The Function and Historical Significance of the Gaeseong Branch Office of the Monopoly Bureau in the 1910s

The Gaeseong Branch Office of the Monopoly Bureau during the Japanese colonial period in Korea was a practical department responsible for the ginseng business. Its function was to stabilize the supply of fresh ginseng, the raw material for red ginseng, by controlling the cultivation area of ginseng. Additionally, it aimed to maximize monopoly profits by predicting the demand from China, producing red ginseng, and selling it at high prices. For this purpose, investment in facilities and equipment for core tasks was inevitable. In 1909, the Gaeseong Branch Office was newly constructed, and expansion and reinforcement of facilities continued until 1914. Mechanical steam equipment were introduced in storage rooms, washing rooms, and drying rooms for red ginseng production, and generators were installed for night work. One of the outcomes of the new construction, expansion, and equipment investment of the Gaeseong Branch Office was the reduction of labor costs in red ginseng production. However, the Japanese colonial government implemented a paradoxical policy of controlling the production volume of red ginseng according to overseas demand. This was to use the profits from the red ginseng monopoly as a means to expand the regular income of the special account of the Governor-General of Korea. This is an empirical example of exploitation through Japanese investment. The red ginseng monopoly was an empirical example of Japanese colonial authorities exploitation through investment.