A Study on the Fisheries financing before the Liberation of Korea

해방이전의 수산금융에 관한 연구

In fisheries financing before the liberation of Korea, the accommodation of funds through modern monetary facilities was hardly benefited to most of small-scale Korean fishermen except Japanese fishermen living in Korea and some large-scale Korean fishermen. In fact, since Korean economy was only in the beginning stage of capitalism free from natural economy in the end of Yi Dynasty, it was natural that the supply of funds should be lacked. But after the opening of ports in Korea, the external shapes in Korean society were slowly changed according as heteronomous modernization was pushed forward by means of western capitalism and the intentional invasion of Japanese was gradually weighed. Thus all kinds of fishing equipments and technique were developed by dint of modernization, and modern monetary facilities also came into being. But most of Korean fishermen were hardly benefited by modern monetary facilities. Fishermen who were faced with destitution of funds were forced to rely upon high interest loans in order to make a living or maintain fisheries, and they were severely exploited by usurers. The situation was the same in the period of Japanese imperialism. Japanese felt the necessity of advancement of Korean fisheries and established fisheries institution suitable for all kinds of colonial fisheries policy toward Korea so that they could build up the foundation according to the development of capitalism and carry out the Russo-Japanese War and the Sino-Japanese War. There were a series of bottlenecks in financing on account of the deficiency of fisheries institution in the beginning of Japanese imperialism, but the financial pressure was lightened because the arrangement of institution greatly contributed to the smoothness of fisheries financing in the latter part of it. Despite such improvement of financing, the benefit of funds could not equally reach to all the fishermen. It only reached to Japanese fishermen living in Korea and some large scale Korean fishermen. Thus most of korean fishermen could not free themselves from destitution of financing and the pressure of high interest loans. This phenomenon took place because Korean fisheries had the antinomic characteristics that financial restriction was excessive owing to the industrial speciality of fisheries, on the other hand there was a large financial demand in fisheries in the character of industry.