Imperial Romance: Fictions of Colonial Intimacy in Korea, 1905-1945

204 Pages·2020·9.449 MB·English

by  Su Yun Kim

IMPERIAL ROMANCE

IMPERIAL
ROMANCE
Fictions of Colonial Intimacy in Korea,
1905–1945
Su Yun Kim
CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS ITHACA AND LONDON
Cornell University Press gratefully acknowledges receipt of a grant from the
Faculty of Arts at the University of Hong Kong, which aided in the publication
of this book.
Copyright © 2020 by Cornell University
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts
thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from
the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East
State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. Visit our website at cornellpress. cornell . edu.
First published 2020 by Cornell University Press
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Kim, Su- yŏn (Researcher of modern Korean fiction), author.
Title: Imperial romance : fictions of colonial intimacy in Korea,
1905–1945 / Su Yun Kim.
Description: Ithaca [New York] : Cornell University Press, 2020. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020003681 (print) | LCCN 2020003682 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781501751882 (hardback) | ISBN 9781501751899 (ebook) | ISBN
9781501751905 (pdf)
Subjects: LCSH: Interethnic marriage— Social aspects— Korea—20th century. |
Intermarriage in lit er a ture. | Japanese—K orea— History—20th century. |
Korea— History— Japanese occupation, 1910–1945. | Korea— Colonial
influence—20th century.
Classification: LCC DS916.554 .K56 2020 (print) | LCC DS916.554 (ebook) |
DDC 306.84/50951909041— dc23
LC rec ord available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2020003681
LC ebook rec ord available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2020003682
Contents
List of Figures and Tables vii
Acknowl edgments ix
Note on Transliteration and Translation xii
Introduction: Imperial Romance 1
1. Civilization and Enlightenment: The Role of the Japan ese
Home in the Early Colonial Period, 1905–1919 18
2. Under the Same Roof: A Royal Wedding and a Mixed
Family for the Ruling Class 35
3. War time Ideology and the Integration of Korean-J apanese
Mixed Families, 1930s 57
4. Romance and Colonial Universalism 85
5. Visualizing “International” and Korean-J apanese
Marriage in Print Media 103
Epilogue: Postcolonial Interracial Intimacy 126
Glossary 137
Notes 139
Bibliography 167
Index 179

Figures and Tables
Figures
2.1. Pictures of Prince Ŭn and Princess Pangja. 36
2.2. Wedding photo of Prince Ŭn and Princess Pangja. 37
2.3. Announcement of royal engagement. 39
2.4. “Before the royal wedding of the crown prince, visits to homes
representing ‘Japan and Korea as the same body.’ ” 41
3.1. Intermarriage statistics featured in the magazine Naisen ittai. 63
3.2. The march to initiate Japa nese military participation in Love
and the Vow. 81
5.1. Still from Angels on the Streets. 104
5.2. “Sarangen kukkyŏngi ŏpta” (Love has no borders). 107
5.3. A cover image of Naisen ittai. 119
Tables
3.1. Number of Korean- Japanese marriages between 1923 and 1937 64
3.2. Number of Korean- Japanese marriages between 1938 and 1942 64
vii

