A detailed explanation of Japanese colonial policy and a rich interpretation of the poster's political and cultural context!

Although this book covers numerous posters, it is by no means a compilation of them.
Rather, it is an interesting history book that richly examines the ideology of 'Japanese colonialism' contained in the poster and the 'daily life history' of the people.
In particular, the social and political context of the poster was clearly revealed and even the subtle areas of life history were explored in detail.
Thanks to this, this book faithfully reflects the achievements of domestic and international research to date, while also containing a considerable amount of new content based on specific historical materials.

In this book, posters from the Japanese colonial period are divided into several categories and arranged and explained according to the flow of time within each category.
Chapter 1 (Wake up, 'People') is grouped under the category of 'enlightenment', and Chapter 2 (Let it be widely known) is grouped under the category of 'publicity'.
Chapter 3 (Become Imperial Subjects) deals with ‘ideological mobilization’, and Chapter 4 (Mobilized Bodies and Materials) deals with ‘war mobilization’.
Each separate chapter is organically related to each other within the framework of Japan's propaganda strategy.

Additionally, this book sometimes includes non-poster image materials (magazine covers, photographs, illustrations, comics, advertisements, flyers, etc.) to help readers better understand posters.
In addition, it included not only posters that were introduced in black and white in almost all media at the time, but also 'existing materials' in color.

Accordingly, this book utilizes organically intertwined compositions and extensive image data to present posters in three dimensions, allowing present-day readers to easily and enjoyably approach the 'entire history of the Japanese colonial period' while sharing a visual experience with the people of the past.

In Figure 10, a 'savage Korean' with a topknot is greedily eating a crab.
He had a sign with an arrow on his lungs that said 'Soil Prevention'.
The right side of the poster depicts catching crayfish and crabs, and the left side depicts selling crayfish.
At the very bottom, crayfish and crabs are drawn.
The poster read, “To prevent soil contamination, we cannot catch or sell crayfish and crabs.”
'Soil' is a type of lung disease.
Pulmonary distoma is a parasite that invades the lungs and causes disease.
If you are infected with pulmonary edema, you will cough up phlegm mixed with blood.
Until at least 1944, there was no reliable treatment for the pneumonic plague parasite.
Because the disease progressed slowly, pulmonary distoma was considered relatively mild.
However, the disease was widespread, reducing many people's ability to work, and many people died from complications.
The Government-General conducted a survey in 1922-1923 to establish measures to eradicate pneumonia.
The investigation found that it was caused by eating raw crayfish and Southeast crabs, which are popular among Koreans.
In 1924, a law was enacted and implemented to prohibit the harvesting and trading of crayfish and southeastern crabs.

--- p.33

Figure 5 focuses on the rural development movement that began in 1932.
“Self-reliance is through savings,” he wrote.
In the village far away, cherry blossoms are in full bloom, and farmers wearing straw sandals work together to plow the fields.
The countryside in the poster is prosperous and the people are hard-working.
The Japanese government launched a rural development movement to revive the devastated farming economy and stabilize the system.
He said that farmers must break free from their lazy and ignorant state and live a new life with the spirit of self-reliance.
The rural development movement was an ideological brainwashing policy that taught people that they could live well if they worked hard and saved money, while thoroughly concealing the mechanisms of exploitation.
--- p.79

Figure 1 was already introduced when describing the ‘Joseon Products Exhibition’, but it is included here again for easy comparison with Figure 2.
Of course, Figure 1 and Figure 2 are different.
First, Figure 1 has Gyeongbokgung Palace in the background, and Figure 2 has Bulguksa Temple’s Dabotap Pagoda in the background.
Second, Figure 2 puts the flower bed and fountain of Building 1 in the foreground rather than the appearance of the parasite.
Third, Figure 1 shows the chrysanthemum, a symbol of the Japanese imperial family, but Figure 2 does not.
But in the big picture, the two posters are almost identical.
In particular, the old space is depicted as a lifeless and dark space, while the modern space is depicted as a lively and bright space.
--- p.243

In Figure 3, a girl clasps her hands before eating her lunchbox.
It says, “Let us give thanks, let us protect the general.”
At the very bottom, in very small letters, it said, “1st place in the current affairs poster contest.”
This poster successfully symbolizes frugality and gratitude.
The lunch box in the poster is called 'Hinomaru Bento'.
If you translate it, it means 'Rising Sun Flag Lunchbox'.
If you put a pickled plum (umeboshi) in the middle of your lunch box, it will look like the Japanese flag.
By lunchtime, the red color of the pickled vegetables spreads and looks like the Rising Sun Flag.
I ordered a Hinomaru bento to be packed for Patriot's Day and other events.
--- p.393

In Figure 5, it is written, “Age: 16 to 40 years old, Due date: September 30 to October 10.”
It was titled “Report All, Final System Youth and Middle-Aged Citizen Registration.”
What is the decisive battle system?
As the war dragged on, the term "decisive battle system" began to be used from late 1941 to mean strengthening the wartime system.
The term "final battle system" is much more oppressive than the term "war system" and even carries an atmosphere of defeat.
As the tide of the war turned in favor of the Allied Forces during the Battle of Guadalcanal (August 7, 1942 - February 9, 1943), the Japanese began to use the term "decisive battle system" more frequently.
Since 1943, this phrase has become something of a catchphrase.
In Figure 5, the two people are solemn and solemn, reflecting the ‘final battle system.’
The purpose of the third youth national registration in 1943 was to “establish a human mobilization system to expand military supplies and production capacity under the decisive battle system.”
--- p.451

Figure 19 is a photo from the cover of the Japanese national media and photo magazine, Photographic Magazine.
This photo is from the 'Modern 3D Attack and Defense Exercise', which was one of the events commemorating the 1st anniversary of the Greater East Asia War.
Anyone can easily see that the poster for Figure 20, 'Seaweed Increase', was modeled after Figure 19.
In Figure 20, the grass the soldier is covering himself with to camouflage his body is reminiscent of seaweed.
“Seaweed is a war resource,” he wrote, “We need seaweed to win the war.”
The bottom left of Figure 20 lists the seaweeds that need to be increased, such as kelp, wakame, seaweed, and sea mustard.
He explained, with small drawings, that it was necessary for making airplane materials, explosives, matches, optical glass, mining supplies, etc.
The 'seaweed production increase movement' first started in Japan.
In Joseon, a 'seaweed production increase movement' was also carried out, mainly in Jeollanam-do and Jeju-do.
The increase in production movement meant an expansion of requisition.
As with all requisitions, the seaweed requisition was a great hardship for the coastal villages.
Jeju Island, which had to collect seaweed, which was used as a raw material for gunpowder, is an example.
In Jeju Island, seaweed was a valuable seaweed used as compost in fields.
As hundreds of sacks of seaweed were allocated to each village, making it impossible to make compost, the fields became increasingly barren.

--- p.570