The Winner of the 11th Asia Pacific Research Prize (Iue Prize) :
Dr. Myungsoo KIM

- Summary -

Management History of the Chinese Eastern Railway:
Russia and Manchuria, 1896–1935

This paper investigates Japanese Annexation of Korea in the context of an entrepreneur, Sangryong Han(韓相龍), and the entrepreneurs' circles, Chosun Business Club(朝鮮実業倶楽部、CBC). The paper, first, considers the annexation as a formation period of Korean modern entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs during the annexation as a parameter between merchants in the late Chosun and the entrepreneurs after the annexation. Previous literatures tend to neglect the entrepreneurs' status and the role in the Korean history due to their political evaluation. However, this paper conducts the case studies through Han, so called 'Eiichi Shibusawa(渋沢栄一) of Chosun' 'the epitome of Chosun business circles' at that time. Shibusawa is known as the "father of Japanese capitalism." Han might have been known today as the " father of Korean capitalism", if annexation could be eliminated from the history of Korea. Second, the paper delineates a network between Japanese enterprise / entrepreneur and Korean enterprise / entrepreneur using the concept of 'Chosun business circles(朝鮮財界)'. Previous literatures exclude the Japanese enterprise / entrepreneur which makes up 57.7% of firms and 88.4% of capital paid-up in Chosun. However, the paper clarifies cooperation, conflict, and impacts within Chosun business circles, by defining Chosun business circles as Japanese entrepreneurs in Chosun, bureaucrats of Governor-General of Korea, entrepreneurs in Japan, and the Korean ones. In other words, I conducted the case studies Chosun Business Club led by Sangryong Han and the results are as followed:

1. Evaluation of Sangryong Han (1880-1947) Han was a Korean entrepreneur as an executive primarily in the financial sector, as a businessman who has political affiliations(政商型企業家), and as an organizer of Chosun business circles. Han was able to succeed as the entrepreneur through Hansung Bank, but his status in the bank was merely as an employed executive. It is different to people who established and managed as entrepreneurs such as Seungjik Park, Daesik Min, and Ingi Bek. Nonetheless, the reason Han could exert a strong influence on Chosun business circles for a long time was because he was able to grow under the aegis of the Japanese authority during the annexation, rather than his entrepreneurship. The Japanese authority figured Han could play a significant role for them due to his cooperative attitude, since even before the annexation. He also found a growth engine in collusive ties with the Japanese authority. This relationship was very important for entrepreneurs to thrive the firms because they were given the superior power for expanding business, and it had been even clingier throughout the 1930s. Under the Japanese authority, Han could be a coordinator in Chosun business circles. Japanese entrepreneurs as well as Koreans were approaching him for investment in Chosun.

2. Evaluation of Chosun business circles. Chosun business circles is a different concept of the Chosun people's business circles(朝鮮人財界), it is a society of entrepreneurs in the colonial Chosun. The paper considers Chosun Business Club(CBC) as a representative of Chosun business circles, and analyze its leading group, the change of members, major activities, and characteristics of the period. Around 1935 CBC had transformed from the Chosun people's business circles in which mainly Korean members were participating into Chosun business circles where various Japanese entrepreneurs had been involved with the industrialization in Korea. This analysis discovers another pillar of the Korean economy, the Japanese entrepreneurs and the movements, and can understand the correlations between them and the topsiders of Korean entrepreneurs during the annexation. It also can evaluate pro-Japan enterprises and the entrepreneurs that had engaged thoroughly and flourished in the Chosun economy and the Korean economy after the annexation.