越境하는 화폐, 분열되는 제국- 滿洲國幣의 조선 유입 실태를 중심으로 -

Abstract

The essence of modern nation-states is exclusive management of aspecific area and external autonomy. To achieve these purposes,monetary sovereignty is one of the most important requisites. Anational currency was established to control and manage a nation’seconomy for internal purposes, and to indicate an independentsovereignty and give a national identity for external relations. In thisway, the territorial exclusivity of the modern nation-state is stronglyrelated to territorial currencies. Thus, the circulation of currenciesacross borders is fundamentally impossible when considering monetarysovereignty as an essential right of a modern nation-state. Yet, national currencies of the Bank of Chōsen and of Manzhouguo(滿洲國) were being circulated in Joseon and Manzhouguo during theJapanese colonial period. This phenomenon was connected with basicprinciples of financial policies in the Japanese colonies. Japanestablished banks of issue in every colony and occupied territory. Ineach area its then government issued a local currency, not a Japanesenote. These local currencies had equal values and were closely linked tothe Japanese currency, forming a Yen Currency Region (円係通貨圈). This region was constructed under the ideal of unifying the currenciesof the Japanese colonies into the Japanese note. Therefore, the expansion of Japan with its mainland as a concentric circle is in linewith the expansion of the Yen Currency Region. This study examines the circulation of currencies between Joseonand Manzhouguo, and the internal breakdown of Japanese imperialismduring the process of colonial expansion. The Manzhouguo state usedcurrencies issued by the Manzhouguo Central Bank in 1932, which hadan equal value to notes issued by the Bank of Chōsen. After its defeat ina “currency war” against the Chinese legal currency during the Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese yen currency brought about severeinflation. The inflation, which started in central China, spread to otherregions which were directly connected through the yen region, such asnorthern China, Manzhouguo, and Joseon. As a result, the real value ofthe Manzhouguo state’s currency depreciated to around one-halfagainst the Bank of Chōsen’s currency by 1939. The Japanese government-general in Joseon, which had theresponsibility to guard against an inevitable inflation, tried to denyequivalent exchange of the currencies, but the Bank of Chōsen andJapanese military authorities maintained their views to keep the policy. Japanese military authorities could not accept the abolishment of theequivalent exchange of currencies policy, as abolishment could causethe collapse of the entire Yen Currency Region. However, due to severeinflation from the excessive issuance of notes from the Bank of Chōsenin exchange for the national currency of Manzhouguo, the circulation ofManzhouguo’s currency was banned in July, 1944. The border between Joseon and Manzhouguo was a currency defenseline to protect Japan in the course of the conception and realization ofGreater East Asia based on the Yen Currency Region. The problemscaused by this course were shifted directly to the Japanese colony of Joseon. The inflow of Manzhouguo currency into Joseon clearly showedthe result of the policy that the Bank of Chōsen enacted as a substitutefor the Japanese central bank. In other words, it indicated the truereason why the Bank of Chōsen, instead of the Japanese central bank,carried out the national policies, which were destined to be risky and ofuncertain outcome on the continent.