Lost Names Book, How Does It Show Korean Survivance

Lost Names Book, How Does It Show Korean Survivance

Gerald Vizenor defines survivance as “renunciations of dominance, tragedy and victimry” in the face of colonial systems. The Korean people find themselves embroiled between retaining their cultural identity amidst Japanese imperialism during Japan’s occupation of the Korean peninsula. Several authors have given multiple accounts of events elaborating the atrocities committed by Japanese colonizers during the Japans occupation of Korea. Author Richard Kim writes one such report in his book Lost Names. The book offers a vivid account of how life would have been for a child in Korea during the mid-1930s up to the end of the Second World War, during Japanese imperial occupation.  The protagonist offers a narration of his childhood life experiences, although his insights take the perception of a grown-ups understanding and point of view.

Richard Kim’s book lost names is a classic example “Survivance” of Korean people during Japan’s imperial occupation. Despite Japan imposing its colonial strategies on the Korean people, their resilience plays a critical role in preserving their culture and identity. The people of Korea perceived Japan’s occupation as an outright infringement on their existence and cultural identity. The imperialist’s policies affected individual across Korea, for instance, systems on land ownership, education and cultural and religious beliefs. Japan’s assimilation policy was critical in advancing its cultural ideals on the Korean people during its occupation of the Korean peninsula (Ebrey & Walthall, 2013). Notably, laws requiring Korean people to renounce their identities and take on Japanese names in a bid to assimilate native Koreans into Japanese culture. The people of Korea overwhelmingly resisted Japans imperial occupation and its ideologies, especially the highhandedness approach of colonial masters.

Impact of Japanese Colonialism

Cultural Identities

In the early 19^th century, Japan sought to expand its territory leading to a series of campaigns to colonize parts of East Asia and the Korean peninsula. Japans imperialism had numerous negative and positive impacts on its colonies.  Japans occupation of the Korean peninsula left a series of bitter memories amongst the Korean population even up to this date. Author Richard Kim takes readers down memory lane giving an account of his childhood experiences to provide a glimpse of Japanese occupation. Some of the atrocities perpetrated during Japans occupation of the Korean peninsula are difficult to comprehend especially the nature of their execution. The young protagonist receives severe punishment at school for singing a song that is no longer acceptable and supposedly against new Japanese teachings (Kim, 2011). The young boy receives punishment despite him being unaware of the cultural oppression.

The Japanese came up with laws to culturally synthesize the people of Korea through imposing the Japanese language, enforcing Japanese identity by taking on Japanese names and worshipping the Japanese emperor. On one occasion, author Kim recounts people registering their Japanese names at Shino shrines as a sign of complying with japans policies and regulations. At some point in the book, Kim’s father reports to the police station to make a declaration about his recently acquired Japanese name (Kim, 2011). The presence of long queues at the police station of individuals coming to declare their new names is a sign of shame for the Korean people. The author’s emotions are depicted when he showcases the family at the burial grounds weeping and seeking pardon from their ancestors for giving up their family names with little or no resistance.

Agriculture and Infrastructure

Japanese colonialism in East Asia led to advancements in the agricultural and infrastructural sectors. Upon their arrival, the Japanese collaborated with influential collaborators to change land laws. The new laws placed much of the farmland under the control of the Japanese rules. The Japanese organized Korean farmers into groups under the leadership of a Japanese supervisor who was in charge of farm activities and farm produce.  The Japanese introduced new farming techniques and better technologies that led to improved output. The inception of better farming techniques and the acquisition of better equipment and technology led to an increase in rice and sugarcane production (Ebrey & Walthall, 2013). An increase in agricultural production led to improved living standards amongst Korean farmers as well as ensuring a continued supply of rice in their diet.

The new improvements in farming techniques coupled with better and improved seeds, led to an increase in food production. Most of the farm produce was shipped back to Japan for commercial purposes and consumption. Moving the produce necessitated the building of new roads and a railway network to facilitate the movement of agricultural produce. Consequently, the Japanese built new ways, a railway line and expanded the ports to handle the massive amounts of incoming cargo. Apart from the new transport infrastructure, the Japanese injected considerable amounts of capital in building new industries in their colonies. The industries sparked economic growth for the local people, thus improving their living standards (Ebrey & Walthall, 2013). The industries set up during the colonial occupation may have set the pace for present-day advancements, especially in the technological sector.

Education and Medical Services

The Japanese played a significant role in shaping the education and medical sectors during their occupation in East Asia. Apart from language and religion, the school was also a useful tool employed by the occupation government to assimilate Koreans. The Japanese occupation saw the confiscation of Korean education materials put an immediate stop to existing forms of Korean education (Ebrey & Walthall, 2013). The colonizers went ahead to impose their education system in Korean schools, even teaching Korean children the Japanese language. Students who did well during the Japanese occupation would get the opportunity to join higher institutions in Japan for further studies. Some of the educated students would come back later to get jobs in Japanese establishments in Korea. Most of the knowledgeable individuals would later play an essential role in the struggle for independence.

Considerable strides in medical advancements were made during Japans imperial occupation in East Asia. The colonial government set up a series of manufacturing industries and plants, which led to the construction of hospitals. The new medical facilities were instrumental in the delivery of medical services to factory workers. Populations living around the hospitals would end up benefiting from the services offered at the medical facilities. Improved medical care and availability of modern medicine led to lower mortality rates and enhanced life expectancy (Ebrey & Walthall, 2013). Maternity services were vital for delivering mothers and increased the chances of survival for both mother and child in case of rising complications during delivery. After Korea’s independence, Japanese knowledge in modern medicine set the basis for training in Korea’s medical schools.