Acknowle dgments
Like many monographs dealing with colonial archives, this book has taken over
a de cade to finish, with many twists and turns. Many mentors, teachers, col-
leagues, and friends inspired this proje ct along the journey. I am eternally grate-
ful to them.
First, I thank my teachers and friends at the University of California, San Di-
ego (UCSD). I feel fortunate and honored to have received the guidance of such
dedicated people, scholarly and po liti cally, who offered models of how to be a
scholar, thinker, and h uman being. My peers at UCSD have turned out to be
lifelong friends and supporters, even when we live on diff er ent continents. Lisa
Yoneyama, Jin- kyung Lee, Takashi Fujitani, Lisa Lowe, and Yingjin Zhang pro-
vided instrumental comments on earlier versions of this book. Lisa Yoneyama
was the best adviser any student could wish for. To her, I express my heartfelt
gratitude for years of guidance and support. Jin and Tak have guided me with
generosity and intellectual rigor throughout the years. I am also deeply thankful
to Shelley Streeby and the late Rosemary Marangoly George, whose teachings
have stayed with me and with this proje ct. I had the best group of friends in
gradu ate school: Neda Atanasoski, Aimee Bahng, Bill Boyer, Yufang Cho, Kim-
berly Chung, Shih-s zu Hsu, Julie Hua, Denise Khor, Jinah Kim, Kate McDonald,
Ryan Moran, Gabriela Nuñez, Tomo Sasaki, Kazuyo Tsuchiya, and Rika
Yonemura- Fabian. I am grateful for our continuous friendships and emotional
support, on top of our intellectual exchanges. I thank Se- hyun Cho, Inyi Choi,
Heasoo Hwang, and Ji Hee Jung for including me in the sisterhood that started
in San Diego and continues in Korea.
Outside of UCSD, many mentors and friends supported this book by reading
parts of earlier versions or helping me locate sources. I am grateful to Steve Chung,
Michael Cronin, Todd A. Henry, Kelly Y. Jeong, Sonja M. Kim, Nayoung Aimee
Kwon, Lee Hwajin, Yoon Sun Yang, Yang Insil, and Kyu Hyun Kim. Namhee Lee’s
seminar at the University of California, Los Angeles, was a critical point in my
intellectual journey. At Yonsei University, I benefited from the institutional sup-
port for visiting scholars and from many individuals’ generosity. I am thankful
to Kim Chul, Lee Kyoung-h oon, the Hanil Munhak Yŏn’guhoe members, Baek
Moon-im, and Kim Hyun-ju. In Kyoto, I am grateful to Itagaki Ryuta for host-
ing me at Doshisha University as a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
postdoctoral fellow. I also thank Mizuno Naoki, the members of the former
ix
x AcKnowle dgmentS
Kyoto Korean Studies Consortium, and colleagues and friends who helped my
research while sharing many enjoyable hours: Hong Jong-w ook, Jeong Jong-
hyun, Ko Youngjin, Lee Sung Yup, Chung Chongwha, Sue Hyun Kim, Lee Dae
Hwa, Kim Hyeong- jeong, and Lee Hwajin and Yuka Kanno, Horie Yuri,
Kanako Akaeda, and Sophia Lee in the Kyoto Queer Reading Group. Watanabe
Naoki and the Jinbun study members welcomed me to their monthly meeting in
Tokyo, although I was only an occasional visitor.
At Hamilton College, a postdoctoral fellowship in the Asian Studies Program
supported some of the research and writing that went into producing this book.
I thank my colleagues and friends in my home department, comparative lit er a-
ture, and beyond: Anna Oldfield, Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz, Peter Rabinowitz,
Anjela Peck, Lisa Trivedi, Thomas Wilson, Kyoko Omori, Emily Rohrbach, Aaron
Spevack, Ayfer Candeger, and Patricia O’Neill. I also thank Steve Yao for hosting
the famous noodle nights at Utica and to other attendees; it eased my transition
to upstate New York.
The University of Hong Kong provided an excellent environment for re-
search. The Faculty of Arts generously sponsored my manuscript workshop and
provided additional funding for publishing this book. My special thanks go to
Derek Collins, the dean of the Faculty of Arts, for his support. I am grateful for
the mentorship of Charles Schencking, Timothy O’Leary, Adam Jaworski, and
Shu- mei Shih. During our few years of overlap at the University of Hong Kong,
Louise Edward and Kam Louie offered helpful guidance for my research and
writing. It was a stimulating experience to work with Pei- yin Lin, a fellow scholar
of colonialism in East Asia. Our co- edited volume had a valuable influence on
the final writing stage of this book. I would like to express my special thanks to
my Korean studies colleagues Paul S. Cha and Kangsoon Lee for their support. I
also thank my colleagues and friends in the School of Modern Languages and
Cultures (SMLC). Special thanks are due to the librarians Diana Tsui and Lucinda
Wong and to Shirley Chan, Zena Cheung, and the other SMLC office staff.
My research and writing would not have been poss i ble without generous fi-
nancial support from UCSD, the Pacific Rim Research Program of the Univer-
sity of California, the Northeast Asia Council of the Association for Asian Studies,
Hamilton College, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and the Gen-
eral Research Fund– Early Career Scheme from the Research Grants Council of
Hong Kong. The University of Hong Kong also provided vario us forms of struc-
tural support for the research, writing, and publication of this book.
Parts of e arlier versions of this book w ere presented in multiple places. I would
like to thank numerous organizers and commentators: the late Nancy Abelmann,
Jin- kyung Park, Andre Schmid, Janet Poole, Kyeong- Hee Choi, Youngju Ryu,
Catherine Ryu, Christopher P. Hanscom, Dennis Washburn, Leo T. S. Ching,