일제강점기 동양척식주식회사의 농업 이민과 성격-충남 지역 농업 이민자 사례를 중심으로-

Abstract

The Japanese immigration policy was part of a colonial policy aimed at Japanizing Korean rural areas by establishing a material foundation for Korean rule through large-scale immigration colonization by Japanese farmers. The immigration of Japanese farmers was also carried out by Japanese companies and farms, but it was led by the Oriental Development Company. Dongcheok recruited immigrants on a total of 17 occasions from 1911 to 1927 based on company-owned land. The immigrants were selected as “solid” farmers who could settle permanently in Korean rural society. The Dongcheok immigration project was abolished in 1927. However, the Japanese who immigrated continued to live in the rural society of colonial Korea. Some immigrants used the various economic vested rights as a springboard to grow into local power players. Therefore, in order to clarify the nature of the Dongchuk immigration project, an analysis of Dongchuk immigrants is essential. Dongcheok immigrants in the Chungnam region grew into large landowners by accumulating land, and they actively participated in the local irrigation project, which was the core of the rice production increase plan, and took the lead in the Japanese agricultural policy. They also directly and indirectly participated in the colonial administrative power and became the main actors or assistants of the colonial policy. They even went so far as to encroach on the local economic interests. Dongcheok and Japan actively utilized the growth cases of agricultural immigrants and presented them as ‘model citizens,’ and the immigrants themselves used this to further solidify their positions in the region. In the end, Dongcheok agricultural immigrants played a leading role in the Japanese colonial policy.