Jaedong Women's Youth Training Center in Jongno District, Seoul who were united as one in passionate training. The attendance rate was nearly 90%, and most of the 40 students were enlisted laborers. Director Terada of the center, the main instructors, and assistant instructors who graduated from the Ewha Women's Youth Training Center this spring are teaching the four subjects: Japanese language, training in traditional Japanese customs, household work, and professional work. Although the Ewha Women's Training Center has just opened and does not have the prescribed training books, the students who attend the classes are doing their best as new first-year students of the National School. The training period is an average of two hours a day for one year. Photo: Class at Jaedong Women's Training Center

(my transcription into modern Japanese orthography)

昭和十九年四月二十一日　京城日報

私達も一年生

健兵の母へ張切る半島女性

”皆さん、これは何ですか””はい、桜の花です”

若い女子指導員の質問に答えて、雄々しき健兵の母を目ざす半島女性青年達が明確な国語で力強く唱和する声が静かな教室の窓に響いて陽春の空に流れる。光輝ある半島徴兵実施に備えて強兵を育成する半島女子青年の皇国女性としての資質を向上させる京城府内女子青年錬成所は去る十五日から適齢女子青年六百五十名を収容して府内十三ヶ所一斉に開所。毎日午後一時半から四時まで国語教育をはじめ、火の出るような皇民錬成に戦う半島女性の迸る熱を傾けて授業を始めている。廿日鐘路区斎洞女子青年錬成所の指導員生徒一体となっての熱心な錬成ぶりを覗けば、生徒の出席率九割近くで四十名の生徒は大半傭人達、寺田所長と今春梨花女子青年錬成所指導員養成科を巣立った本、副指導員が国語、修練、家事、職業の四科目を指導している。また開所したばかりで所定の錬成読本も揃わないが授業を受ける生徒たちはすっかり国民学校一年生になり切って一生懸命の錬成である。錬成期間は一日平均二時間一ヶ年間である。【写真＝斎洞女子錬成所の授業】

Source: https://archive.org/details/kjnp-1944-04-21

Reddit Link: By April 1944, there were 13 internment camps in Seoul for Japanizing Korean girls into wives for Japanese soldiers, with most of the girls enlisted for military labor, and instructional time cut from all day to just the afternoons (photo: Japanese language class at a camp in Jongno-gu, Seoul) : korea (reddit.com)

In 1944, the Japanese govt built internment camps in Korea to intensively train young Korean school girls in Japanese ways and turn them into assimilated mothers and wives of Japanese soldiers (top photo: Ewha students in training; bottom photo: Sookmyung students teaching Japanese to local women)

 

TL;DR: In February 1944, the Japanese fascist government announced their plans to build internment camps all over Korea to intensively brainwash young Koreans girls of marriageable age and turn them into "good imperial Japanese mothers and spouses" of returning Japanese soldiers, so that they would make good imperial Japanese babies and help thoroughly assimilate Korea into Japan. It's not clear from my reading how much of this plan they actually managed to accomplish, but apparently they had already started with the poor students from Ewha and Sookmyung Girls High Schools in Seoul.

Now, it will be noted that the baby making was presumably to begin after Japan beat everyone in the war, so that the victorious Japanese soldiers could then return to Korea to start families with the assimilated Korean girls who were thoroughly Japanized in those internment camps. But as we all know, Japan lost the war, so this grand plan could not be fully carried out.

(my translation)

February 10, 1944 Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo)

Photo: (Top) students training at Ewha Girls Specialized School (Bottom) students at Sookmyung Girls Specialized School teaching a Japanese language class

To be a good mother and a good wife

A gate of training for women of the right age

April 1st

The long-awaited conscription system on the peninsula of 25 million will be implemented this year to conduct the first round of conscription, and some of the peninsula's young men will have the honor of going to the front lines. In two years, national compulsory school education will be implemented. However, compared to these men who are growing fast, what is the current status of women on the peninsula? Are they qualified to be good mothers and spouses to the men who are discharged from the Imperial military? For this reason, the Governor-General's Office of Korea took temporary emergency measures to set up "Women's Youth Training Centers" in each of the provinces, eups, and myeons of Korea from April 1st of this year, and to provide educational training to improve the quality of Japanese imperial women.

