초록 열기/닫기 버튼
This paper seeks to cast light on the assimilation practices of the Japanese Government-General of Korea by examining its education policy in the 1910s. The Government-General of Korea carried out education aimed at molding Koreans into subjects of Japan, requiring them to be loyal and obedient to the emperor. The education policy unfolded under the logic that “Koreans should swear allegiance to the emperor, the supreme ruler of the Japanese empire, since Korea is part of Japan.” However, the Government-General of Korea did not base its policy on the theory of viewing Korea and Japan as originating from the same root nor defined loyalty to the emperor as a characteristic of the Japanese. The Government-General of Korea intended to inculcate consciousness of imperial subjects into Koreans while allowing them to preserve their national characteristics because that also served as a premise for discrimination. In addition, the Government-General of Korea attempted to form consciousness of imperial subjects in Koreans by fostering smooth communication between the two peoples by spreading Japanese language and by using educational materials intended for the conversion of Koreans into imperial subjects or materials that would induce them to “imagine” Korea and Japan as one entity bound by a common destiny. However, the Government-General of Korea did not make a direct connection between Japanese language and the national spirit of Japan, nor aimed to convert Koreans into Japanese by means of Japanese language education. In Botong Schools (primary schools) there were some Japanese teachers who regarded loyalty to their emperor as one of the Japanese characteristics. They either abandoned the idea of conducting the education targeted at converting Koreans, ethnically different from the Japanese, into imperial subjects or turned the former into the latter through a radical implementation of such education. Yamaguchi Kiichiro, a leader in the education field of the Japanese language learning campaign, launched efforts to make Koreans become Japanese by emphasizing a direct connection between Japanese language and the national spirit of Japan. Still, the Government-General of Korea adhered to its position.
키워드열기/닫기 버튼
assimilation, imperial subjects conversion education, Japanese language education, Government-General of Korea, Botong School teacher
