일제의 통계 조사와 조선인의 비판적 해석

Abstract

Japan conducted statistical research in order to prepare basic data to rule colonial Joseon. In the early 1920s, The Japanese Governor General of Korea attempted to strengthen the professionalism of civil affairs through statistics exhibitions and workshops. Japan also made major efforts to spread the effect of the statistics it had produced to the colonies. These statistics were widely used for administration. Japan focused solely on quantitative growth in order to emphasize the economic development of Joseon during the colonial period. However, different results were derived from the same statistics by some of the people of Joseon. While Japan aimed to show only quantitative growth during the period, Joseon attempted to expose qualitative inequality in growth between people of different ethnicities. Whereas Japan urged the necessity of colonial policy by comparing statistics between before and after its ruling, Joseon aimed to prove that the accumulation of wealth in area had no connection to the Joseon people. It is inevitable that statistics produced by a colonial power prioritize the vision of the rulers and their own administrative convenience. However, the statistical surveys conducted to investigate the lives of Joseon people were bound to reveal a hidden side of their lives. Without an accurate investigation, a policy based on these surveys would not be fully effective. Hence, differences depending on ethnicity and class were also recorded. Statistics that can be used as aspects of development by a colonial power can also be used as an indicator of inequality in terms of ethnic differences, such as development and underdevelopment. In the case of Joseon, Japanese statistics revealed unintended results, and the people of Joseon did not miss the opportunity to expose them.