일제강점기 조선총독부의 향약정책과 關北鄕約

Abstract

This study focused on the point of ‘difference’ or ‘discrimination’ regarding the geographical features of the ‘Gwanbuk Region’, or otherwise known as Hamgyeong-do as the characteristics of Gwanbuk-Hyangyak enacted by Tominaga Fumikazu who was the governor of Hamgyeongbuk-do in 1932 to review the village code (hyangyak) policies of not only the authorities of Hamgyeong-do but also that of the Japanese Government General of Korea. The results are as follows. Considering the fact that hyangyak (village codes) were organized and operated in different parts of the Korean Peninsula in the late 1920s, it appears that the Japanese Government General of Korea paid attention to the traditional hyangyak of Joseon early on from its occupation. Following the March 1 Movement in 1919, the Japanese Government General changed its policies against Joseon to maintain and utilize the autonomous order of villages in order to minimize Korean resistance against colonial rule. During the course of this, the status of hyangyak was investigated. The Gwanbuk-Hyangyak enacted by Tominaga Fumikazu showed clear intervention of the government in its overall operation. The government intervened in commendation for persons who did well and in punishment for members who made mistakes, as well as in the selection of leaders of the hyangyak and provincial hyangyak. It also emphasized obedience to the nation and government offices, and it clearly states that the purpose of its enactment is to create ‘citizens loyal to the empire’ who follow the colonial policies of the empire. It defined “disrupting local customs, non-compliance to the national constitution, and not following village codes and rules’ as wrongdoings. Furthermore, it encouraged to report suspicious outsiders and persons who did not follow the village codes to the government, in order for the hyangyak to act as a supporting role for the authorities including the police. The reason for the unique features of Gwanbuk-Hyangyak can be found in the regional characteristics of the Gwanbuk region. First, ‘Gwanbuk’, or the Hamgyeong-do region was a frontier area, but was also a place where Confucian cultures were well implanted since the Joseon Dynasty. Second, Hamgyeong-do, which is located in the northeastern part of the Korean Peninsula, with highly active anti-Japanese and independence movements including justice army movements since the late Joseon Period up until the 1920s. The third reason was the appointment of the hyangyak expert Tominaga Fumikazu to Hamgyeongbuk-do. He began his public career as an administrator for the Japanese Government General of Korea in 1916 and after taking on posts as the Jeollabuk-do Police Director and Police Bureau’s Security Manager, he was appointed as the governor of Hamgyeongbuk-do in October 1931. From the early 1920s, he focused on hyangyak as an ideology to control Koreans and published various studies becoming an authority in hyangyak. Therefore, his appointment as the governor Hamgyeongbuk-do became a good opportunity for him to materialize his ideas for the provincial policies of the Japanese Government General. In result, Gwanbuk-Hyangyak that had intense intervention by the colonial authorities, unlike other existing hyangyak of the past, was born.