WHAT OF KOREA?

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 118, 21 May 1945, Page 6

WHAT OF KOREA?

NO KNOWN LEADERS

INDEPENDENCE PROMISE

Although Korea, annexed by Japan after the Russo-Japanese war, was promised independence by the Cairo Conference the countrv has no kncvn political leaders. And Russia 'did not take part in that conference These factors, important in a consideration of the future of Korea were mentioned by the Rev. L. O's' Beere, vicar of All Saints'. Auckland, and. until 1940, a missionary in Korea, in a luncheon address to the Rotary Club to-day.

Despite these problems, the speaker expressed his belief that the country was capable of governing itself—more so than some Chinese states, though the first few years of independence might prove somewhat chaotic. There was no chance of the old royal dynasty being reestablished.

In developing the background for this belief. Mr. Beere traced the history of the country to its present stage of development under Japanese domination. He pointed out that Korea was once known as the Hermit Kingdom. It closed its doors to all foreigners, and for a period of over 200 years, would not permits its nationals to go abroad The reason for this was the belief of the inhabitants that they were a superior race and would be contaminated by outside influences. Because of this they emerged into the world, in 1890, like Rip Van Winkle. They "Civilised" Japan The Koreans then, and still, believed themselves far superior to the Japanese. It was through Korea that civilisation had been brought to Japan, and they still spoke of the Japanese as "outer barbarians." Actually, said Mr. Beere, "scum" was a nearer literal translation of the word they used. Japanese script was Korean in origin, and so was the "traditional" Japanese clothing. Behind this question of cloti.ing was an interesting story, he pointed out. It was felt by the Korean civilisers in Japan that while the "barbarians" needed clothing, they should not be given that of "civilised gentlemen." So. as a national costume. the Japanese were permitted to wear Korean mourning clothes! Anyone who to-day saw Koreans in mourning could see the obvious resemblance. Personally, he believed the story to be true. Besides their feeling of superiority from this cause, the Koreans kept alive the memory of their defeat of a Japanese invasion 200 years ago.

As the result of the Sino-Japanese war. Korea—which had traditionally paid tribute to Chinese war lordsgained independence. But following the Russo-Japanese war it was annexed outright by Japan, whose first act was to kill the Korean King's mother, the real power behind a tottering throne. Development Since Annexation The Japanese had opened up and developed Korea and had made a good job of it. In a country of 23,000,000 people they had built good railways and reasonably good roads, and had established airways and shipping facilities. The educational svstem was good, and about 60 per cent of the children were already in the schools, of which there was a complete range—elementary, technical and other high schools, four medical colleges, and a national university as well as two colleges run by missionaries. Mentioning that he himself had twice been operated on by Korean doctors, Mr. Beere said that there were some very good doctors, but that fifty per cent of them were .thoroughly unscrupulous. It was a question of cash in advance or no treatment. There was no free treatment, and it became a saying that if you wanted to become rich in Korea you became a doctor. Nevertheless, cholera and smallpox were now almost a thing of the past. Agriculture had been modernised by the Japanese overlords, with irrigation systems as part of the plan. They produced large quantities of rice and grain and exported to Japan. There was a large timber industry in development, and the country was minerally rich, with coal, iron, gold, manganese tungsten and other minerals being worked. The textile industry was also well developed. Two industrial belts, in the north and centre of Korea, had been planned. Factors for the Future There were only half a million Japanese in the country, and ninetenths of the local government was in the hands of Koreans. If Japan had tried to win the respect and loyalty of Koreans while leaving them otherwise unmolested they might have succeeded. But they had tried to make the Koreans into Japanese. Their political policy was not only wrong, but also impossible. At the time when he left Korea the Japanese were trying to enforce the adoption of Japanese names—though Korean names were as unlike Japanese as Indian names were unlike English.

On the surface the change was "voluntary.*' Loyal Koreans, it was suggested, would willingly do this— but if they didn't their children would not be admitted to the schools, they could not get a ration of fertiliser for their farms, and generally the outlook was "a bit grim." The fact that Russia was not represented at the Cairo conference complicated the independence issue to some extent, suggested Mr. Beere, as it might be that Russia would want a "friendly Government" over a country so close to Siberia. The other important issue was that there were no Korean political leader*, except "some vocal ones" in the U.S.A. and China, who were otherwise an unknown quantity. It wa» 35 years since the annexation and all the old leaders were gone.