Capital Flows between Korea and Japan in the Colonial Period

Abstract

This paper elucidates one of the characteristic features of Japanese colonial rule over Korea, focusing on capital flows between the two economies. First, an attempt is made to estimate how much and in what sector capital investments were made from Japan to Korea in each phase of the colonial period. Based on these estimates significant findings include the followings: 1) In the early phase of colonial rule the Government-General took the lead in capital investments from Japan in areas such as railroad construction and the implementation of plans for increasing rice production. However, private direct investments increased rapidly beginning in the 1930s mainly in manufacturing and electric power industry. This process speeded up the transformation of the Koran economy into an integral part of the Japanese one. 2) During the Pacific War the financial institutions of Korea rapidly increased their purchases of securities, most of which were issued by Japanese government. This suggests that the role of financial institutions as principal agents of capital import was now reversed. 3) The increase of both capital inflows and outflows during the war indicates merely the transfer of purchasing power, which was not allowed to be realized by compulsory deposit and investment regulation policies. The result was a reallocation of resouces in Korea for war-related purposes. An attempt is also made to show how Japan could accelerate capital export to her colony. This paper emphasizes the role played by 1) the Korean monetary system, in which her currency was pegged to the Japanese one at an equal rate of exchange and in which the issue of the former is allowed on the basis of the latter, and by 2) the almost total dependence of Korea's trade structure on Japan. These two factors enabled Japan to accelerate capital export to Korea in spite of the shortage of foreign exchange reserves, particularly under the managed currency system. This resulted in expanded equilibrium within the Japanese colonial empire, as long as Japan's productive capacity was expanding. However, when it reached its upper limits during the war, Japan's capital exports under the trade control led to inflation in Korea.