Established at last

The Governor-General's Office has made it the ultimate ideal that "there should be no uneducated households in any eup, and no uneducated people in any household". Interned in these Women's Youth Training Centers are young women of marriageable age who are burning with the desire to learn, as well as those who have been delinquent with their learning at national schools in the past. The main focus of the program is to provide them with the day-to-day knowledge of the Japanese language necessary for Japanese imperial women, to clarify the concept of Japanese national identity, and to give them the ability and understanding of agricultural work and other occupations. From the standpoint of strengthening the war effort, it is clear that, when sending husbands and children to the industrial front, if mothers and housewives are not filled with a sense of Japanese national consciousness, they will face obstacles in fulfilling a decisive production line. In the old Man'yoshu literature, it is said that there is sin on the lips of certain women, and there is a woman behind every crime. Thus, as it is said that women generally cause men to make mistakes, we cannot afford to have such things happen at war in the face of gunfire. The training and development of women is now an urgent matter. Those who may enter the Women's Youth Training Centers are 16 years and younger, and have not yet completed the primary level of national school. However, if there is room in the training center, those over 16 years old can also enter. The training centers placed in the provinces, eups, and myeons will be in public and national schools, but setting up training centers at private schools will also be permitted. They will be managed by a director and full-time or part-time instructors, and will have capacity for about 50 people.

The training will start in April every year, and the duration of the training will be about one year, with more than 600 hours of training. Thes tuition will be 50 sen per month. The subjects of training will include training in Japanese traditional customs, Japanese language, household work, professional work, as well as agricultural work, which will impart knowledge and expertise required to increase productivity.

Intense Training at Ewha and Sookmyung Girls Specialized Schools

In view of the promulgation of the regulations of the Korean Women's Youth Training Centers, the Women's Youth Training Centers will finally be inaugurated on April 1st in all regions of Korea, to be fully implemented by the year after next. In conjunction with the implementation of compulsory education, this measure to address the lack of Japanese national education for women and girls on the peninsula will lead to a dramatic improvement in the culture and industry of the peninsula in the future, and even if the training period is only one year, the results should be worth waiting for. On the other hand, at the newly established centers at Ewha and Sookmyung Women's Specialized Schools, the training center instructors themselves are training hard with a pioneering spirit before graduating in March. They have given up the faint dreams that they had when they first entered the schools, and they are striving to improve their qualities to eventually become leaders of the training schools. We will now take a peek into both schools.

Becoming a Strong and Resilient Woman

Ewha Girls Specialized School, a school of learning that advances towards practical application

[Ewha Women's Youth Training Center Instructor Training Course]

Of the initial 450 students, 340 students were admitted to the school, excluding those who were unable to make it due to unavoidable family reasons. All of them were settled in the dormitory and began their training. The only things that reminded them of their former sentimental life as female students were their school uniforms, but even those were now replaced by monpe trousers as women's work uniforms. The whole school was filled with the spirit of fostering "mothers of a strong militarized peninsula". The dormitory used to accommodate two people per room, but now it accommodates four people per room. They wake up at 6:00 a.m., have breakfast at 7:30 a.m., and start their morning training at 9:00 a.m. They do physical training for about 30 minutes. Then three hours of training in the morning and three hours of training in the afternoon, after lectures end at 5:00 p.m., dinner at 6:00 p.m., night training at the dormitory from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., reflection time to fill out diaries, etc., and going to bed at 10:00 p.m. to complete the day's activities.

The seven subjects are moral education (three hours), Japanese language (three hours), home economics (six hours), practical work (nine hours), national defense (six hours), physical training (three hours), and performing arts (three hours), for a total of thirty-six hours of lecture per week. Aside from these subjects, discretionary authority is given to the instructors to give lectures on topics outside of school, adapting to circumstances as necessary. In addition to this, etiquette and manners are taught in the dormitory room, and music, drawing, and other performing arts are taught in a way that is in line with practical application. Women from the farming villages have become familiar with the piano keys struck by students enraptured by Chopin's music, the music flowing happily from the quiet school changing into some soft popular music. Although the school building is still the same as in the past, the spirit of the students is much stronger, and with the growing peninsula on their backs, the music of the "Kenmin Kenbei" (healthy people and healthy soldiers) is now ringing out in the forest of Yanxi.

