Review of "Under the Black Umbrella: Voices from Colonial Korea, 1910-1945," by Hildi Kang

 Review of

Under the Black Umbrella: Voices from Colonial Korea, 1910-1945, by Hildi Kang, ISBN 9780801472701

Five out of five stars

A look at the Japanese domination of Korea

 As a consequence of the Japanese victories over China in 1894 and Russia in 1905, Japan gained full control over Korea and began treating it as part of the Japanese Empire. In behavior typical of colonial powers, the Japanese took control of most vital functions and economic operations while having a small number of Koreans in positions of authority. Policing of the country was carried out by local Korean police under the strong supervision of the Japanese. The colonial behaviors of the Japanese overlords were firmly in position by 1910, the time when the first events chronicled in this book took place.

This book is a collection of oral histories related by Koreans that lived under the Japanese during the years from 1910 until the Japanese were defeated and removed in 1945. Many of the stories reflect the history of Korean culture. There are many indications that the nation of Korea is even older than that of China and India. While for centuries Korea was a tributary of China, it was never actually part of China.

 The oral histories cover many aspects of the events in Korea during the colonial period. There were sporadic outbreaks of minor opposition to Japanese rule, but the colonization was not particularly brutal. At least until the war between Japan and the United States started. The people of the stories range from basic peasants to people that were educated in other countries and those that managed to be well off economically or part of the ruling class.

 Given the brutal behavior of the Japanese when they invaded other Asian countries, it is clear that the weight of their rule of Korea was surprisingly light.

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