The Business Travels of Chosen Government General Postal Bureaus’ officials Covering Europe, America

The Chosen Government General postal bureau[朝鮮總督府遞信局] dispatched 19 officials to the United States and Europe from 1914 to 1937 to collect data and improve the expertise of officials. Thirteen administrative officials and six technical officials were dispatched. The dispatch of technical officials was concentrated in the 1920s. Their average dispatch period was 10 months. Technical officials were dispatched longer than administrative officials. All of them were high-ranking officials, and the majority of them were graduates of Tokyo Imperial University. Most of the administrative officials were transferred to Japan after returning Chosen. But most technical officials stayed and continued to work even after returning to Chosen. The main inspection subjects of administrative officials were postal, savings, and insurance projects. In the 1930s, they mainly inspected the current status of insurance businesses of Europe, U.S. and collected practice data. In the case of technical officials, wireless communication technology and hydroelectricity were key topics of inspection investigation. The subjects of these officials’ investigations were closely related to the current issues of the Chosen Government General postal bureau. In the 1920s, technical officials were dispatched to solve the problem of power supply and expansion of wireless networks. In the 1930s, a number of administrative officials were dispatched to obtain the datas of the postal life insurance[簡易生命保險] business that began in 1929 and to ensure justification for the expansion of the business. European and U.S. inspection activities supported the projects and policies pursued by postal bureau, and were used to establish and maintain a stable japanese colonial rule.