Transportation of Korean Slave Laborers During World War II: Kanfu Ferries

Japan was more dependent upon ocean shipping than any other major power during World War II, and the sea route had been the only means of transportation between Korea and Japan. The connecting steamers contributed to Japan’s wartime economy by transporting not only raw materials, but also forced laborers and sex slaves between Korea and Japan. More importantly, these connecting steamers were linked to railroads and land routes in Korea and were connected to various systems of transportation, including merchant ships and regular liners outside Japan. In this paper, we examine how Korean laborers and sex slaves were mobilized and transported from Korea to Japan during World War II by focusing on the interdependent relations between railroad-connecting ships and a travel agency.

Edward T. ChangEmail:

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Edward T. Chang   is professor of Ethnic Studies and the former director of the Center for Asian Pacific America at the University of California, Riverside. Chang is considered one of the foremost interpreters of the Los Angeles civil unrest and race relations. He has lectured on the topics of Korean-African American Relations and the Los Angeles civil unrest at many universities around the country. Chang is the author of several books including Ethnic Peace in the American City: Community Building in Los Angeles and Beyond, Following the Footsteps of Korean Americans, Asian American, and Who African Americans Are. Min Young Kim   is Professor at the School of Economics and International Trade of Kunsan National University of Korea and a former visiting research scholar of the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Riverside. He earned his B.A. (1984) and M.A. (1986) in Economics and Ph.D. (1991) in Economic History at Chonnam National University of Korea. Professor Kim’s research interests include the Korea-Japan relations and Japanese Koreans, colonial immigration of Koreans, forced labour and its redress, and transportation of comfort women. Kim is the author of several books including The Study on the Exploitation of Korean Forced Labourers in the Japanese Colonial Period [in Korean] (1995; Hanul Press).