Kpop during Japanese rule

[truth]

I've recently skimmed through the drama Seoul 1945 and got interested in Korean pop songs during Japanese rule.

Here are some songs that I found from Youtube







Ruins of Deserted Castle(1928)

Singer : Lee Alice (1910-2009)

Singer retired in mid-1930s and lived as a normal housewife for the remainder of her life.




Youth Class(1938)

Singer : Kim Haesong (1910-?)

Singer was kidnapped by North Koreans during Korean War. Nothing is known about what happened to him afterward.








My Older Brother is Mean (1938)

Singer : Park Hyangrim (1921-1946)

Singer died of puerperalism in 1946.


This song is probably the most popular Japanese rule era song.

Child actress is shown singing this song in the earlier part of the drama Seoul 1945




Trot singer Shin Mirae's remake version of the song






Phone Diary (1938)

Singer : Kim Haesong & Park Hyangrim

This song is a duet song by the two singers above

Interesting how the song has lyrics in 3 languages : Korean, Japanese, English






I'm 17 Years Old (1938)

Singer : Park Danma(1921-1992)

This song is probably the second most popular Japanese rule era song


The singer's name is mentioned as a name of popular singer in the drama Seoul 1945.

Child actress is shown singing this song in the earlier part of the drama Seoul 1945






Hymn of Death (1926)

Singer : Yun Shimdeok(1897-1926)

The singer committed suicide by jumping in the Korean Strait along with her lover Kim Woojin just a few months after releasing this song.




Drama about her love story with Kim Woojin was made in 2018.









Bongseonhwa (1940)

Singer : Kim Cheonae(1919-1995)


I found this song while watching 1991 film General's Son. Japanese rule-era college students are shown singing this song while walking drunk in the latter part of the movie.




Don't know if it's a coincidence, but all of the singers above were born in today's North Korea(minus the remake singer of course)














Blood Pledge Application (1943)

Singer : Park Hyangrim, Baek Nyeonseol, Nam Insu




Not a song I enjoyed, but thought was interesting.

The song basically praises the Japanese emperor and tells listeners to join the Japanese imperial army so that they can fight for emperor's glory.

The female singer is the same singer that sang the My Older Brother is Mean song above.


I wonder if this song would ever make an appearance in a drama or film that takes place during Japanese rule.

[𝔰𝔢𝔞𝔫𝔪𝔞𝔠𝔩𝔞𝔦𝔯]

Mar 19, 2023 23:07:01 GMT -5 truth said:

My Older Brother is Mean (1938)

Singer : Park Hyangrim (1921-1946)

Singer died of puerperalism in 1946.

This song is probably the most popular Japanese rule era song.

Child actress is shown singing this song in the earlier part of the drama Seoul 1945

I first heard this one sampled in a Sunny Hill song, I'd have never known it was this old!

Hymn of Death (1926)

Singer : Yun Shimdeok(1897-1926)

The singer committed suicide by jumping in the Korean Strait along with her lover Kim Woojin just a few months after releasing this song.




Drama about her love story with Kim Woojin was made in 2018.

As a drama I found this so-so, but 6 episodes without even one scene composing/even playing the song once? I recommend the 90s movie of the same name. Although, I did like how the drama cameo'd Lee Seo Gu, who'd go on to write tons of movies and dramas in the 60s and 70s.

[ajk]

Wow, terrific post. Such a wide range of styles--some of it is surprisingly Westernized, and not too long timewise after jazz became mainstream in American recordings. Great stuff, thanks for sharing.

Would this stuff have all been subject to Japanese censorship? I'm sure they didn't ignore it but were they controlling enough to dictate what songs people were allowed to hear?

[truth]

Mar 20, 2023 12:11:49 GMT -5 ajk said:

Would this stuff have all been subject to Japanese censorship? I'm sure they didn't ignore it but were they controlling enough to dictate what songs people were allowed to hear?

There was definitely some degree of censorship for sure.

They couldn't make any songs that criticize Japanese colonial rule for example.

The first song on this list "Ruins of Deserted Castle" was banned by the Japanese colonial government because they thought the "castle" referred to Joseon dynasty's castle and the song was yearning for the return of Joseon dynasty. The "castle" actually referred to Goryeo dynasty's castle that was in ruins after 500 years of Joseon dynasty. The singer was just singing about her hometown of Kaesong, which was the capital city of Goryeo dynasty. Joseon dynasty castles weren't in "ruins" at the time of Japanese rule.

The title of 1940 song Bongseonhwa is a name of flower. The flower in the song lyrics symbolizes the sadness of Koreans under Japanese rule.

The last song on the list was enforced by the Japanese government during WW2.

[MTR]

I actually really like Seoul 1945 . It’s still my favorite of the Japanese occupation dramas . I remember when it aired things got really heated on this board . I think The Bo ( think she was the one ) had to shut the thread down due to all the insults and name calling .

I came here when Dae Jo Yeong was on the air, first on the long defunct AZN network which shut down as we approached episode 100 . People were so enraged Comcast added KBS World to continue it . Anyway the back and forth over Seoul 1945 was still having the occasional outburst which actually was what led me to check the drama out as usually more modern historical’s do not interest me . I ended up buying a cheap badly subbed version from Chinatown at first . Later i downloaded it with proper subs . Maybe it was the music ? and the excellent cast ?, but almost 20 years later it’s still my favorite occupation drama ( and Korean War ) .

[truth]

Apr 3, 2023 18:02:23 GMT -5 MTR said:

I actually really like Seoul 1945 . It’s still my favorite of the Japanese occupation dramas . I remember when it aired things got really heated on this board .

What I didn't like about the drama at first was that it seemed to show Communists as good guys, but my mind changed after they later showed that their Communist ideals were just pure fantasy and correctly showed the atrocious acts that the North Korean army committed during the war.

Unlike other Korean media that portrays all pro-Japanese Korean collaborators as cartoonish villain tratiors, this drama shows pro-Japanese Koreans in a different light.

The pro-Japanese guy dressed in Kimono is 100% pro-Japanese all the way and shows no remorse even until his death, but the pro-Japanese guy dressed in Hanbok is portrayed to be only pro-Japanese for the good of his family and shows that pro-Japanese people were also humans as well. He saved two girls from becoming comfort women using his status and influence under Japanese colonial government for example. I cried during the scene where his younger son dies from heatstroke while being taken to North Korean coal mine. This is probably the only drama I watched where a pro-Japanese collaborator is portrayed in a neutral light.

It's a pity I didn't watch this drama when it aired. I actually watched the entire series in one weekend earlier this month. I mostly skipped parts that didn't look too interesting though(mostly scenes that have to do with love)

[sageuk]

Oh yeah. The beginning of the first episode involved a love triangle and that put me off.

My uncle and I had a talk about collaborators during that time last February. He said that there many Koreans who would have sucked up to them and that if they didn’t, they wouldn’t have a roof over their heads

[truth]

Mar 19, 2023 23:07:01 GMT -5 truth said:

Hymn of Death (1926)

Singer : Yun Shimdeok(1897-1926)

The singer committed suicide by jumping in the Korean Strait along with her lover Kim Woojin just a few months after releasing this song.

Re-enactment of this song in 2016 film Love, Lies. (Starts at 0:38)

The movie takes place during early 1940s and the song is hinted to be a popular song of the past(released in 1926).