A Problem in Japan's Control of the Press in Korea, 1906-1909
C. I. EUGENE KIM
[C. I. Eugene Kim teaches political science in Western Michigan University.]
When Japan was consolidating her position in Korea for eventual annexation, Ernest T. Bethell, a citizen of Great Britain, then Japan's ally, published a Korean and an English newspaper in Seoul, the Taehan Maeil Simbo and the Korean Daily News.[1] The Japanese objected to his papers, after some delay suppressed them, and in 1908 expelled him from Korea.
This Bethell case is not unique; there have been many cases of "ugly" or "handsome" citizens of the Great Powers working in various capacities in underdeveloped countries throughout history. It does highlight certain technical aspects in international politics: e.g., (1) when one nation seeks to control another, long-range political objectives may have to be modified for fear of adverse reaction on the part of other interested parties on the scene and because of conflicting pressures that may be exerted by other interested individuals and groups at the domestic level; (2) the possession of the instruments of force is prerequisite to the process of revolutionary political change, and their possession is almost imperative when a new regime is attempting to establish itself in a hostile environment. The prevalence of force in the control process is more or less in inverse ratio to the extent of popular allegiance to the regime and of the possession of authority by it.
In Korea the newspaper then had a limited circulation. Nonetheless, in combination with the verbal communication of its content between those who were directly accessible to the medium and those who were not, the newspaper functioned as the only kind of mass communication medium on certain issues and events. This combination occurs in a situation such as existed in Korea at the time when, under the quickened pace of important events, the news is eagerly looked for.
An observer of the events in Korea during this period summed up the influence of the newspaper in the following manner: "The Korean's
- ↑ For a good discussion of various interpretations concerning the real Japanese intention toward Korea before 1910, see Hilary Conroy, The Japanese Seizure of Korea, 1868-1910: A Study of Realism and Idealism in International Relations (Philadelphia, 1960), 544 pp.
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