History forum: Dark History of Imperial Japan over Korea

Dark History Of Imperial Japs Over Korea!
February 20 2005 at 4:33 AM
No score for this post

Anonymous (Login Dragon369)
UNDERGROUND TRIADS

- To show how the Imperial Japs have sensor and subpressed the Korean during their brutal rules over Korea! The following articles talks about how Korean books are being banned by the Japs! How Korean suffered undered the barbaric Japs!

There Is No Knowledge That Is No Power,
Therefore One Man's Information Is Another Man's Propaganda.
Ancient Chinese Proverb

Seen here is a picture of a book
on one of Communist leaders Vladimir
Lenin. Communist writings were often
banned during the 1910-1945 period
when Korea was colonized by Japan.

Seen here is a picture of "Hankuktongsa,"
one of Korean books that was banned
in 1910-1945 period in Korea when
the country was under Japanese rule.

Banned Books from Past Shed Light on Korea's History

2005/02/18 09:58 KST
By Kim Joo-young
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap)

-- Some people may think history books are the best source for learning about the past, but visitors to an exhibit at the Samseong Museum of Publishing may feel differently.

The museum, located in Gugidong in Seoul, is staging an event to display books that were banned in Korea decades ago.

Scores of the books, many of them worn at the edges by time, are being displayed at the museum until March 31 for visitors interested in taking a peek into Korea's past.

"We have staged the event as we thought the banned books could give people a chance to look at a unique side of our history," said Kim Jong-gyu, the head of the museum. "Most of the books were banned during the 1910-1945 period when Korea was colonized by Japan."

Japan, in an ambitious move to expand into Korea, China and other Northeast Asian nations, invaded and controlled the Korean peninsula with an iron fist from 1910 to 1945. For many Koreans, the three-decade period meant suffering from hard labor, and often, giving up their own words and publications as colonial Japan wanted to transform Korea into a subordinate part of their nation.

Rows of books displayed in the exhibition, named "Rediscovered Korean Books," demonstrate what it would have been like for writers and publishers during the colonial period.

"In those days, all books and publications had to receive permission from Japan's colonial police authorities prior to publication," said Shin Susie, an assistant curator at the museum.

Writing things that did not conform to the Japanese government's beliefs meant the writer could be questioned by police for days and possibly punished.

A look at the texts on display shows how indiscriminate the colonial censor's touch was, how every literary genre was subjected to the occupiers' careful gaze.

Whether they were history books, philosophical books, novels or poetry, almost every type of book was subjected to the censors. The colonial government even found fault with magazines, written sheet music and bibles.

A book's content was no more important than its style of writing in terms of permission for printing. An oblique reference to an overthrow of the occupier, or too much dwelling on Korean history, were often all that was need for a text to be removed from the shelves. Needless to say, stories of war heroes or ancient Korean kings irked the police authorities.

Such books on display include ones about Yi Sun-shin, a famous Korean admiral who successfully repelled Japanese naval invasions in a number of large battles in 1592-1598 during the Joseon Dynasty.

Books such as "Revered Hero: Yi Sun-shin" written by Korean scholar Lee Yun-jai, and "Chungmugongjun," which include a drawing of the innovative armored "turtle ship" that proved to be a menace to the Japanese fleet, can now be seen at the exhibition.

Other history books subjected to the ban were "Hankuktongsa," a history book written by Park Eun-shik, a scholar in Korean traditions and history, that described Korea's early endeavors to modernize, such as the 1884 "Gapshinjungbyun" movement led by aristocrats to import Western culture and transform Korea into a modern nation.

While one may question the decisions by the colonial authorities on some of the banned texts, seen from the occupiers' perspective, others are quite easy to comprehend. Take for instance "Three Founding Heroes of Italy" by Korean historian Shin Chae-ho. A Korean translation of a book written by a Chinese historian, it tells the tale of famous Italians such as Giuseppe Garibaldi, who led fighting for a unified Italian Peninsula in late 19th century. A book about French-ruled Vietnam, called "Wolnam Mangguksa," was also banned.

"Such history books show how desperate Korean people were to find out about their place in the world despite Japan's rule," said Kim at the museum, adding that the overbearing nature of Japan's colonial state ironically helped fuel the desire.

Books bearing socialist ideas were also well off-limits. Colonial police authorities were fearful socialism would stir revolt among the Korean people and introduced bans on socialist texts from the 1920s. Translations and writings of leading Socialists such as Marx, Engels and Lenin are included in the exhibition.

Communism and Nationalism were not the only victims of the Japanese censors. The colonial regime, becoming increasingly unnerved in 1940s due to outside pressures, resorted to stricter bans on Korean publications, including novels and poety.

Works such as "Travel to the Soviet Union," written by a novelist Lee Tae-jun, and "Baekrokdam," a poem collection that symbolically detailed the poet Chung Ji-yong's climb of Mount Halla on the southern island of Jeju, were all banned.

Magazines were no exception. From 1937, magazine publishers had to include a pledge of allegiance to the Japanese emperor at the beginning of their publications. Banned art and literary magazines, as well as sheet music by famous Korean composers such as Hyun Je-myung, are also on display at the museum.

"People who visit the exhibition are often amazed at the range and variety of the books banned," said Shin, adding that many visitors are surprised to see that even certain magazines and sheet music were not allowed to be published.

"For young and old generations alike, the exhibition provides an experience to look into another part of Korea's unique history."

http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20050218/301900000020050218095842E7.html