This paper studies the historical origin of colonial censorship prior to the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910. The paper defines ``modem`` censorship in terms of legislation, institutionalization of the censorship authority, and professionalizatio...
This paper studies the historical origin of colonial censorship prior to the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910. The paper defines ``modem`` censorship in terms of legislation, institutionalization of the censorship authority, and professionalization of the censoring agents. If we can treat the reality of censorship under the Japanese rule as ``colonial,`` it can be identified by three aspects: pre-inspection of drafts, a dual legal system discriminating Koreans against the Japanese, and the presence of translators working as inspectors. Pre-inspection began in 1904, during the Japanese-Russian War, by the Japanese police-army and employing Japanese translators as inspectors started in 1905. From 1907 to 1910, the discriminatory dual legal system was institutionalized. The paper, through comparing newspaper and publication laws, evidences the development of the discriminatory system even before the beginning of official colonial rule. In addition, the paper confirms that most of the major elements of colonial censorship were established during the period between 1904 and 1910 and that substantial execution of censorship policy was initiated before the establishment of relevant legislation.