nese language was taught in the schools rather than Korean, and many Ko-
reans raised in that era never learned to read the Korean language. During
World War II, the Japanese took over half a million Koreans to Japan as la-
borers, primarily in mining and in heavy industry, where American bomb-
ing was taking its toll. Sixty thousand of these forced laborers died in Japan
during the war. Back home, the Japanese army forced Korean women to
serve as “comfort women” (prostitutes) for the soldiers. The Japanese were
in absolute control of Korea from 1910 to 1945.
Korean youth were forcibly indoctrinated with Japanese culture, in-
cluding the Japanese martial arts. Jûdô (in Korean, yudô)was introduced
through the Seoul YMCA in 1909. Both jûdô and kendô (kumdô)were
taught in the Japanese-controlled schools. Ssiru ̆ m competition continued in
Korea until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, but was then outlawed.
T’aek’kyo ̆ n was outlawed for most of the occupation, although Song Dok-
ki (1893–1987) and others continued to train in secret.
After the war, Korean martial arts consisted largely of Japanese styles,
including yudô, yusul(jûjutsu), kumdô, kwonbop (kenpô), and tangsudô,
or kongsudô (karate-dô).Koreans who had served in the Japanese army or
who had trained with the Japanese police retained a great deal of control
in the country, often serving the same role that they had before the Japa-
Korea 295
Junior high school students compete in a taekwondo tournament in Seoul, Korea, 1986. (Michael S. Yamashita/Corbis)