1930년대 조선총독부의 유교 윤리 소환과 경제 갱생 프로젝트 - 익산문묘(益山文廟)를 중심으로 -

Abstract

The economy of Japanese imperialism shrank in 1930 due to the economic depression that continued from 1920s. The Japanese Government-General of Korea established and implemented the policy, where villages independently rehabilitated economy, in order to revitalize the economy of the Colonial Joseon. This was the so-called ‘Rural Development Movement.’ This policy aimed to solve country’s poverty through the revival of rural economy. However, it focused on changing farmers’ ‘thoughts’ rather than spreading farming techniques. It attempted to execute the colonial policy smoothly by assimilating farmer’s thoughts to colonialism. The spirit that the Japanese Government-General of Korea spread to villages was the ‘spirit of sacrifice that even sacrifices one’s life for the country.’ At this time, sacrifice was promoted as a noble image. In 1932, Japanese Government-General of Korea brought back and implemented Hyangyak(鄕約) that had been commonly used in pre-modern Joseon society in order to encourage spirit of sacrifice in people. Due to the nature of Hyangyak, it was socially appropriate to promote the good, be aware of the bad, and help the ones in need. Therefore, Japanese Government-General of Korea believed that Hyangyak would play a significant role in economic revival and dominating public sentiment. Hyangyak that Japanese GovernmentGeneral of Korea implemented was added with the additional goals, ‘industrial development’ and ‘improvement of life’, in addition to the existing Hyangyak. In accordance with Japanese Government-General of Korea’s encouragement of Hyangyak, Hyangyak was newly established in Iksanhyanggyo Confucian School in January 1935. On the outside, it was in the form of a community but, in fact, was an official organization created and encouraged to be implemented by the administration of imperialism. Therefore, this Hyangyak focused on spreading Japanese Government-General of Korea’s ruling policies to villages rather than ethical reformation of local residents. Japanese Government-General of Korea absorbed the asset owned by Hyangyak and individual asset of the members of Hyangyak as colonial funds. Also, it attempted to convert the ideology of individual members of Hyangyak to pro-colonialism through continuous lectures. Since the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937, the activities of Hyangyak changed. It was to change the mass of Colonial Joseon accordingly to wartime conditions. Therefore, it began promoting conscription system, pressing for wartime money, encouraging the production of war supplies, and saving war supply consumption. Since 1940s when the economy deteriorated even further, Japanese Government-General of Korea considered that economy played a crucial role in the outcome of war, and emphasized labor to increase productivity of the country.