The Dark Truth Behind Japan's Rice Production Increase Plan in Colonial Korea

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]In the 1920s, Japan introduced the rice production increase plan in Korea, claiming it would modernize agriculture.

[00:00:06]However, this was a systematic scheme to exploit Korea's resources.

[00:00:11]Under colonial rule, Japanese authorities forced Korean farmers to increase yields, not for local benefit, [music] but to supply Japan's growing population.

[00:00:20]The plan disguised economic plunder as development, setting the stage for widespread [music] famine.

[00:00:26]Japanese authorities forcibly consolidated farmland, displacing [music] Korean farmers and turning them into tenant laborers. Strict quotas were imposed, and failure to meet them resulted in brutal punishments. Many families lost their ancestral lands, becoming destitute overnight. [music] The colonial government prioritized rice shipments to Japan, leaving Koreans with meager rations.

[00:00:49]This systematic dispossession created a cycle of poverty and [music] hunger.

[00:00:53]Over 70% of Korea's rice production was shipped to Japan during the 1930s and 1940s. [music] Ports were filled with sacks labeled for Imperial Japan, while Korean markets stood [music] empty.

[00:01:04]The colonial government imposed heavy taxes, forcing farmers [music] to sell their harvests at exploitative prices.

[00:01:12]Meanwhile, Koreans faced severe shortages, with many unable to afford even a single bowl of rice per [music] day.

[00:01:19]With rice reserves depleted, Koreans turned to desperate measures. Families boiled tree bark, grass roots, and even sawdust to stave off starvation.

[00:01:28]Malnutrition led to widespread disease, with many dying from sheer exhaustion.

[00:01:33][music] Elderly and children were the most vulnerable, their bodies swollen from hunger.

[00:01:38]Survivors later recalled this period as the time when even the earth tasted [music] like food.

[00:01:43]Despite brutal suppression, Koreans resisted. Farmers staged protests, [music] and underground networks smuggled food to starving communities.

[00:01:52]After liberation, survivors demanded justice, but Japan's wartime records were deliberately destroyed.

[00:01:58]Today, this history remains contentious with many Japanese textbooks downplaying the famine. Yet, the scars persist.

[00:02:05]Testimonies from survivors stand as undeniable proof of this calculated food massacre.