ABSTRACT
How did the Japanese Empire establish the modern prison system in Korea and Taiwan? How did people in these colonies view the modern prison system? From a comparative point of view, what were the similarities and differences between the prison systems of Taiwan and Korea? And what factors influenced the establishment and development of the prison systems in these two colonies? In seeking answers to these questions, this chapter grapples with the overall topic along three analytical axes: education, prison labor, and prison officers. In examining the prison systems in colonial Taiwan and Korea, this chapter adopts the methodology of legal social history, which focuses on institutions, discourses, and practices. The result is a joint analysis of law and society. In addition, the history of empire can shed light on the relationship between the colonizers’ home countries and the colonies, and some factors, such as financial budgets and pre-colonial prisons, help to explain similarities and differences. There is evidence that national integration through prison education failed in both Taiwan and Korea as a result of manpower shortages, as well as language barriers between ethnic Japanese prison officers and native-speaking prisoners.
