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Joseon and Her Perception of the Reality of Taiwan in the Japanese Colonial Period through Inspection

Han, GilRo 1

1동국대학교

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ABSTRACT

The major place for inspection (sightseeing) for Joseon people in the Japanese Colonial Era was ‘The mainland, Japan’. Parties joining in inspection visits focused on strong ties with Japan and felt a sense of belonging for ‘Japanese things’ rather than ‘Korean things.’ While touring, they discovered Japan and became imprinted with the power and status of Japan. In 1920, a new place of inspection emerged which was ‘Colonized Taiwan.’ To show off the colonization model of Japan that was Taiwan both locally and internationally, the Japanese Government General of Taiwan held a fair to celebrate the 20th anniversary of administration in 1916. With this event, the Koreans began to inspect Taiwan in earnest. In the cultural governance era, the inspectorate consisted of Japanese senior government officers and some Koreans who cooperated with them. The top officers in the Japanese Government General reviewed the performances of Taiwan critically, which was 15 years ahead of Joseon, and examined the feasibility of colonization in Joseon based on these accomplishments. They checked the superiority of the colonized countries and tried to find methods of management in the Colonial Era, to seek ways of smoothly assimilating the Koreans into Japan. On the other hand, the Koreans in the inspection team had similar identities with the Japanese but they were eager to be Japanized more than anyone else. In addition, they compared the fulfillment of Taiwan with Korean’s deficiency and inferiority, and stressed that the Joseon which lagged behind had to learn from Taiwan. They considered that ‘their tradition’ was the reason of the absence of the Japanese cultures that Taiwan had, and agreed with assimilation and enlightenment. In their inspection reports, the official and personal reviews were mixed. In writing reports, the Japanese concentrated on the assimilation of the colonized countries and Japanese imperialism represented by ‘the Mainland Extension Policy’. On the contrary, Korean inspectors tried to stress the importance of Japanese ruling for modern enlightenment as well as the appropriateness of assimilation, ‘expression of cooperation’ and ‘logics of self-denial’. For Japan, both Korea and Taiwan were ‘the incomplete examples of colonization’ and the places where the experiences in each country could be shared to expand Japanese imperialism.

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