Week 4&5
Week 4
What do you think prompted so many Koreans into direct action against Japanese colonial rule? How much of it do you think was the language of the March 1, 1919 Declaration of Independence, and how much were other factors that Shin mentions? Answer this question by thinking about what might prompt you into actions at some moments and not at others. Have you ever felt compelled to act in ways that surprised you?
By combining the reading and what I learned in HIEA 115, the Koreans fought against Japanese colonial rule so much due the pressure the Japanese had put on them. One of the most important aspect is how the Japanese, through the use of a survey they put out, essentially “altered” the Korean culture into a culture more biased toward the Japanese ideal. As Japan ruled over Korea and Taiwan mainly to show off the power of the Japanese Empire and to create revenue from the two lands, the Japanese somewhat “reconstructed” Korea’s legal system, which may have caused discontent in the Koreans. Continuing the thought on the Declaration of Independence. From the language used in the declaration, it’s not hard to imply the Japanese’s sense of superiority over anyone else and how they treated people from the colonized lands as inferior citizens, which, in any era, would incite rage and actions.
Week 5
Why do you think Kawashima insists on focusing on the suppression of Korean workers in Japan by the Soaikai, a Korean welfare organization in his piece? What questions does his analysis raise about the way we might think about both the Taki Seihi strike and the love story between Mr. Kim and Matsuo Shina discussed in the lecture? What are ways that you might think about their relationship beyond the its representation as an inter-racial love story as stated in the newspaper account?
In my view, the function of the Soaikai is vey similar to how back in the days, US plantation/slave owners refrain the slaves from learning/interacting with one another just so they could not come together to plan anything against their owners. Here, by reinforcing the Soaikai and suppressing Korean workers, the Japanese can continue its hold on the Koreans, using them as tools to benefit the Japanese economy. Furthermore, the Soaikai members act like teachers/trainers to control the Korean’s thinking and work to prevent the forming of any Korean organizations that could cause harm. And regarding the relationship between Mr. Kim and Matsuo Shina, in almost any countries with discrimination present, such as the US and South Africa in the past, inter-racial relationship were looked down upon and sometimes were even considered a crime. But when we put aside the racial aspect of the relationship, we can see some hints in their choice to move from Korea to Japan. Japanese women, as a result of the laws in Japan then, were often more passive and more submissive to the husband, and Korean men, on the other hand, were often more dominating. Judging from their choice to fled to Japan, one can easily tell that the conditions in Korea had became so poor to drive people out of the place.
