日本의 敗戰과 釜關連絡船

Defeat of Japan and the Busan-Shimonoseki cross-channel liner: Repatriates on this channel liner

This thesis investigates how the Busan and Shimonoseki cross-channel liners became repatriate vessels and examine how many Koreans and Japanese repatriated via this liners. It also studies how the repatriates felt about their return passages and their thoughts on their colony domination, based on their memoirs and testimonial materials. Many cross-channel vessels evacuating from late wartime air-raids changed into the repatriates vessels. Shimonoseki port, where traffic was blocked by torpedoes, was substituted by Senzaki port as a repatriate port for the people moving between Korea and Japan. Koan Maru vessel was positioned on the Busan and Senzaki channel, becoming the first repatriates ship allowed by the occupying authorities. 250,000 Japanese people repatriated to Senzaki from Busan while 330,000 Koreans repatriated to Busan from Senzaki. It was frequently found in the memoirs of Japanese repatriates how they were relived of their safe return to their country. There were small number of repatriates who expressed their regrets for the loss of their colony and there were also statements that the colony domination was a wrongful act. According to the testimonial records of Koreans repatriates, everyone was joyful of the liberation but their memories of their repatriating passage were not clear.