10:10

Korea Under Japanese Rule • Year 15 of 35 • Evening Edition

OCTOBER 4, 1925 • SUNDAY • EVENING

100 YEARS AGO TODAY

“As you wind down your day, reflect on a century of history”

 Published at 10:10 PM KST

A quiet Sunday morning masks two sinister colonial projects converging on Korea’s capital.

Table of Contents

As evening falls on October 4, 1925, we look back to Gyeongseong (today’s Seoul), where the streets appeared deceptively peaceful this Sunday morning. Three days earlier, on October 1, the Japanese colonial government conducted Korea’s first modern census—officially called the “Simple National Survey”—counting 19.02 million Koreans. But this was no benign statistical exercise. It was the foundation for systematic exploitation: tracking labor for forced mobilization and resources for extraction.

Meanwhile, just eleven days away, on October 15, the colonial authorities would perform the “Chinza-sai” ceremony at the newly completed Chosun Shrine on Namsan Mountain—a Shinto shrine built to erase Korean identity and replace it with loyalty to the Japanese Emperor. Between census and shrine, between counting subjects and commanding souls, ordinary Koreans lived this quiet Sunday in 1925.

📰 Korea Under Japanese Rule – A Sunday’s Record

Understanding the Context: By October 1925, Korea had been under Japanese colonial rule for 15 years—less than halfway through a brutal 35-year occupation. The colonial government wielded total control: Korean newspapers faced constant censorship, independence activists were hunted as “insurgents,” and every aspect of Korean life was monitored and manipulated.

📊 The Census: Counting Koreans for Exploitation

On October 1, 1925, at midnight, the Government-General of Korea conducted what it called a “Simple National Survey” (Kan’i Kokusei Chōsa). This was Korea’s first modern census using contemporary statistical methods. The final count: 19,022,945 Koreans (9,726,000 men and 9,294,000 women). The census had originally been planned for 1920 but was postponed due to the massive March 1st Independence Movement of 1919, which saw millions of Koreans demand freedom. By October 4, clerks in government offices across Korea were still tabulating the results—creating a detailed map of human resources ripe for exploitation through forced labor, military conscription, and economic extraction.

⛩️ The Shrine: Forcing Spiritual Submission

From early October, the Gyeonggi Provincial Police Bureau mobilized all police chiefs, assigning surveillance zones and deploying plainclothes officers throughout the city. Their concern: Korean independence activists might sabotage the October 15 ceremony at the Chosun Shrine. Built over five years at a staggering cost of 1.56 million yen (equivalent to over 20 billion won or $17 million today), the shrine on Namsan Mountain enshrined the Japanese sun goddess Amaterasu and Emperor Meiji. On October 13, a special imperial envoy would arrive at Gyeongseong Station carrying sacred objects from Japan—including a mirror symbolizing the goddess and a sword once worn by Emperor Meiji. Police were terrified that Korean “insurgents” would strike during this vulnerable moment.

✊ Resistance in Shadows

This Sunday, Korean newspapers like Dong-A Ilbo and Chosun Ilbo were not published—standard practice for Sundays. But just days earlier, on September 25, the newspaper Sidae Ilbo (Times Daily) had attempted to report that the Provisional Government in Shanghai had sent a “bomb squad” to disrupt the shrine ceremony. Colonial censors immediately suppressed the article. The Korean Communist Party, secretly founded in Seoul on April 17, 1925, was quietly organizing underground. Within weeks, on November 22, Japanese police would arrest its leaders in Sinuiju in what would be known as the “First Korean Communist Party Incident.”

💰 The Cost of Colonial Rule (1925)

Chosun Shrine construction: 1.56 million yen Equivalent to $17 million USD today

Daily wage for Korean laborers: 50 sen to 1 yen While Japanese workers earned 2-3 times more

🌏 East Asia in Turmoil

🇨🇳 China – Warlords & Revolution

The assassination of Kuomintang Finance Minister Liao Zhongkai on August 20 sent shockwaves through the Nationalist movement. Shanghai hosted the Korean Provisional Government-in-exile, while Guangdong University was renamed Zhongshan University on September 15 in honor of Sun Yat-sen. Korean independence fighters throughout China watched anxiously as their host nation struggled with its own liberation.

