Colonial Korea and the Olympic Games, 1910–1945
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University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2016 Colonial Korea and the Olympic Games, 1910–1945 Seok Lee University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Asian History Commons, and the Kinesiology Commons Recommended Citation Lee, Seok, "Colonial Korea and the Olympic Games, 1910–1945" (2016). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 1836. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1836 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1836 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Colonial Korea and the Olympic Games, 1910–1945 Abstract This dissertation examines how Koreans received and consumed the Olympic Games under Japanese colonial rule (1910–1945). Although a growing body of research on colonial Korea addresses a range of topics beyond politics and economy, sports is still a relatively neglected topic in this field. By exploring Olympic fever in colonial Korea, this study shows how multifaceted aspects of Korean society became a part of the global sports world. Korean athletes participated in the 1932 Summer, 1936 Winter, and 1936 Summer Games as part of the Japanese delegation, attracting much attention from members of all walks of life in colonial Korea. Public figures as varied as political leaders, intellectuals, sport journalists, and athletes recognized and promoted the Games through the burgeoning mass media. As the Olympic Games were a powerful tool for promoting Korean nationalism, Korean athletes’ performance was in the spotlight of Korean vernacular media, which also pursued commercial interests in featuring scandals of athletes. Nevertheless, many advocates of public gymnastics criticized what they perceived as the bourgeois-oriented, if not elitist, nature of the Games. Ahead of the 1940 Tokyo Olympic Games, Koreans were not passive spectators, but active participants and consumers eager to promote their nation to the world. The occasion also allowed the Japanese colonial regime and Korean collaborators to praise Korean athletes in the context of Japan’s official policy of “harmony between Japanese andor K eans” (naisen yūwa) and “assimilation” (dōka). Indeed, sports played a powerful role in propagating Japanese assimilation policies in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Overall, the Olympic Games during the Japanese occupation of Korea were a contested space in which a variety of discourses clashed, reflecting the variegated nature of colonial Korea as it interacted with global commodities and cultural influences. Embracing the international mega-sporting event fueled debates about nationalism, racism, commercialism, class conflict, and collaboration, among others. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group East Asian Languages & Civilizations First Advisor Eugene Y. Park Keywords Colonialism, Japan, Korea, Modernity, Nationalism, Olympic Games Subject Categories Asian History | History | Kinesiology This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1836 COLONIAL KOREA AND THE OLYMPIC GAMES, 1910–1945 Seok Lee A DISSERTATION in East Asian Languages and Civilizations Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2016 Supervisor of Dissertation Signature _____________________________ Eugene Y. Park, Korea Foundation Associate Professor of History Graduate Group Chairperson Signature _____________________________ Paul R. Goldin, Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations Dissertation Committee Eugene Y. Park, Korea Foundation Associate Professor of History Frederick R. Dickinson, Professor of History Arthur Waldron, Lauder Professor of International Relations ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to many for their guidance, encouragement, and friendship throughout my graduate studies. I would like to first thank my advisor and committee chair, Eugene Y. Park, whose mentorship and enduring supports has been indispensable for me to finish my dissertation. I thank other committee members, Frederick R. Dickinson and Arthur Waldron, for their insightfulness, generosity, and patience. I also thank David Spafford for his encouragement in the early phase of this project. I like to specially thank institutions for the funding of my doctorate program. The James Joo-Jin Kim Program in Korean Studies and grant programs of GAPSA generously supported my field and conference trips. In Korea, I am especially indebted to everyone at the Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies, Seoul National University. I am deeply grateful for my fellow Penn graduate students who enabled both the production of this dissertation and the completion of my graduate