RISS 검색 - 국내학술지논문 상세보기

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study analyzes the process through which the mobilization of labor reemerged in Korean society in the aftermath of the Korean War, and the influence which this mobilization had on the lives of the laborers involved.
The term chingyong (forced labor) is generally associated with the final period of the Japanese colonial era. However, labor continued to be actively mobilized after liberation in 1945 and the emergence of separate governments in the North and South. In this regard, such mobilization was at the time perceived within Korean society as chingyong. Thus, although Japanese imperial rule had faded from the scene, the remnants of its ruling policy continued to exist below the surface of Korean society, and could easily be invoked by the government authorities or the ruling structure of Korean society whenever the need emerged.
Forced labor continued in earnest during and after the Korean War in the form of the Eighth United States Army and Korean Military's mobilization of labor. Before being abandoned in favor of a voluntary structure in 1955, the mobilization of farmers, the urban poor, as well as refugees continued to be carried out after the Korean War based on the Wartime Labor Mobilization Law. Thereafter, the mobilization of labor was once again commenced under the auspices of the National Construction Corps established in order to implement the large-scale civilengineering projects called for in the 1st Five-year Economic Development Plan announced in 1962. However, this National Construction Corps that counted draft dodgers and the unemployed amongst its ranks was dismantled less than ten months after its establishment. The decision to do away with this body was the result of the fervent opposition of those conscripted to take part in this entity to what they perceived as strident regulations and harsh labor, the outbreak of disease amongst the laborers, and the general souring of public opinion.
The mobilization of labor, a practice which has been implemented on several occasions in modern Korean history, was unilaterally imposed on the public by the authorities during each period. The individuals caught up as part of the mobilization of labor were used in accordance with the whims of the state power and driven to circumstances in which it became difficult to maintain the most basic of existences. In some instances, individuals could only stand by helplessly as their families tragically collapsed, a denouement which only increased their distrust and resistance to the state.
However, the growing societal awareness of the situation and the increasingly vehement resistance of mobilized laborers rendered it progressively more difficult to carry out the mobilization of labor in the traditional manner. As a result, the state authorities shortened the mobilization period and reduced the pool of those who were potential targets for mobilization from all those capable of working to only individuals such as draft dodgers who, because of their status as quasi-criminals, should be separated from society. By decreasing and limiting the scope of those who could be mobilized as part of its efforts to rationalize the mobilization of labor, the state sought to obtain social consent for this practice.

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