해방과 분단 직후 일상의 변동과 새로운 범죄의 발생: 황해도·해주시 사례를 중심으로

Abstract

After the Pacific War began, Japan developed its colonial policy, so-called as ‘war-time fascism’, under which the strict control system was applied throughout the overall society of Joseon, under the purpose of ‘mobilizing’ every kind of resources, affecting not only the central government but also the individuals and their daily lives. In this regard, the ‘Independence’ of Korea from Japan on August 15, 1945, made Korea finally liberated from Japan’s occupation, with its colonialism brought to an end. On the other hand, it caused the complete disappearance of the old ruling system in a moment, not only breaking down the operation of existing social systems of administration and national security of Joseon, but also resulting in a temporary power vacuum nationwide. Right after then, moreover, Korea was divided roughly in half by superpowers along the 38th Parallel, involving different social changes within two separate states set in the North by the Soviet Union, and in the South by the U.S. It was the ‘material wealth’ that made individuals sustain themselves in such an unpredictable and unstable state of social vacuum. There were some who accumulated their personal wealth by looting and plundering the possessions of high-ranking government officials in Japanese colonial era and pro-Japanese groups, taking the opportunities of their being convicted of pro-Japanese activities, while there are others who raised their own personal gains and benefits by frequently crossing the 38th frontier with a limited passage. In the meantime, the public in the North had to adapt to the rapidly changing social conditions moment by moment, proceeded without stopping from colonial era, through liberalization, and to the Democratic Reform after the establishment of 38th Parallel. Further, in the newly founded regime, new rules of law and order were introduced day by day, expecting the public to become so called born-again ‘builders’ with consciousness of the new society from the oppressed people by the colonial empire. The public who were used just to following the existing customs and practices had to adjust social and time gaps between the existing cultural practices, which were familiar with them, and the newly imposed social expectations and responsibilities as a conscious social constituent, of which the importance got increasingly higher and higher since the foundation of the regime. Such gaps were pointed out as a contributory factor to a new proportion of crimes caused in the North at that time.