Focus on Japanese Language Education

Practical training for women on the peninsula, Sookmyung Girls Specialized School

[Sookmyung Women's Youth Training Center Instructor Training Course]

The school, which has been reborn to strengthen its war potential, has given up all past education in favor of a 100-million-strong fighting force. 180 students are currently working together under the leadership of Principal Oda to devote their hearts and souls to the education of the Training and Development Department, excited by the great hope and responsibility of training instructors to nurture the mothers of all soldiers. At 9:00 a.m., the principal, staff, and all students gather in the schoolyard for the morning assembly. This morning assembly is different from past morning assemblies, for it is a time of rigorous training to ensure that the core words of the training instructor are followed. After worshipping at Miyagi Shrine and Ise Shrine, the national rituals are performed. After the rituals, everyone valiantly recites the "Oath of the Training Instructor". The vow is as follows. "With words of the three thoughts of reflection, I will return to my true form as a woman of the Japanese Empire, and in my awakened state, I firmly vow to use that true form to mold uneducated young women of the peninsula into wise mothers of strong soldiers".

After the morning assembly, they move on to physical training and then immediately enter into academic studies, for which students are divided into groups of fifty. The seven subjects are moral education, Japanese language, home economics, practical work, national defense, physical training, and performing arts. The teachers are the current professors at the school. Among these subjects, special emphasis is placed on Japanese language. In order to apply the students' Japanese language education not only in the classroom but also in the real world, about 40 women from the town council near the school who have no understanding of the Japanese language are gathered at the school, where the students assume the role of teachers every day from 1 to 3 p.m. to give practical instruction to these women on the Japanese language, sharpening their skills as instructors.

Day-care Centers also in the Fight

Commendation for excellent day-care centers on the occasion of Japanese Empire Day.

A command has been issued to conduct a "full frontal attack at work", calling upon women to move into the workplace in industrial departments. In response to this, the nursery takes care of the children of women industrial warriors who devote themselves to the enhancement of production, and allows them to work in peace, boosting their labor power and playing an important role in the protection and fostering young Japanese people who will bear the responsibility of the next generation of Japan. The National Federation of Korean Industries awards the following commendations to the following day-care centers in Gyeonggi-do with excellent performance on the occasion of Japanese Empire Day.

(my transcription into modern Japanese orthography, with punctuation marks added or modified for clarity)

昭和十九年二月十日　京城日報

【写真＝（上）梨花女専生徒の錬成ぶり　（下）淑明女専の国語講習会】

よき母をよき妻を

適齢女性へ錬成の門

四月一日

半島二千五百万待望の徴兵制も今年第一回の徴兵を行い、半島青年の一部は戦列へ馳せ参ずる光栄に浴する。また明後年からは国民学校義務教育も実施されることになり、半島多年の熱鍛は達成されてゆくがこれら長足に伸びる男子に比し、半島女性の現況はどうか。今度皇軍の一員となった男子が除隊して来た場合、その良き配偶者となり母べき資格があるか否か。ここに於いて総督府は陽春四月一日から全鮮各府邑面に「女性青年錬成所」を設置、皇国女性としての資質向上を図るため教養訓練を行う臨時緊急措置をとった。

