일제강점기 지방단체의 운영구조 분석

An Analysis on the Operational Structure of Korean Local Governments in the Japanese Colonial Period - Focused on the Official Documents of Gwangju -

This study seeks to examine the fundamental natures and operational situation of the local governments of Korea during the Japanese colonial period. For the purpose of this study, previous studies were reviewed on regulations on local governmental organization and system of the colonial period along with the official documents produced by the Japanese Government General of Korea and local governments. The research findings are as follows: The local government system was found to have a huge gap from the assimilation policy of the Japanese Government General of Korea. This is because Japanese people living in Korea demanded the level of autonomy as high as that of the Japanese mainland while maintaining discrimination against Korean people and even against economically-vulnerable Japanese people living in Korea. The Japanese Government General of Korea introduced to Korea systems already proven in its local government system for mainland Japan and special-exemption regions. In the process it modified systems for more efficient governance. However, such policies caused resistance from Japanese people in Korea who tried to for a local government on their own based on the contradictory foundation of both autonomy and discrimination. The local government system, after all, was diverged between areas with densely populated Japanese people and areas without. Japanese people in local Korean regions tried to directly recommend candidates for the head of local government which was at the same time a position in local administrative government offices of the Japanese Government General of Korea when the Government General pursed for strong governance centralization in the initial colonial period. Sometimes they appointed candidates against the opposition of the Government General. Their strong influence on local governments lasted for a considerable period of time. And the Japanese Government General of Korea worked hard to incorporate them into a unified local government system until the later part of the colonial era.