A study of women's educatoin under the Japanese occupation

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The Japanese government promulgated the Chosen Educational Ordinance in 1911, putting special emphasis on the cultivation of the Japanese spirit, the teaching of the Japanese language, and the strengthening of the habit of industry. The japanese Government policy of education was to make Korean children work directly after they left school and to increase the production of food and war materials for the Japanese. In teaching, the Japanese language and morals were stressed in order to make Korean children loyal subjects of the Japanese Empire.
In elementary education, discrimination was made in regard to sex. Girls were kept in a separate class from boys. Up to 1922 all teachers were required to wear swords in classrooms. This one fact fully explains of the character of the teaching in Korean schools. The teaching was entirely formal, and militaristic order and discipline prevailed in the school. In 1939, there were 306,000 Korean girls enrolled in primary schools and 912,067 boys. The number of boys was three times that of girls. The number of Japanese girls enrolled in elementary schools in 1917 was almost equal to that of Japanese boys. The Japanese discriminated against the Korean girls in their educational policies.
The aims of girls high schools were to cultivate the character of a good subject of the Empire and to make the girls proficient in the Japanese language. A different aim from that of primary schools was to train Korean girls for the vocations of good wives and wise mothers. It was the policy of the Japanese Government not to encourage the Korean girls toward advanced study. There were no colleges or universities established by the Government for girls. However, the Japanese officials thought it very important to assimilate Korean girls. However, the Japanese way of life and thinking. After the promulgation of the New Educational Ordinance of 1922, the mixed education of the two races, Korean and Japanese, was put into effect. Mixed education was particularly emphasized in secondary schools for girls, because, the Japanese way of life and thinking.
The standard of academic achievement in the girls' schools was lower than in boys' schools. Whereas boys secondary schools had to provide a five year course, the girl's school might be designed on the four of three year basis. The contents of textbooks used in girls' schools were easier than those used in boys schools. It was generally thought that girls would be inferior to boys in learning. Thirteen girls' high schools had been established by the Government before 1943, 21,194 girls were under instruction, both in private and public schools for girls, whereas 77,098 boys were under instruction in schools for boys.
The number of Japanese girls enrolled was only four per cent less than that of Japanese boys whereas the number of Korean girls was one-third that of Korean boys. The Japanese government was mainly interested in educating Japanese girls and paid little attention to the education of Korean girls.
In 1935, a normal school for girls was established in Seoul by the Government. This was the first and only normal school for girls in Korea under the Japanese occupation. The Seoul Women's Normal School was not a teacher training institution for Korean girls only. One third of the total enrollment was Korean girls, and the rest Japanese girls. The spirit of loyalty and patriotism toward Japan were strongly stressed in normal school education. Normal school girls were severely disciplined so that unshaking loyalty to the Emperor might be attained. The textbooks for the girls of normal schools were made specially and differently from those for boys. All textbooks but the Korean language book were compiled by Japanese scholars under the direction of the Japanese Government. All private schools were brought under the strict control and supervision of the Government by the Japanese educational system. In 1935, there were ten private girls' schools, two women's liberal colleges and one medial college for women, which were officially recognized by the Government. According to the survey of the same year, the number of girls enrolled in public girls' high schools. As to the college education for girls, the Japanese government did nothing for Korean girls. The higher education of Korean girls was entirely due to the private colleges. Generally, the private schools were reactionary toward the Japanese educational policy, so it became the policy to sent as many Japanese teachers to them as possible.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• 1. General Background of Education
• 2. Elementary Education for Girls
• 3. Girls High School
• 4. Normal School for Girls
• 5. Mixed Education of Korean Girls and Japanese Girls
• 6. Private Schools for Girls
• 7. Ewha Women's College
• 8. Summary and Conclusion
• Reference books