🇯🇵 Japan – Democracy vs Militarism

Japan enacted the Peace Preservation Law on April 22, 1925—an draconian measure targeting socialists and Korean independence activists. On May 5, Japan granted universal male suffrage to men over 25, but Koreans and Taiwanese were effectively excluded from meaningful political participation. The country was still recovering from the devastating 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, during which thousands of Koreans were massacred in racist pogroms.

🇷🇺 Soviet Union & Manchuria

Stalin was consolidating power in the USSR following Lenin’s death in 1924. In Manchuria, Korean communities established independence bases like Shinminbu (New People’s Association), founded on March 15, 1925. These Korean settlements in Jiandao and beyond served as training grounds for armed resistance fighters preparing to reclaim their homeland.

[Image: Sunday morning scene in Gyeongseong on October 4, 1925 – Jongro street with rickshaws, trams, and Namsan construction visible in distance]

🌍 The World in 1925 – As Evening Falls

📅 October 4, 1925 – Global Events

Soviet Union: Lifted all restrictions on alcohol content in beverages after 11 years of limited prohibition.
Syria: During the Great Syrian Revolt, rebels captured the city of Hama from French colonial forces.
Finland: Torpedo boat S2 sank in a fierce storm near Pori in the Gulf of Bothnia, killing all 53 crew members.
United States: The Washington Senators and Pittsburgh Pirates continued the World Series, with Pittsburgh leading 3-1.

🇺🇸 America – The Roaring Twenties

The United States was in the midst of the Jazz Age—F. Scott Fitzgerald had published The Great Gatsby on April 10, 1925. Prohibition was in full effect, driving alcohol consumption underground. Wall Street was booming, though the 1929 crash loomed unseen on the horizon. The infamous Scopes “Monkey Trial” challenging evolution education had concluded in July, symbolizing the cultural tensions of the era.

🇪🇺 Europe – Fragile Peace

The Locarno Treaties were being negotiated (October 5-16), attempting to secure peace in post-WWI Europe. Weimar Germany struggled with economic instability. Mussolini’s fascist Italy was consolidating totalitarian control. Britain’s empire remained vast but would soon face challenges in India, where Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement echoed Korea’s resistance to Japanese rule.

🔄 Colonial Parallels: Korea’s Place in History

🇮🇳 British India

Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement
Language suppression similar to Korea
Both fighting for independence
Census used for exploitation

🇮🇪 Ireland

Gained independence in 1922
Cultural revival movements
Inspiration for Korean fighters
Proof that freedom was possible

🇵🇭 Philippines

Under US rule since 1898
English-only education policies
Similar cultural suppression
Colonial parallels to Korea

🇹🇼 Taiwan

Also under Japanese rule (since 1895)
Different treatment than Korea
Less active resistance
More integration policies

🏮 Understanding Life in 1925 Gyeongseong

What Did This Sunday Look Like?

🌅 Morning Quiet

No newspaper delivery on Sunday mornings. The usual bustle of Jongro street was subdued. Korean families who had been counted in the census just days earlier tried to enjoy a day of rest, though anxiety about the upcoming shrine ceremony hung in the air.

🔨 Construction Sounds

Even on Sunday, final touches were being applied to the Chosun Shrine on Namsan. The sound of hammers echoed across the city—a constant reminder of the massive structure being imposed on the Korean landscape, visible from nearly anywhere in Gyeongseong.

👮 Police Everywhere

Plainclothes police mingled with Sunday crowds, watching for any signs of “insurgent” activity. Japanese colonial police, recognizable by their dark uniforms and caps, conducted extra patrols. The surveillance state never took a day off.

[Image: Century comparison – Same Jongro location in 1925 (colonial surveillance) vs 2025 (modern Seoul at night)]

🔄 A Century Later: From Counted Subjects to Citizens

Aspect	1925 Sunday	2025 Sunday
Census	Forced survey for exploitation	Voluntary census for welfare
Religion	Shrine worship forced	Freedom of religion
Population	19.02 million (all Korea)	51 million (South Korea)
Status	Colonial subjects	Democratic citizens

💡 Tonight’s Reflection

As you end your day in 2025, remember that 100 years ago, Koreans ended theirs under surveillance and suppression. The K-pop you stream, the Korean dramas you watch before bed, the Korean food you enjoy—they exist because those who were counted as mere subjects in 1925 never gave up their identity. The census that reduced them to numbers couldn’t erase their culture. The shrine that demanded their worship couldn’t break their spirit. Freedom isn’t a gift—it’s earned through resistance, preserved through memory, and honored by never forgetting.