• Journal of Korean Society of Archives and Records Management
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.55-86
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• 2015

This paper aims to interrogate the layered and dependent structure of the modern and official document management in Korea and Japan from 1894 to 1910. The focus of its study is on documents related with the strategic infrastructure construction in Jeonbuk Province through an analysis from the perspective of historic archival studies. For this study, the chosen period was when Japanese imperialists were on their way to seize the Korean official archival system. As such, our objects are the documents connected with the institution of the Japanese resident-general system in Korea and its infrastructural constructions as part of Japan's war plans of invading the continent. Among others, we examined the documents of the strategic infrastructure construction around Jeonju in Jeonbuk Province by Imperial Japan, in order to wage the Sino-Japanese War and subdue the Donghak Peasant Revolution. More specifically, we illuminate the sources and organization of the approval of the original documents in a higher level that is relevant to the determination of political, financial, and personnel matters, which were designed for the Japanese governmental rule over Korea from the era of the Gabo Reform to the period of the Japanese resident-generals, as well as analyze the actual states of the official documents ina lower level, which were drawn up by Korean government and the resident-general. Consequently, this paper suggests that official Korean archival system at this time must be understood under the context of a layered and dependent structure within the vertical connections between Korea and Japan, and not from the point of view of a national history.