Government-General of Chōsen Library

1923–1945 library in colonial Korea

Government-General of Chōsen Library

朝鮮総督府図書館

The library, when it had two floors above ground (1924)

General information
Type| Library
Location| Keijō (Seoul), Keiki-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan
Groundbreaking| March 1923
Completed| December 1923
Opened| December 1923 (1923-12)
Closed| 1945 (1945)
Owner| Government-General of Chōsen
Technical details
Floor count| 6

The Government-General of Chōsen Library (Japanese: 朝鮮総督府図書館, Korean: 조선총독부 도서관) was a library in Sogong-dong, Keijō (Seoul), Keiki-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan from 1923 to 1945.[1][2] It was succeeded by the South Korean National Library of Korea thereafter.[2]

The library was conceptualized as part of the "cultural rule [ja; ko]" (文化政治, bunka seiji) movement of the Government-General of Chōsen.[2] The movement was a result of the 1919 nationwide March First Movement protests, and was intended to quell future unrest in colonial Korea.[3]

The main library building was constructed in Sogong-dong, Jung District from March to December 1923. Upon its completion, it had two floors above ground and one semi-basement floor. The museum was eventually renovated to have five floors above ground.[1] The cost for constructing the building was 270,000 yen. It was funded by the Bank of Chōsen.[1]

It continued to operate as a library until the 1945 liberation of Korea. Afterwards, it was succeeded by the South Korean National Library of Korea. The original building was sold to Lotte Hotel in October 1973, and the transfer was finalized in July 1974.[1]

According to a post on the National Library of Korea website accessed in March 2024, the original library building was the longest-used library building in Korea, having been used for 50 years.[1]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e [일제 강점기의 조선총독부도서관] 조선총독부도서관은 국립중앙도서관의 전신이다.. National Library of Korea.
2. ^ a b c 강, 주진, 국립중앙도서관 (國立中央圖書館), Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean), Academy of Korean Studies, retrieved 2024-03-12
3. ^ Ronkin, Noa (2019-05-13). "On the Centennial of the March First Independence Movement of Korea". fsi.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-12.

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Korea under Japanese rule

Colony of the Empire of Japan from 1910 to 1945

Government|

* Governor-General of Chōsen (list)
* Japanese Korean Army

Cultural policies|

* Chōsen Art Exhibition (1922–1944)
* Chosun Exhibition (1929)
* Colored Clothes Campaign (1920–1945)
* Office of the Yi Dynasty
* Sōshi-kaimei (1939–1945)
* Shinto in Korea
* State Shinto

Economy|

* Bank of Korea (1909–1950)
* Hwacheon Dam
* Korean yen
* Sup'ung Dam

| Companies|

* Chōsen Anthracite Company
* Chōsen Government Railway
* Chosen Railway
* Oriental Development Company

|

Controversies|

* Comfort women (list)
* Sakhalin Koreans

| Forced labor|

* Aso Mining forced labor controversy
* Hashima Island
* Korean Women's Volunteer Labour Corps
* Sado Island
* Slavery during World War II
* Utoro, Uji

|

Events|

* 105-Man Incident (1911)
* March First Movement (1919)
* Jeamri Massacre (1919)
* Battle of Fengwudong (1920)
* Battle of Samdunja
* Battle of Qingshanli (1920)
* Gando Massacre (1920–1921)
* Shinano River incident (1922)
* Kantō Massacre (1923)
* June Tenth Movement (1926)
* Gwangju Student Independence Movement (1929)
* Hongkou Park Incident (1932)
* Battle of Pochonbo (1937)
* Korean Language Society Incident (1942)

Collaborators|

* Five Eulsa Traitors
* Hong Sa-ik
* Iljinhoe
* Korean History Compilation Committee
* Park Yeong-hyo
* Refrain Club
* Park Jung-yang
* Song Byeong-jun
* Yi Yun-yong

Independence movement|

* Declaration of Independence
* Independence Club
* Korean National Association
* List of militant independence organizations
* List of independence activists
* Provisional Government

Places and structures|

* Altteureu Airfield
* Gyeongbokgung
* Government-General Museum of Chōsen
* Heijō Shrine
* Hyochang Park
* Japanese General Government Building, Seoul
* Keijō (Seoul)
* Keijō Post Office
* Keijō Shrine
* Keijō Imperial University
* Seodaemun Prison

Legacy|

* Anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea
* Anti-Korean sentiment in Japan
* Controversies surrounding Yasukuni Shrine
* Japan–Korea disputes
* Japan–North Korea relations
* Japan–South Korea relations
* Japanese history textbook controversies
* List of war apology statements issued by Japan
* Division of Korea (1945–)
* Koreans in Japan (1945–)
* Hibakusha (1945–)
* Treaty of San Francisco (1952)
* Treaty on Basic Relations Between Japan and the Republic of Korea (1965)
* Independence Hall of Korea (1987–)
* Murayama Statement (1995)
* Special Law to Redeem Pro-Japanese Collaborators' Property (2005)
* Museum of Japanese Colonial History in Korea (2018–)

| Comfort women|

* Futsukaichi Rest Home (1946–1947)
* The Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (1990–)
* Wednesday demonstration (1992–)
* Kono Statement (1993)
* Asian Women's Fund (1994)
* Shimonoseki Trial (1998)
* Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan's Military Sexual Slavery (2000)
* United States House of Representatives House Resolution 121 (2007)
* Japan–South Korea Comfort Women Agreement (2015)

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