Abstract ▼ AI-Helper

The characteristics of the records management systems of the Japanese colonial government can be summarized as follows. First, the Government General adopted a "decentralized retention" of public records. The Government General did not establish its own archives for central preservation of permanent...

The characteristics of the records management systems of the Japanese colonial government can be summarized as follows. First, the Government General adopted a "decentralized retention" of public records. The Government General did not establish its own archives for central preservation of permanent public records. Colonial agencies established its own records office and the records office managed the records its agency created. Secret records and police records were exception. They were retained by the Secretary Office of the General Affairs Division and Police Division of the Chosun Government General respectively. Second, filing systems and retention periods of the public records followed the hierarchic structure of organization. In the headquarter of the government, records were filed by a "bureau-division-activity-file" classification system and a retention period of a file was given automatically by each unit the file belonged. A closed and cut-off file was retained and arranged according to its creating unit, creating year, and retention period. The filing system was easy to use once the filing system was established well, but to make it work effectively changes in activities and organizations should be on a reflected regular basis. It had an advantageous effect that permanent records could be preserved in a unified way throughout the organization. However, it is very critical to determine the permanent records in a professional way. Selection of the permanent records should be done professionally and in a historical perspective. Otherwise, the records retained as permanent records were not the records having an enduring value. And that was not done by the colonial government. Third, classification and scheduling of records were carried out by a creating division, rather than by the Records Office, mostly from the 1920s. Compilation of the records was also done by the creating agency. It implies that the records management lacked the professionalism. In conclusion, the records management system of the Chosun Government General wes nither modern nor user oriented. It managed the records for solely administrative purpose, i.e. effective colonial rule. The legacy of the colonial records system still exists in the public records system in Korean government. One should criticize the lack of will and efforts to modernize the public records system since the establishment of the Korean government while should reflect the historical origins of the records system in Korea.

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