Seoul (then Keijo)

Seoul (then Keijo)
Name	Seoul (then Keijo)
Native name	京城
Settlement type	City
Country	Korea (1910–1945)
Founded	1394 (Joseon capital)
Established title	Renamed Keijo
Established date	1910–1945
Population	1,000,000+ (1940s est.)

Seoul (then Keijo) Seoul (then Keijo) served as the imperial administrative center under Empire of Japan, becoming the focal point of colonial policy, urban redesign, and economic extraction during the period of Korea (1910–1945), with profound interactions among officials from Government-General of Korea, investors linked to Mitsui, and elites from Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea exile networks. The city’s urban form and institutions were reshaped by planners and engineers influenced by projects in Tokyo, Taipei, and Fengtian, while nationalist resistance from groups such as the March 1st Movement and international attention from reporters tied to the League of Nations reframed Keijo’s global significance.

Etymology and Name Changes

The name Keijo (京城) was imposed by the Empire of Japan following annexation to render the Korean name into Kanji conventions used by Meiji government administrators, replacing older usages like Hanyang (city), Gyeongseong (city), and the historical Hanseong. Japanese colonial nomenclature paralleled renamings in Taihoku Prefecture and Karafuto Prefecture and mirrored terminology reforms tied to the Governor-General of Taiwan model and legal practices under the National Diet (Japan). Debates in periodicals such as Dong-A Ilbo, Chosun Ilbo, and reports circulated between activists in Shanghai and officials in Seoul reflected contested symbolism embedded in toponymy, while postwar authorities reverted to Seoul as used in republican documents like the Constitution of the Republic of Korea.

History under Japanese Rule (1910–1945)

Keijo’s annexation followed the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910 and the city became headquarters for the Government-General of Korea presided over by figures such as Terauchi Masatake and Saitō Makoto. Urban incidents including the March 1st Movement demonstrations and subsequent mass arrests by Keijō Police Department connected Keijo to broader anti-colonial campaigns led by signatories associated with the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai and activists linked to Kim Koo and Syngman Rhee networks. World events—the Russo-Japanese War precedents, the Washington Naval Conference diplomacy, and wartime mobilization under Imperial Japanese Army directives—shaped Keijo’s strategic role, while international scrutiny from delegations affiliated with the United States Department of State and journalists from outlets like The Times intensified after incidents such as the Gyeongseong Station bombing.

Administrative and Urban Development

Keijo’s urban planning reflected models from Baron Ōkuma Shigenobu-era modernization and the colonial Government-General of Korea’s City Planning Bureau, producing infrastructures comparable to projects in Yokohama, Nagoya, and Fengtian City. Architectural programs commissioned firms influenced by Antonin Raymond and styles visible in the Seoul Station complex, Gyeongseong YMCA, and administrative buildings in Jongno integrated materials supplied by conglomerates like Mitsubishi and rail links to lines operated by Chōsen Railway. Public works—waterworks modeled on Tokyo Waterworks, road grids inspired by European urbanism, and zoning ordinances echoing City of London regulations—transformed neighborhoods from Jongno markets to suburban expansions near Yongsan and ports servicing Incheon. Institutional presences such as the Keijō Imperial University and colonial-era hospitals paralleled higher education patterns at Kyoto Imperial University and facilitated research networks tied to the Imperial Household Agency.

Economy and Industry during the Colonial Period

Keijo functioned as the colonial economic hub where financial houses like Mitsui and Sumitomo coordinated investments in textiles, rice processing, and metallurgy linked to mills in Busan and factories in Suwon. Transport nodes—Gyeongbu Line, Gyeongin Line, and maritime services to Incheon Port—enabled export flows to Yokohama and Osaka, while commercial districts hosted banks such as Bank of Chosen and trading firms with ties to the South Manchuria Railway Company. Industrial employment in the city connected to corporate labor regimes modeled after Henry Ford-inspired productivity and wartime conscription policies implemented by the Ministry of Munitions (Japan), affecting migrant labor from provinces like Jeolla and Gyeongsang and stimulating cottage industries that linked to overseas markets mediated by shipping firms in Shanghai.

Social and Cultural Life

Keijo’s social fabric included elite salons frequented by bureaucrats from the Government-General of Korea, intellectuals affiliated with Keijō Imperial University, and artists influenced by currents from Tokyo School of Fine Arts, Antonin Raymond, and Claude Monet-inspired exhibitions imported through galleries associated with Seoul Museum of Art predecessors. Newspapers such as Dong-A Ilbo and Chosun Ilbo, theatre troupes performing works by Kang Hongrip and translations of Shakespeare, and students organized in clubs echoing movements at Keijō Imperial University produced a rich cultural scene alongside repression exercised by organs like the Keijō Police Department and censorship boards modeled on Home Ministry (Japan). Religious life included institutions such as Myeongdong Cathedral, Protestant missions linked to Presbyterian Church in the United States, and Buddhist orders that navigated policies from the Ministry of Education (Japan), while popular culture blended Korean traditions with imported forms like cinema screened in theaters showing films from Toho and Pola Film Studio.

Legacy and Postwar Transformation

After liberation following Soviet–Japanese War developments and the Instrument of Surrender (1945), Keijo’s infrastructures, institutions, and contested spaces were repurposed by the United States Army Military Government in Korea and later by officials in the First Republic of Korea under Syngman Rhee. Debates about removal or preservation of colonial-era buildings involved stakeholders like the Cultural Heritage Administration (South Korea), urban planners influenced by reconstruction programs seen in Marshall Plan contexts, and scholars from institutions such as Seoul National University and Yonsei University. The city’s wartime legacies—population displacement during the Korean War, industrial conversion in Pusan Perimeter-era relocations, and memorialization projects related to the Independence Movement—continue to shape contemporary discussions among historians referencing archives in National Archives of Korea and international collections housed in British Library and Library of Congress.

Category:History of Seoul