Industrial Exhibitions('Gongjinhoe') and the Political Propaganda of Japanese Imperialism in the 1910s
Journal Title: International Journal of Korean History - Year 2002, Vol 3, Issue 1
Abstract
Unlike the 1920’s which was known as the period of cultural rule, the ruling philosophy of the Japanese in Korea in the 1910s is referred to as the period of military rule1, a reference to the system of military police through which the Governor‐General of Chosŏn at the time, an incumbent solider, suppressed the public. However, in addition to its suppression efforts during this period Japan also concentrated on the spread of political propaganda in order to attract mass support for colonial rule; with these propaganda efforts targeted not only at a few elites, but also at the general public itself. As various educational facilities and media outlets were used, the conclusion can be made that political propaganda was employed as a basic means of controlling the public. On the other hand, from time to time the colonial government involved itself directly in the control of the Korean people. Although the exhibitions promoting various products (hereafter referred to as gongjinhoes) held by the Governor‐General of Chosŏn took the form of an exhibition, these actually served as a representative example of Japan’s political propaganda. This propaganda reached its peak during the Chosŏn product gongjinhoe held in Kyŏngsŏng‐bu in 1915 2 during which the theory of administrative improvement and assimilation were promoted. More specifically, Japan had great expectations for this event evaluating that significant benefits could be obtained by making the public attend these gongjinhoes and by using these exhibitions to propagate Japan’s new policies. In addition, even after the gongjinhoes were discontinued many exhibitions were held that bared a significant resemblance to the gongjinhoes. As such, it is apparent that Japan considered the gongjinhoes to be an efficient method of disseminating political propaganda.
Authors and Affiliations
Tae-woong Kim
Keywords
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