Naisen ittai, meaning "Japan (nai meaning interior or core) and Korea are one", was a policy promoted by Minami Jiro, who became governor-general of Korea in August of 1936. This attempt to re-make the Korean people into Japanese begin with increasing the number of soldiers and secret police. Intellectuals were arrested, and the Korean Federation of Total Mobilization of National Spirit was formed. Korean men were forced to wear clothes in the style of Japanese uniforms; Western-style or traditional Korean dress was prohibited for women, who were forced to wear mompei, a type of brown pants.
In 1938 middle schools were requred to teach only in Japanese, and students to speak it (high schools had been required to use Japanese since 1928.) Classes had to recite the Japanese pledge of alleigance, and bow to the east. In March 1943, primary schools also were forced to use Japanese.
Attendence at Shinto shrines became required, and many Christian schools and churches were closed. Many Christians were arrested and some were killed. An officially-sanctioned Christian church was formed, which used only the New Testament.
The use of Japanese surnames became a requirement. About a fifth of the population refused, leaving them subject to a number of legal handicaps.
[edit] References
- The History of Korea by Djun Kil Kim, Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, 2005
[edit] External links
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