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When Korea was colonized by Japan in 1910, the Japanese colonial government in Korea was keenly aware of the potential danger of Korean print media as powerful conduits for producing and disseminating anti-Japanese sentiments, so it developed modes of systematic and institutionalized censorship to control public opinion of Korean people. Under the watchful eyes of government censorship, sensitive discussions about Korean nationalism, independence, or struggle against Japan were not permitted. My presentation examines the ways in which Dong-A Ilbo (Dong-A Daily), a leading Korean newspaper, delivered to its readers anti-Japanese political messages while trying not to infuriate Japanese authorities and, accordingly, could gain a reputation as a firm advocate of Korean nationalism and independence movements under the harshly adverse climate. I argue that Dong-A Ilbo actively consumed Sun Yat-sen's image as a symbol of Chinese revolution and anti-colonial nationalism as an indirect, but effective, way of promoting Korean nationalism without greatly enraging Japanese authorities, who also had a positive view of Sun Yat-sen as a pro-Japanese politician who asserted the necessity of China's coalition with Japan to fend off Western imperialism in the East Asian region. Contact : Hyun-ho Joo - hhjoo@yonsei.ac.kr
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