The following table adapted from an official report shows the newspapers confiscated in 1908 and 1909.
Newspapers Confiscated 1908-1909*
| Newspapers | Place of Publication |
Number of Times Confiscated |
Number of Copies Confiscated | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1908 | 1909 | 1908 | 1909 | ||
| Tai Han Maiil Shimpo | |||||
| [Taehan Maeil Simbo] | |||||
| Korean ed. | Seoul | 7 | 7 | 4,936 | 3,592 |
| Chinese-Korean ed. | Seoul | 8 | 7 | 6,727 | 12,722 |
| Kong Nip Shim Mun | |||||
| [Kongnip Sinmun] | San Francisco | 18 | 4 | 10,264 | 6 |
| Hap Nip Shim Po | |||||
| [Hapnip Simbo] | Honolulu | 11 | — | 542 | — |
| Haigio Shim Po | |||||
| [Haegyo Simbo] | Vladivostok | 17 | — | 1,569 | — |
| Tai Dong Kong Po | |||||
| [Taedong Kongbo] | San Francisco | 3 | — | 688 | — |
| Hap Song Shim Mun | |||||
| [Hapsong Sinmun] | Honolulu | — | 4 | — | 46 |
| Tai Tong Shim Mun | |||||
| [Taedong Sinmun] | Vladivostok | — | 57 | — | 2,235 |
| Shin Han Kong Po | |||||
| [Sinhan Kongbo] | San Francisco | — | 31 | — | 1,211 |
| Shin Han Kuk Po | |||||
| [Sinhan Kukbo] | Honolulu | — | 27 | — | 1,135 |
| Totals | 64 | 137 | 24,726 | 20,947 | |
*Compiled from Residency-General's Office (Japan), Annual Report on Reforms and Progress in Korea (1908-1909), (1909-1910) and (1910-1911).
Interestingly, in 1908 and 1909 all the Korean language newspapers confiscated, except the Taehan Maeil Simbo, were published by Koreans abroad and seem to have been smuggled into the peninsula. The native- owned newspapers in Korea may not have given any reason for confiscation though there were altogether seven Korean daily newspapers as reported by the Japanese authorities in 1909.[1] The Taehan Maeil Simbo, owned by Bethell, presented a difficult problem to the Japanese authorities, despite the fact that the press law of July 24, 1907, was amended in April, 1908, to bring its case under control.
As a citizen of a Japanese ally, Bethell enjoyed extraterritorial rights
- ↑ "Kankoku Genji ni okeru Chiho Jinshin no Jokyo (The Present Condition of the Public Opinion of the Local Populace in Korea)," Nov. 1 , 1909, JA(Korea) 305, pp. 42-45.
