1920년대 식민지 교육정책과 광주고등보통학교 학생들의 학교 경험

Abstract

Secondary schools during the Japanese Occupation of Korea were a space in which the expectations and collision between Korean students and the Occupying Japanese Imperialists manifested themselves. The results of education can be different depending on the degree of expectations of the Occupying Japanese Imperialists and Korean students being met. The colonial education did not turn out to be what the Japanese Imperialists wanted, because the attitude of Korean students played an important role in classrooms. During the 1920s, the 2nd Joseon Education Ordinance extended the limits of school education. As a result, Koreans were allowed to prepare themselves with the education needed to access higher-level education. Especially, the addition of the provision on higher education institutions, turned the secondary elementary school now functioned as a humanities intermediate school. However, the access for Korean students to humanities intermediate education was limited. Under these circumstances, the intermediate school students were expected by the society for higher achievements and they considered themselves as elites. Jeonnam was one of the regions where the desire for education was strong. Gwangju, the capital of Jeonnam Province, was especially well-positioned to accommodate schools. With the establishment of Gwangju Secondary School, talents from all over the country gathered in Gwangju to access humanities intermediate education. The students of Gwangju Secondary School had to compete with the students of Gwangju Intermediate School, who were Japanese nationals for access to a higher education institutions. These students also clashed with each other as the ruling nation and the subjects of their rule. Students expected access to modern knowledge and educational credentials. However, many situations they experienced betrayed such expectations. Especially, the authoritarian and counter-educational behaviors of the principal and teachers were found dissatisfying by many students. Students expressed their frustration and demanded improvement, but the school deceived or punished the students who stood up against them, which brewed even further complaints. As the expectations of the students were denied, they became less interested in classes. And their encounter with socialism was a very special experience. The discrimination they had to face in their everyday lives also made face the reality of an occupied nation. The frustration of the students erupted in Gwangju Student Movement, which spread over to the entire country.