Introduction
This study is about databasing the articles and ads from the "Chosun Sibo" (1894.11-1940.8), a Japanese commercial daily newspaper published during the Japanese colonial period from 1910 to 1940, first published by Chosun Sibo Company based in Busan in 1894. The initial title of the "Chosun Sibo" was "Busan Sanghwang (Situations in Busan)" which was later changed to "Dong A Muyeok Sinmun (Trade Newspaper)" and then re-published under the name "Chosun Sibo." Referring to the story and the characteristics behind the publication and re-publication of this commercial daily newspaper, it is certain that the newspaper is an important source of media to look into the exquisites of Busan as the largest grain port and a cultural center port in Chosun. Compared to other newspapers, the "Chosun Sibo" focused mostly on commercial economy due to its emphasis on commerce, daily life, and ads, but it was a commercial economy newspaper that listed articles on politics, economy, trade, shipment, technology, communication, literature, personnel, education, and daily life. Information on the flowing in of early modern goods can be found on the ads section as it particularly lists ads on banks, hospitals, litigations, patents, mails, lodging, trademarks, insurances, medicines, fuels, movies, plays, music, and household goods, and as they were listed in Korean, it is presumable that the newspaper played a role to give lifestyle information to not only Japanese immigrants, but to a significant number of Korean readers. Also, despite it was published the earliest out of the four remaining Japanese newspapers during the Japanese colonial period "Chosun Sibo(1894),“ "Kyungsung Ilbo(1906),” "Busan Ilbo(1907),“ and "Chosun Shinmun(1908),” it has the least mistakes, and the number of copies and distribution area are widely dispersed, it has become a vital resource to analyze not only local areas around Busan, but comprehensively on the colonial period data accumulated around Gyeongseong. This study is conducted by a group of Japanese literature experts, Korean modern and contemporary magazine and newspaper experts, and DB structure experts to create a new form of newspaper database that can identify and analyze the articles and ads from the "Chosun Sibo." Each article and ads from the "Chosun Sibo" were classified and organized, the titles and subtitles were translated to Korean and Japanese, and databased to specific keywords pertaining to article type (or ad type), era, region, keyword, and language. Especially, people names can be searched by their Japanese sound, Chinese character sound, and Korean sound and specific articles can be found that are related to the personnel. Illegible or shortened and simplified people and location names have been supplemented by researching contemporary newspapers creating a foundation for documental and philological resource for Korean and Japanese academic researchers. Considering the characteristics of ads DB, "Illustration section" is added under "Source Information" to distinguish illustrations, pictures, and photos, and new sections like "Publication" and "Different original date based on Korean History DB" are added for a more accurate ads DB structure which was not part of the original plan. It is anticipated that this study on the "Chosun Sibo" articles and ads DB will ignite the expansion of domestic and international academic researchers on general academic studies and furthermore to give easy access to the general public to create new knowledge and develop a solid knowledge sharing system.
Expect Effect / Research Utilization
The "Chosun Sibo," a Japanese newspaper published in 1894, is a vital source of newspaper and media history during the Japanese colonial period yet a difficult source to decipher even it was made public online. Below lists the positive anticipation and application outcomes expected through the DB established through this study on the articles and ads from the "Chosun Sibo." (1) Preparation of interdisciplinary research materials on colonial and imperial history: This DB creates easy access to researchers who cannot decipher Japanese to search the articles and ads from the "Chosun Sibo" using Korean, Japanese, and Chinese character sounds. Rapid searching is possible by incorporating metadata standards to create metadata on the articles and ads allowing wide use for colonial and imperial resources. (2) Suggestion of local research materials on Busan: This study provides a new perspective on modern-day Busan apart from the studies centralized around Gyeongseong. Errors in Japanese newspapers DB can be easily fixed and improved by utilizing the articles and ads DB from the "Chosun Sibo" which can broaden the spectrum on local research about early modern Busan. (3) Basis to understand the commercial and economic flow during the Japanese colonial period: Trends on imperial economic policy can be drawn by identifying and analyzing commercial and "Situations" articles which make up the most of the "Chosun Sibo" searchable by Korean, Japanese, and Chinese character sounds using this DB. The "Chosun Sibo" not only lists articles on Busan but budget proposals on nearby cities as well as transportation and deal quantities on Busan's grain, fishery, maritime cargo transportation, refrigeration, sugar, fertilizer, etc. This allows a chance to research the estimate the economic flow on Japan's economic exploitation around Busan and the actual economic flow based on imperial expansion. (4) Research materials on newspaper and media during the Japanese colonial period: Japan's medial and ads business tactics related to early modern colonial policies such as cultural policies and cultural integration policies on medial and visual culture (films) can be inferred using this DB on the "Chosun Sibo." Allowing articles and ads based on title, subtitle, and person names searchable in Korean makes this DB a better tool to compare other newspapers. The "Chosun Sibo" can be a valuable source to study newspaper and media in the earlier times as there are still unused data that could not be used in previous studies having been published earlier than other newspapers during the Japanese colonial period. (5) Materials for maritime and fishery research during the Japanese colonial period: The "Chosun Sibo" constitutes a series of articles on marine and fishery that can put emphasis on ports, ships, fishing routes, and fisheries on the maritime city, Busan. The ads section particularly lists commercial ads on dried fish, maritime transport agencies, and merchant ships providing differentiated information compared with general newspapers. Research on the maritime and fishery industry during the Japanese colonial period will deepen along with the easy access to the articles and ads related to maritime and fishery from the "Chosun Sibo" DB. (6) Materials for literature, culture, linguistic, and other related studies: The "Chosun Sibo" contains various serial novels along with Japanese traditional poetry, entertainment and performance-related articles, and ads on magazine sales, theater ads, etc. The articles and ads on Korea and Japan's literature and culture in the "Chosun Sibo" in the 1980s way before other Japanese newspapers were published give great resources to this DB to find literary articles, ads, and writing methods (Japanese character, style, Chinese character, etc.) used 10 to 20 years earlier than other newspapers. This "Chosun Sibo" DB will vitalize the empirical research on literature, culture, and language during the Japanese colonial period.
Project Name : Basic Research Support for Foundational Human/Social Science Researches
Chief of Research : Ryu Min-Hwa
Research Institution : PUSAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
Research Period : 5 Years 3 Month (SEPTEMBER 01, 2017 - NOVEMBER 30, 2022)
