The purpose of this study is to clarify that during Japanese occupation of Korea, schools resisted against the Japanese colonial government and tried to push ahead the schools own idea as well. For that purpose, I investigated operation of Kyungsung p...
The purpose of this study is to clarify that during Japanese occupation of Korea, schools resisted against the Japanese colonial government and tried to push ahead the schools own idea as well. For that purpose, I investigated operation of Kyungsung public agricultural school(京城公立農業學校) in 1930-40's and the operators' roles and especially, activities and roles of Minoru Nomura(野村稔), the principal of Kyungsung public agricultural school.
Kyungsung public agricultural school was established in 1918 for agricultural training in Gyeonggi-do(京畿道) and increased number of school years and number of students. In 1928, Nomura was appointed as the 4th principal of Kyungsung public agricultural school. By the mid 1930s, the operation of Kyungsung public agricultural school was conducted by Nomura and teachers who came to the school before Nomura, and after that, the operation of Kyungsung public agricultural school was conducted by Nomura and teachers who took the important position at the school after Nomura became the principal.
Since the 1930s, Kyungsung public agricultural school tried to establish educational policies in accordance with the policy of the Japanese colonial government and needs of the society. Nomura wanted to produce agricultural leaders who appreciated Japan and led urban community with professional agricultural technology by the education at Kyungsung public agricultural school. And Kyungsung public agricultural school could get various facilities for agricultural training by changing the location of the school.
Changing the location of the school was not simple expansion of size of the school but the new location was provided with a new building for veterinary and livestock studies. Nomura made an effort to include veterinary and livestock studies in the school's curriculum when the school moved to the new location and his effort resulted in opening of veterinary and livestock departments in 1939, and next year, agricultural civil engineering department was opened, thereby, Kyungsung public agricultural school became a comprehensive school with agriculture department, veterinary and livestock department and agricultural civil engineering department.
The new departments affected the future career of the graduates and there was difference in tendency of employment between the graduates in the 1930s and graduates in the 1940s. Since the late 1930s, increasing number of graduates were employed by the high level offices such as Japanese colonial government instead of low level offices such as a provincial office and many graduates went to higher educational institutions.
In the 1940s, veterinary and livestock department and agricultural civil engineering department were opened at Kyungsung public agricultural school so a number of talented people with professional knowledge in land improvement and veterinary and livestock industry were produced, and they were employed by various government agencies for production of war materials and participated in agricultural policies in colonial Korea in the 1940s. And graduates of agriculture department were employed by agriculture-related sectors.
The relationship between Kyungsung public agricultural school and Nomura has important implications for understanding the mode of operation of agricultural schools in colonial Korea. Opinions of operators of the schools were also reflected in the course of executing the policies of the Japanese colonial government. In 1930-40's, increase of agricultural productivity for the war was a major issue and therefore, agricultural education was considered important. Kyungsung public agricultural school had to change itself according to social atmosphere and what determined the nature of the change was Nomura's interest in veterinary and livestock studies and his policy of 'being the best'.
Keywords: Kyungsung public agricultural school(京城公立農業學校), Minoru Nomura(野村稔), agricultural school, agricultural education, Kyungsung, veterinary and livestock department, agricultural civil engineering department