The Transliteration of Korean Place Names in Colonial Times: Unveiling the Strategies of Japanese Imperialism
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: This study analyzes the methods Imperial Japan employed in changing the names of Korean territories and examines how these changes related to the policies of the colonial power. The Japanese photo album Hantō no kin’ei depicts a variety of landscapes in colonial Korea. It also contains tables of contents in both Japanese and English, whose primary purpose was to Romanize Korean place names (generally written in Chinese characters) based on their Japanese pronunciation. This study argues that in order to superimpose its identity onto Korea, Japan transliterated Korean place names based on Japanese pronunciation rather than the original Korean. Through this strategy, Japan laid claim to such areas and made manifest its territorial expansion.
Source: Acta Koreana
Author: Hyosook KIM
Language: English
Topic: Japanese History and Culture
Subfield: Cultural Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4390020173