뉴스레터

On July 29, 2014, the Northeast Asian History Foundation held a joint international research workshop on the history of Japan's colonial exploitation.

To cope with the Abe administration's denial of imperial Japan's past of exploiting its neighboring countries, the NAHF had established a mid- to long-term plan to host a series of annual international conferences that would address each of six topics regarding colonial exploitation suffered by Korea (comfort women, forced labor, mass murder, the policy of recreating imperial subjects, education on the state of exploitation, and the plunder of cultural properties). The first of this series of conferences is scheduled to be held this fall to address the topic of 'forced labor.' And this workshop is meant to be a preparatory step for that conference.

Most importantly, this workshop was focused on presenting the research results of domestic and international scholars who study 'forced labor' and comparing and reevaluating differences found in those results. And the free discussion and debate of this topic led to identifying major historical issues in this area that would need to be constantly addressed and resolved.

The History of Imperial Japan's Imposition of 'Forced Labor' in Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia

This workshop on the history of imperial Japan's colonial exploitation with focus on 'forced labor' was divided into two sessions: Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia. In the first session, three scholars (Paul Kratoska, Sato Shigeru, and My-Van Tran) discussed the trend and outlook of the history of research on the cases of exploitation in the Southeast Asian region.

First of all, Professor Paul Kratoska (editor at the National University of Singapore Press) introduced Asian Labor in the Wartime Japanese Empire, a book he edited in 2005, revisiting the history and problems of imperial Japan's imposition of 'forced labor' on people in Southeast Asia during World War II, and presenting the outlook of research in the field. In particular, Professor Kratoska emphasized that imperial Japan's imposition of 'forced labor' in the Southeast Asian region had different aspects from the cases found in Korea.

Southeast Asia under the colonial rule of western imperialists for many years seized an opportunity for 'independence' when Japan advanced into the region. To fight against the old colonial rulers of the Netherlands, France, and Britain, the ruling class and intellectuals of this region cooperated with the new imperialist force of Japan, and in the process acquiesced in the 'forced labor' imposed primarily on the lower class. However, as the old colonial rulers returned to the region with the fall of Japan, the so-called 'independence movement' or 'nationalist movement' forces denied that they had cooperated with Japan during World War II and shamelessly expunged the history of 'forced labor' altogether. The other two Australian scholars also made similar points about Professor Kratoska's research on 'forced labor.'

As we can see from above, there are distinct differences between the researchers of Korea and Southeast Asia in their perception of the history of imperial Japan's imposition of 'forced labor.' The workshop also served to confirm that it would be necessary to find international common ground and a common topic for joint research on 'forced labor.'

In the afternoon, a separate session on Northeast Asia was conducted. In this session, two Korean scholars (Shin Joo-baek and Oh Il-whan) and Caroline Hui-yu Ts'ai, a researcher at the Academia Sinica of Taiwan, evaluated the results, and exchanged opinions on the outlook, of research on the history of Korea's and Taiwan's 'forced labor.' Surprisingly, the history of 'forced labor' in the Northeast Asian region presented in the afternoon session turned out to have different aspects from the one in Southeast Asia. Taiwan and Korea, colonized by imperial Japan through the Sino-Japanese War from 1894 to 1895 and the forced annexation of 1910, respectively, had many similarities, despite some slight differences in detail, in terms of 'forced labor' imposed by imperial Japan during the colonial period in general and World War II in particular.

For instance, imperial Japan exploited Taiwanese, as it did Koreans, through the conscription of student soldiers or the imposition of 'forced labor' during wartime. In Taiwan, however, unlike in Korea, starting from the mid-1970s when the diplomatic ties with Japan were severed, there were individual requests by the 'forced labor' victims, rather than government-to-government requests, for the Japanese government to clean up the past. In the process, the issue was largely resolved. And the cleaning-up process is still underway. This has significant implications for us Koreans currently struggling over the cleaning-up of the past with Japan.

Find a Common Topic in Seemingly Identical but Different Cases

The most important challenge concerning the issue of the 'forced labor' imposed by imperial Japan that faces Korean society today is to figure out how to turn it into a matter of common interest to the international community despite the different historical backgrounds and political situations that each of the regions and countries has had. Whether sustainable and efficient research results will be produced is also key.

Instead of unilaterally repeating how Korea was exploited under the imperial Japanese rule from Korea's experience and perspective, it is urgent to find a common research topic with other countries in the Southeast Asian and Northeast Asian regions that were similarly exploited. In the process of studying and discussing the common topic, the research results of Korea and other victim countries about the cases of Japanese colonial exploitation will have to be accumulated, and a theoretical basis will have to be laid through exchange of opinions. If it is made based on reasonable grounds obtained through a series of pure academic exchanges, the Japanese government will find it inevitable to accept the request from countries around the world to clean up old historical issues that remain unresolved.