Changes in the Subject of Strengthening Nationalistic Education and Establishing Normal Schools during the Japanese Colonial Period

The Government-general of Korea trained teachers in the form of teacher trainingcourses attached to higher elementary schools or temporary teacher training institutes in the 1910s, and then began to establish public normal schools in each province in 1922. Public normal schools were educational institutions that trained elementary school teachers by providing two years (later extended to three years) of special teacher training to Korean students who had graduated from elementary schools. However, these schools were decided to be abolished in 1929. This was caused by the reduction in education budget due to the austerity measures of the home country. When the simple school system was fully implemented in 1934, a shortage of teachers appeared, and the establishment of more normal schools was also demanded. Starting with Jeonju in 1936, the previous provincial normal schools were restored one after another, but they were not public schools but government-run schools. Japanese politicians of the time pursued nationalism under extreme control, and attempted to increase the number of normal schools every year according to the plan to expand the supply of elementary education institutions. Therefore, the normal schools at this time became a government-run system that was easy for the state to actively intervene. Originally, the ‘public’ schools during the Gabo Reform referred to ‘county-run’ schools, whereas after the establishment of the Residency-General, ‘public’ schools were limited to ‘provincial-run’ schools. It seems that the prejudice and intention of the Japanese at the time played a role in this. They attempted to break the traditional ‘county’-centered local community cohesion by using the county magistrates’ corrupt practices, such as forced collection of donations, as an excuse. However, the colonial authorities and Koreans had different dreams hidden in the fact that they referred to them as ‘public’ schools instead of ‘provincial-run’ schools and did not clearly state who established and managed them. The responsibility for school finances should be borne by the ‘public’ as well as the ‘local administrative agency.’ The problem was how to set the scope of the ‘public.’ The colonial authorities forced the ‘local community’ to share responsibility, while the Koreans demanded that the ‘state’ take responsibility.