제2차 세계대전기 인도네시아 팔렘방으로 동원된 조선인의 귀환과정에 관한 연구

Abstract

This study aimed at looking into the course of repatriation of Koreans who were mobilized to Palembang in Sumatra, Indonesia. I tried to stereoscopically look into how mobilized Koreans to Palembang in the coercive atmosphere at the end of Japanese imperialism met their homeland liberation and how they prepared returning home through their oral statements, memoirs, the list of names and others. As Palembang, the central city in southern Sumatra, is located with an oil field between, conflicting interests between the Allied Forces and the Japanese army directly collided with each other there. At a point in time that Japan lost the war, there were 200~300 Korean people, who were comfort women and dealers concerned, civilians attached to the Japanese military and laborers (office workers). After the Japanese defeat, the Japanese army disguised the comfort women as temporary nurses. And the Korean men who were released from the Japanese army or Japanese companies formed an organization only for Koreans named “Korean society in Palembang (팔렘방조선인회)” on the 18th of October, and started self-governing activities for securing foodstuffs and self-protection. Such activities were under way before the Allied Forces made a landing in earnest, and then, as war prisoner guards participated in the organization, its activities expanded. Koreans in Palembang heard news about the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea with the help of local Chinese Indonesians, and raised national consciousness drawing the national flag of Korea. But not every Korean in Palembang participated in “Palembang Joseoninhoi”. Some of the comfort women were attached to the Japanese army as the temporary nurses as before. And some Korean comfort women and civilians attached to the Japanese military committed suicide after hearing news of the 1945 Liberation of Korea or did not return to the liberated homeland and remained there. Moving from Palembang to Singapore, “Palembang Joseoninhoi” virtually was dissolved on 7th of February, 1946. The war prisoner guards who formed the center of “Palembang Joseoninhoi” were detained in Palembang by the Allied Forces, and then they moved to Jurong POW camp in Singapore and came to participate in Korean society in Singapore (싱가포르고려인회) there. As there were activities like a lecture meeting in commemoration of the Samil Independence Movement there, they instilled national consciousness. Most of Koreans who had been in Palembang except the war prisoner guards returned to Korea in May and June, 1946. The guards were strictly investigated on their activities in the Japanese army. 13 among 64 guards received a punishment at the trial, and most of them couldn’t return to Korea. The people who didn’t receive a punishment returned to Korea at the end of 1946 and in 1947. The course of the repatriation of Koreans who were mobilized to Palembang showed not only the repatriation of Koreans itself but also the field of the confrontation of powers between the Allied forces, Indonesian independence movement organizations and the Japanese army. As there was a wide range of people of different genders like comfort women and dealers, civilians attached to the Japanese military, laborers inside our Korean people, their various lives and thoughts were disclosed.