愈々設置

総督府は「邑に不学の家なく、家に不学の人なからしむる」ことを終局の理想としているのであるが、この度の女子青年錬成所には過去に国民学校で学ばないことを侮ると共に、学ばんとする意欲に燃えている結婚適齢期にある女子青年を収容し、皇国女性として必要なる日常の国語知識を授け、国体観念を明かにすることを主眼とし、農事その他職業に対する理解と能力を持たせることに重点を置いているのである。戦力増強の面からみても夫をわが子を産業戦線に送る際、母たり主婦たるものが国家意識に燃えていなくては、果敢なる生産線の完遂に障害を来すことは明かである。昔の万葉ではある紅唇罪あり、咸は犯罪の裏に女ありとかいう、男子を誤らせるのは概ね女性であるという、戦う銃後にこんなことがあってはならぬのだ。今こそ女性の修養錬成は焦眉の急である。女性青年錬成所に入所し得るものは満十六歳で国民学校初等科を修了していないものであるが、錬成所に余裕ある場合は十六歳を超ゆるものも入所出来るのである。錬成所は府邑面に配置するものは公立として国民学校に付設するのであるが、私立女性青年錬成所も認められている。所長及び専任指導員又は兼務指導員をもって経営し、五十人内外を収容する予定である。

錬成の項目は修練、国語、家事及び職業と共に農業に関する知識技能を得しめ、生産増強に資するもので、毎年四月に錬成を開始し、その期間は概ね一ヶ年とし、六百時間以上の錬成を行うのであるが、授業料は一ヶ月五十銭である。

梨花、淑明両女専の猛訓練

朝鮮女子青年錬成所規定の公布を見て愈々四月一日を期し全鮮津々浦々には女子青年錬成所が力強く発足する、明後年より実施する。義務教育の実施と相俟って、半島婦女子の国民教育不浸透分野に対する今回の措置は今後の半島文化、産業の飛躍的向上を契機つけるものであり、僅か一ヶ年間の錬成期間であっても、その成果は期して待つべきものがある。一方これら錬成所指導員は？？新発足した梨花、淑明両女子専門学校で、開拓者的な意気込みで三月の卒業を前に猛訓練を積んでいるが、入学当初の淡い乙女の夢を擲って錬成所指導者としての全き資質練磨に邁進しているが、両指導員養成所を覗く。

強く逞しき女性へ

梨花女専、実践へ進む学びの園

【梨花女専女子青年錬成所指導員養成科】

従前の四百五十名の生徒の中、真にやむを得ない家庭的事情で、転じ得ない者を除いた三百四十名が揃って入所した。入所全員は洩れなく寄宿舎に入り、訓練生活に突入した。感傷的な女学生生活を偲ぶものは僅か制服のみとなったが、それすらいまはモンペの錬民服となり、”強い軍国半島の母”育成の気興進全学園にみなぎっている。寄宿舎は一室二人宛宿泊していたが、いまは四人宛で午前六時起床、同七時半朝食、同九時から朝の訓練を開始、約三十分間朔風を衝いてエッサエッサと体操訓練を行う。それから午前、午後三時間宛の学科錬成、午後五時講義を終えて同六時夕食、同七時から九時まで寮で夜間錬成を行い、それから反省時間で日記等を記入、同十時就寝、一日の行事を終える。

科目は道義（三時間）、国語（三時間）、家政（六時間）、実業（九時間）、国防（六時間）、体錬（三時間）、芸能（三時間）の七科目、一週三十六時間の講義時間数である。科外として校外より各方面の権威を講師に時局に即応した講義が行われる。この外礼儀作法が寮の一室で行われ、音楽、図画等の芸能課目は専ら実務に添うた方向に導いているかってショパンの曲に陶然となった生徒の叩くピアノのキーは農村の女性にも親しみ易い歌謡曲に変わって静かな学園から楽しく流れる。かくして校舎は昔のままの梨専ではあるが、学ぶ生徒の気構えは遥かに力強く、伸び上る半島を背負っていまや延嬉の杜は健民健兵譜が高鳴っている。

国語に重点

半島婦人に実習　淑明女専

【淑明女専青年錬成所指導員養成科】

一億戦闘配置の息吹きに過去の教育を一切擲って、戦力増強の一途に新生したこの学園は、現在百八十名の生徒が小田校長のもとに一丸となって逞しき万兵の母を育む錬成指導員の大きな希望と責務に胸を躍らせて錬成養成科の教育に精魂を打ち込んでいる。午前九時校長、職員を初め全生徒は校庭に集合、朝礼を行う。この朝礼も従来実施していたものとは違って、錬成指導員の本文に徹せんがために行う厳格な錬成の一刻である。宮城遥拝、伊勢の神宮遥拝をしたのち、国民儀礼を行い、終って全員は凛然と「錬成指導員の誓いの言葉」を朗誦する。その誓いは「己が皇国女性としての本然の姿に還るべき反省三思の言葉ともなり、その目ざめた本然の姿で無教育の半島女子青年をして強兵の賢母たらしめんとする峻烈な誓いである」。

