대한제국기 일본인 기술자 이노우에 요시후미(井上宜文) 연구

Abstract

This paper is intended to examine the political significance of the activities of a Japanese engineer during the Korean Empire era. The main data is a photo album of Inoue YoshihumI(井上宜文), which was recently discovered in Osaka. Inoue kept records of his life with many photographs as an engineer and entrepreneur. Inoue first came to Korea in 1899 to supply tram vehicles ordered from the Hansung Electric Company(漢城電氣會社). He was hired as an engineer at Pyeongsikwon(平式院) under the Imperial Household Agency in 1902, and produced and verified weights and measures until he was dismissed in 1906. Around the time of the Russo-Japanese War, Inoue constructed a military arsenal(軍器廠) and built temporary barracks for the Japanese army. In 1910, he was sent to the Japan-British Exhibition in London to promote Japan's technological prowess, colonial management, and the abundant resources of Japanese colonies. It was an active cooperation in national policy. After fulfilling his mission in the colonization process, Inoue turned into an entrepreneur. His entrepreneurial fields during Japanese occupation of Korea were pharmaceutical distribution business, mining and oil and fat manufacturing industry, land management etc, but Inoue didn’t achieve a big success in them. Masana Maeda(前田正名), who was called an uncrowned Minister of Agriculture, had an influence on Inoue's activities. In 1907, Inoue was considered a follower of Maeda. In conclusion, the activities of Japanese engineer Inoue, which took place in Korea during the Korean Empire era, are concerned with the expansion of Japanese imperialism, while partially accepting the Korean government's demands of producing electric rail vehicles or unification and reform of weights and measures.