This is a book of many
voices and it will appeal to a wide audience for many reasons. It
is appropriately titled, well organized and published by a reputable
press. The personal stories of suffering and the will to survive
describe the existentialist existence of a nation under colonial
oppression. These stories defined a people and eventually two countries:
North Korea and South Korea. From another perspective, it is a set
of stories that defined Japanese colonialism for thirty-five years.
In this book the author skilfully weaves together a common experience
of subjugation as told by fifty-one Koreans.
Six of the fourteen
chapters are oral accounts by six individuals: a teacher cum businessperson,
a bank manager, two homemakers and two students. Eight chapters
contain oral accounts of varying lengths from groups such as farmers,
fishers, peddlers and professional people. The story each person
relates paints a picture of assimilation, accommodation, oppression,
subjugation, and cultural and religious compromise under Japanese
rule. Chaos, confusion and cruelty also figure prominently. While
stories of victimization predominate, the book does include some
accounts of compassion and mercy. There were a few Japanese colonial
and military administrators who were kind to the Koreans but these
Japanese were a handful that saw a bigger picture and shunned "a
narrow island mentality" of which they were accused (p. 132).
While Kang does not
admit using a specific definition of history, it is evident that
she views history as the process of change over a period of time.
Part I covers "Change by Choice" and Part II is "Change
by Coercion". In the coverage of both parts of the book, significant
topics such as the Korean Independence Movement, the infatuation
with Communism and the role of village schools called Sodangs,
are acknowledged.
The Korean Independence
Movement is addressed in Under the Black Umbrella. Koreans
fought hard to preserve their individual and national identity since
they were fighting a war against the dangers of becoming Japanese.
Various weapons such as religion and the study of the Bible were
used in this war against assimilation. For Christians, it was impossible
to preach Christianity openly. In fact, a wide range of weapons
were used in the program of passive resistance including "hiding
crops, feigning ignorance, conveniently disappearing… singing
songs with hidden meanings, taking part in labour strikes, spreading
anti Japanese rumours, and, especially Christians, refusing to bow
to Shinto shrines" (p. 99). Koreans experienced the consequences
of such passive resistance - for example, finding it disastrous
to use a piece of the Independence newspaper to wrap a package!
Resistance continued
during the Second World War. At a time when the Japanese "wanted
all the help they could get", Koreans kept up "their passive
resistance by hiding, ignoring the summons, or finding essential
home-front jobs" (p. 130). One person sought advice from a
fortune-teller who was told to escape the draft since his lot, as
a soldier would be a bad one. For those interested in the study
of passive resistance, some of the latter accounts will remind them
of similar movements in the history of Asia among the peasants who
battled colonial rule.
There is no doubt that
the author, perhaps inadvertently, prepares her readers to focus
on mansei, independence. Mansei was the rallying cry,
the song and statement of faith for freedom some day in the Korean
future. The Japanese were devoted to controlling Korea, and the
Koreans were determined to resist Japanese colonialism. In the pursuit
of their own variety of manifest destiny, the Japanese military
administrators introduced laws that required Koreans to recite the
imperial pledge of allegiance, to speak only Japanese, to worship
at Shinto shrines and to adopt Japanese names (p. 111). In short,
Koreans were forced to assimilate. August 15, 1945 was a defining
moment for Koreans for on this date the Japanese surrendered and
Korea was no longer an imperial colony of Japan. They stopped becoming
Japanese and it was a time for Korean communists and anti-Japanese
nationalists to "let out all their frustrations" (pp.
143-144). Korea would never be the same again.
Oral histories are challenging
exercises and the author does not ignore the element of accuracy
where memory is concerned. Even though some of these individual
stories are repetitious experiences, they will appeal to a wide
range of readers - the general public, university and high school
students. The latter will find the few experiences of Korean junior
and senior high school students, some who worked in the fish cannery
during the war, interesting. Part of their school day was given
to forced labour. The author raises some pertinent issues that students
could use for papers and discussions such as the influence of assimilation
on Koreans and whether colonialism was a blessing or a bane for
Korea.
There are other significant
features of the book. The only map in Under the Black Umbrella
is useful in locating some of the towns and regions in Korea. In
addition, there are some appropriate photographs and a reprint of
a post-card to celebrate liberation from Japanese rule. Also of
interest to the reader is Appendix B, where the author briefly brought
some of the individual stories up to date. Eventually, several of
those she interviewed would make their home in the United States.
It is a truism that
history is written by the victors. But it is understandable that
many Japanese will not revisit the past, nor want to read or write
about the ugly periods of their history. One is reminded of the
article that Brigadier General S. L. A. Marshall wrote for the Atlantic
Monthly a few months after the Korean War was over: "Our
Mistakes in Korea". Nations may write on the ugly past, warts
and all, but unfortunately, we may get very little of the Japanese
perspective.
References
Marshall, S.L.A. (1953).
Our mistakes in Korea. Atlantic Monthly, 192(3), pp. 46-49.
Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/53sep/marshall.htm