Under the Black Umbrella

"Under the Black Umbrella: voices from colonial Korea, 1910-1945" is a book by the Korean writer Hildi Kang published by Cornell University Press in 2001. . It shows a general snapshot of feelings towards the Japanese many years after the colonization of Korea. While many people certainly felt the oppression of the Japanese, many people didn't feel any whatsoever. [ ]

By telling the stories of many people who didn't feel the discrimination from the Japanese, Kang gains substantial credibility to those who know that everyone doesn't feel like there was oppression. Kang had to face this herself, as her father-in-law told stories that had seemed to miss the oppression she was expecting to hear. Thus she decided to do some research and interview many different people to get a general feel for how it really was.

While many books tell of the great atrocities done by the Japanese while they were in Korea, few give opportunity to see the viewpoint of those who were not abused or discriminated against by the Japanese. However, even in her book there is a great negative sentiment towards the Japanese by most of the people she interviewed.

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