일제 말 『매일신보』의 조선인 학병 동원 담론의 양상과 특징

Abstract

This article examined aspect and character of a discourse on mobilizing Korean students as soldiers of the Japanese military by Maeilsinbo , an organ of the Japanese Government-General of Korea, from October 20th to November 20th 1943. The Japanese Government-General of Korea adopted ‘Temporary Recruitment Rules of the Army Special Volunteer’ on October 20th 1943; the Rules lifted temporary exemption from conscription on Korean students studying at University and college; then, the deadline of the application was November 20th 1943. The Rules meant, according to Maeilsinbo , a pivotal system to realize the policy of Naeseon Ilche(Korea and Japan are One) as each of Korean students would fill in an application form of their own accord; therefore, the Rules deserved to be regarded as the final test of subjecting Koreans to Japanese empire which had continued to be implemented since the Sino-Japanese War. By law, Korean students could volunteer or not; however, the Japanese Government-General of Korea did not allow their autonomy; they were forced to ‘self-determine’ to join the Japanese army in the name of ‘national ethics’. In short, volunteer was a concept of a moral obligation such as the categorical imperative. Maeilsinbo blamed non-volunteers describing volunteers as an example of Japanese Subject; in addition, it called the Korean students who hesitated to volunteer or did not apply unpatriotic, immoral and selfish people intolerable by the norms of the national community. This discourse played a role to justify the interference and intervention by the colonial authorities; police and administrative officers threatened Korean students and their family and pro-Japanese collaborators persuaded them under the cloak of encouragement; finally, the Japanese Government-General of Korea requisitioned the students who did not volunteer as workers and actually punished them as part of the training of making Japanese Subject.