それより体操に移って朝礼を終り、直ちに学科に入る。学科は五十名宛に分けて行う。科目も錬成に重点を置いたもので道義、国語、家政、実業、国防、体操、芸能の七科目で先生は現在の教授達が受待っている。この中で国語教育を特に重視して、生徒の国語教育を教室だけのものでなくして、実地に生かそうと、同校附近の町会から国語未解の婦人を約四十名学校に集め、毎日午後一時から三時まで生徒が先生となって国語講習の実習を実施、錬成指導としての素地を練磨している。

戦う幼児の園

紀元節に優良託児所を表彰

「いざ、我らの職場に総突撃だ」とあらゆる生産部門に婦人の職場進出の号令がくだされているが、これに応えて生産増強に挺身する婦人産業戦士の子供を預かり、安んじて就業させると共に、その勤労力を昂め、次代の日本を背負って起つ少国民の保護育成に大きな役割を果たしている託児所の成績優良なものにたいして、国民総力朝鮮聯盟では十一日紀元の佳節にあたり表彰する、京畿道内における被表彰託児所は次の通りである。

Source: 京城日報 1944-02-10 : 京城日報社 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Reddit Link: In 1944, the Japanese govt built internment camps in Korea to intensively train young Korean school girls in Japanese ways and turn them into assimilated mothers and wives of Japanese soldiers (top photo: Ewha students in training; bottom photo: Sookmyung students teaching Japanese to local women) : korea (reddit.com)

On October 10, 1938, the US women's amateur softball team arrived in Korea as part of their 4-month-long 1938 Pacific goodwill tour, introducing modern women's softball to Korea for the first time

 

According to other sources online, this was a four-month-long 1938 Pacific tour by the US women's softball team organized by sports promoter Marty Fiedler (links below). This was one year before the Commercial Treaty between USA and Japan was terminated in 1939, ending all US goodwill tours to Japan until they were restarted after the war. There was a mundane article immediately below the photo which I did not include, since it mostly explained the rules of softball, but it did add some more tidbits of info: the average age of the team was 17, they were amateurs, and it was the first time that women's softball was ever demonstrated in Japan. So I think it's safe to assume that, by extension, this was the first time that the sport was introduced to Korea.

(my partial translation - part of the caption　on the lower right corner was really smudged and pretty illegible, so I skipped it. My wild guess is that it says "in order to relieve tensions with wartime Japan...")

October 9, 1938 Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Ilbo)

A softball team of beautiful women arrives in Korea

A delegation of 51 members of the American Women's Tourist Softball Team is to arrive in Korea on the 10th on the Chichibu Maru vessel, which entered Yokohama, to promote friendship between Japan and the United States through sports. (photograph: the same team)

(my partial transcription - part of the caption on the lower right corner was really smudged and pretty illegible, so I skipped it)

昭和十三年十月九日　京城日報

来朝の美人野球団

スポーツによる日米親善を行おうというアメリカ女子観光野球球団一行五十一名は十日横浜入港の秩父丸で来朝する。【写真＝同チーム】

Sources:

https://archive.org/details/kjnp-1938-10-09

https://books.google.com/books?id=MiSLDgAAQBAJ&lpg=PA242&ots=KNGTprFcmn&dq=women's%20softball%20team%20japan%20visit%20%221938%22&pg=PA242#v=onepage&q=women's%20softball%20team%20japan%20visit%20%221938%22&f=false

https://www.wbsc.org/history-softball-origin

Reddit Link: On this day 83 years ago, the US women's amateur softball team arrived in Korea as part of their 4-month-long 1938 Pacific goodwill tour, introducing modern women's softball to Korea for the first time : korea (reddit.com)