training through their friendship and encouragement: Holly Stephens, Alexander Martin, Rolf Siverson, Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein, Jamyung Choi, and Robert Hegwood. Finally, my greatest thanks are reserved for my parents, whose unwavering belief and tireless support saw me across the finish line. ii ABSTRACT COLONIAL KOREA AND THE OLYMPIC GAMES, 1910–1945 Seok Lee Eugene Y. Park This dissertation examines how Koreans received and consumed the Olympic Games under Japanese colonial rule (1910–1945). Although a growing body of research on colonial Korea addresses a range of topics beyond politics and economy, sports is still a relatively neglected topic in this field. By exploring Olympic fever in colonial Korea, this study shows how multifaceted aspects of Korean society became a part of the global sports world. Korean athletes participated in the 1932 Summer, 1936 Winter, and 1936 Summer Games as part of the Japanese delegation, attracting much attention from members of all walks of life in colonial Korea. Public figures as varied as political leaders, intellectuals, sport journalists, and athletes recognized and promoted the Games through the burgeoning mass media. As the Olympic Games were a powerful tool for promoting Korean nationalism, Korean athletes’ performance was in the spotlight of Korean vernacular media, which also pursued commercial interests in featuring scandals of athletes. Nevertheless, many advocates of public gymnastics criticized what they perceived as the bourgeois-oriented, if not elitist, nature of the Games. Ahead of the 1940 Tokyo Olympic Games, Koreans were not passive spectators, but active participants and consumers eager to promote their nation to the world. The occasion also allowed the Japanese colonial regime and Korean collaborators to praise Korean athletes in the context of Japan’s official policy of “harmony between Japanese and Koreans” (naisen yūwa) and “assimilation” (dōka). Indeed, sports played a powerful role in propagating Japanese assimilation policies in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Overall, the Olympic Games during the Japanese occupation of Korea were a contested space in which a variety of discourses clashed, reflecting the variegated nature of colonial Korea as it interacted with global commodities and cultural influences. Embracing the international mega-sporting event fueled debates about nationalism, racism, commercialism, class conflict, and collaboration, among others. iii Contents List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………...…v List of Illustrations……………………………………………………………………….vi List of Abbreviations…………………………………………………………………….vii Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..……1 Chapter 1. The Early Olympic Movement in Colonial Korea…………………………...10 Chapter 2. Colonial Korea’s First Participation in the Olympic Games (1932)…………38 Chapter 3. Koreans and the Japanese National Football Team………………………….77 Chapter 4. A Consumed Hero: Son Kijŏng and Colonial Korea……………………….112 Chapter 5. The 1940 Tokyo Olympics: Introducing a Rising Korea to the World……..145 Conclusion…….…………………………………………………………………..……178 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………185 Index……………………………………………………………………………………213 iv List of Tables Table 1. Korean athletes as members of the Japanese Olympic Team Table 2. Football Team Tryouts in Tokyo for the 1936 Olympics Table 3. 1936 Berlin Olympic Games competitors by continent v List of Illustrations Picture 1. The cover of Korean Sports World (February 1925), featuring Jackson Volney Scholz (1897–1986), an American sprinter who won gold medals in the 1920 and 1924 Games and a silver medal in the 1924 Games Picture 2. The Olympic Games and Albert I (1875–1934), King of the Belgians Picture 3. Yomiuri shimbun, 28 November 1931. Picture 4. Tonga ilbo, 1 December 1931. Pictures 5a and 5b. Tonga ilbo, 1 October 1932 (above) and Kyŏnghyang sinmun, 6 July 1979 (below) Picture 6. Braven Dye, reporter for the Los Angeles Times, interviewed Kwŏn T’aeha and described his life on the campus of the University of Southern California Picture 7. The Japanese marathon team from the country of ricksaws [Japan] ahead of other foreign athletes Picture 8. A newspaper advertisement shows the price of football (4.50 yen–8 yen) and football boots (7.50 yen–10 yen) Picture 9. FC Kyŏngsŏng after winning the All-Japan Football Championship Tournament in 1935 Picture 10. Son’s second-class train ticket from Tokyo to Berlin, used in 1936 Picture 11. Korean football players in the Japanese national team in 1938 Picture 12. Park Chongu held up a sign reading “Tokto is our territory” while celebrating his team’s 2-0 win over Japan vi List of Abbreviations FC Football Club FECG Far Eastern