57 (Lee 1981, 76-77)

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(Lee 1981, 76-77)

When special supplementary rations were distributed to most foreign nationals in Japan, Koreans were not included. The SCAP directive of 8 January 1948 on rationing specifically stated that “nothing in this directive will be construed to change the food ration for Korean nationals who have elected to remain in Japan, and who receive the same ration as Japanese nationals.” Furthermore, SCAP noted that legal jurisdiction over Koreans was to continue to be exercised by the Japanese authorities. In short, SCAP intended to lump the remaining Koreans legally together with the Japanese without any clear indication of a special future status for Koreans in Japan.

When SCAP made it known in a press release that Koreans who elected to remain in Japan would be considered as Japanese nationals until they were recognized as Korean nationals by a lawfully established government in Korea, the statement became a target for the vigorous protest of Koreans, who felt that it was intended to prolong their enslavement under Japanese rule. “We had suffered enough,” they cried, demanding that Koreans should receive different treatment from that accorded to “defeated” nationals. The charge prompted SCAP to make a further clarification on 20 November 1946, stating that it had “no intention of interfering in any way with the fundamental rights of any person of any nationality in regard to retention, relinquishment, or choice of citizenship”.