일제강점기 『묘지규칙』을 통해 본 식민자와 피식민자의 간극

A Gap between Colonized and Colonizers during the Japanese Colonial Period : Focusing on Problems of ‘the Regulation of Cemetery, Burial and Cremation’ and Korean’s Responses

The Japanese Government-General of Korea legislated “the Regulation of Cemetery, Burial and Cremation”(the Regulation of Cemetery) in 1912. They judged there were no problems because the Regulation came into effect already in Japan and Taiwan. They recognized necessity of the Regulation, but they didn’t know and didn’t want to know about meanings of a grave in Korean culture. Also they didn’t have a financial capacity to make new cemetery. So there were many potential problems in the Regulation of Cemetery. Meanwhile, Korean had a strong dissatisfaction on the Regulation of Cemetery because they accepted the regulation as an ethnic discrimination or oppression. However, They didn’t vent their frustration as a group but tried break away individually to solve their grave problems. So there were many the Regulation violators throughout the Japanese Colonial Period. This phenomenon shows us a gap between colonized and colonizers frankly, and it was an inevitable consequence in the colony. Before long, the Japanese Government-General of Korea ease off the regulation to pacify Korean’s dissatisfaction. This relaxation of the regulation, however, made difference to only few rich and influential Korean. And moreover, they interpreted the relaxation as they liked. After all, the relaxation of the regulation couldn’t reduce the violators and caused an increase of private cemeteries. This was beyond all the Japanese Government-General’s expectations, and these phenomenon were inevitable in the colonial situation. Efficiency was top priority to Colonizers and the colonizers could push forward policies plainly in the colony. In this situation, they regarded the colonized and their culture, custom as nothing very easily. The colonized, however, could take this situation as the ethnic discrimination. The conflict over the Regulation shows that a compulsory cultural change is never easy especially death culture, and that was the same in the Japanese Colonial Period.