Annotation source: Seoul Metropolitan Archive
Annotation and image link: https://archives.seoul.go.kr/item/17
ANNOTATION
The Allied Forces intercepted Japan’s encrypted radio communications as part of its espionage activities from the beginning of the war. Those radio communications contained a wide range of information from trivia to crucial military details. The Allied Forces sorted out and translated the information and classified it as Top Secret. As the war went on, the Allied Forces broadened the scope of its intelligence gathering activities, including not only in mainland Japan, but also its colonies, such as Korea, Manchuria, and Mongolia, that were not actual battlefields.
This is a translation of an encrypted radio communication from Kalgan (today’s Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province, China), capital city of the Mongol United Autonomous Government, to Keijo (today’s Seoul, South Korea). The Mongol United Autonomous Government was established by Japan in 1939, with a purpose of ruling inner Mongolia. Mongolia at the time was a puppet state of the Japanese empire, under the rule of Japan’s Kwantung Army. Small-sized Japanese units including the 26th division were stationed in that area, although the Mongol United Autonomous Government had its own troops.
According to this communication on June 4, 1945, the Japanese troops in Kalgan made an urgent request for a refund of the money (in the amount of 76,000 Japanese yen) that they had sent from Mokyo Bank to the Keijo Bank to import “comfort women.” In other words, although the troops had sent money to bring “comfort women” to Kalgan who had been recruited in Korea, they now needed the money back due to certain circumstances. The name of the communication sender was Shigeji Okamoto.
This communication indicates that the Japanese military sent money through an official channel for the transportation of “comfort women” from Korea through Keijo Bank (the central bank of colonized Korea), and that the “comfort women” were recruited under the auspices of Japan’s Government-General in Korea. It confirms that the Japanese military and Japan’s Government-General in Korea were officially involved in the recruitment of the “comfort women.”
Contributors
[Organization] Seoul National University, Chin-sung Chung Research Team, 2015~
[Organization] Seoul National University, Chin-sung Chung Research Team, 2015~
[Organization] City of Seoul, Women and Family Policy Affairs Office 2011~
[Organization] National Archives and Records Administration 1934~
#transportation #transaction #Keijo_Bank #Hebei #China #refund
Download file: https://international.ucla.edu/media/files/US-14-S-11414-1n-1s3.pdf
LESSON PLAN
Note to teachers: The discussion questions below are designed based on the original document, not the annotation. Teachers are recommended to use the primary document in teaching, instead of the annotation. However, the annotation provides useful background information for teachers when they prepare for the lesson.
Explain the following words to your students before asking them to read the required sections:
- Kalgan: today's Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province, China
- Keijo: today's Seoul, South Korea
- prostitute: a person, in particular a woman, who engages in sexual activity for payment. It refers to the "comfort women: in the document.
- Remitter: person who sent money in payment
- yen: Japanese currency. The currency symbol is ¥.
Direct students to read the first half of the document (June 4, 1945). Tell students that this is a translation of an encrypted radio communication by Japan, intercepted by the Allied Forces. After reading, discuss the following questions:
1. What's the letterhead of this document?
2. What does the big red letters on top of the document say? What does that tell you?
3. What are the physical characteristics of this document?
a. Is it handwritten or typed?
b. Are there any marks? If so, what are they?
c. Any other physical features do you notice?
d. Does any of these physical characteristics interest you?
4. Who sent the message?
5. What year was the message created?
6. What was the historical context in East Asia during the time?
7. What's the main idea of this message?
8. The short message indicates that, about a mont ago, the Japanese Army paid for the importation of "comfort women" from Korea to China through a formal channel. What can you infer from this piece of information?
9. The Japanese government has been claiming that it bears no legal or official responsibility for the "comfort women" victims. Based on this document, do you think the claim is defendable? Why or why not?
10. What additional questions do you have for this document?
11. Where/How can you find the answers?
*This lesson plan was designed by Jing Williams, Associate Professor of Social Studies Education at University of South Dakota.