1920년대 관립전문학교 대학 승격 운동의 추이와 성격: 경성법학전문학교와 경성의학전문학교를 중심으로

Abstract

This study aims to explore the various aspects of the movement for promoting Government specialized schools to universities, which cannot be explained solely by the framework of existing student movements, through the case of the university promoting movement initiated by the students of Government specialized schools in the 1920s. The collective actions of the students of Government specialized schools in the 1920s were a prominent movement in Korean society. In particular, the movement initiated by students in Government specialized schools was extensively covered in the press, including Dong-a Ilbo and Chosun Ilbo. The internal movements in Government specialized Schools at that time can be divided into five categories: ① National issues, ② Promoting issues, ③ Equipment issues, ④ Faculty issues, and ⑤ Treatment issues. This study focuses on the movements related to promotion, especially the movement for university promotion centered on the Keijō Law and Medical Government specialized schools, which overlapped with the establishment of universities in Korea in the mid-1920s. In 1918, the Japanese University Ordinance, a law that became the basis for establishing universities, was promulgated in Japan. When the content of this law was conveyed to the Korean press, expectations for university promoting began to emerge in Keijō Law and Medical Government specialized schools. In particular, after the March 1st Movement, the colonial government was also planning to establish universities in Korea for smooth colonial rule. As news of the promoting of specialized schools to universities spread through the press in Japan, expectations for promoting state-run professional schools to universities in Korea also emerged. In particular Keijō Law and Medical Government specialized Schools, which were responsible for the newly established law and medical departments, began to actively engage in the movement for university promotion. In Keijō Law and Medical Government specialized schools, stuents became the center of the university promoting movement and began to show movement from 1923. However, the colonial government authorities stated that professional schools would be preserved and dismissed the demands for promoting the two schools. In Keijō Medical specialized school, the movement for upgrading became more active, as it was expected that human and material resources would be transferred to the university. In particular, Keijō Medical Government specialized school, which would face the situation of transferring facilities and professors to Imperial University when it was finally decided to establish it, showed a strong will for the promotion. However, in reality, the promotion of the two schools gradually became more distant, and the discussion on establishing universities in Chosun concluded with the establishment of Keijō Imperial University alone, as the government did not intend to allow multiple universities in the colonial era. In addition to the issue of the survival of two schools that overlap in department and content with Keijō Imperial University, the campus movements of the two schools thereafter were nothing but struggles for the survival of the students. Especially, Keijō Law Government specialized school reacted most sensitively to the problem of finding a new teacher, while Keijō Medical Government specialized school reacted most sensitively to the issue of local relocation. However, at that time, the students thought of the colonial government as a target for demand and negotiation, but not as a target for resistance. On the other hand, the colonial government reacted as if it was trying to reflect some of the students’ demands, but it was just a gesture to appease the students of Government specialized schools who had failed in their university promotion movements.