Collection

Since 2007, National Library of Korea has been publishing “The Explanatory Guide on National Library of Korea’s Collection of Korea-Related Materials Published Before 1945” on a yearly basis. The purpose of the annual publication is to discover valuable resources and sole copies of books and documents, which were published during the Japanese occupation period and have historical, academic and research values, as well as to present the catalog information and contents and promote their utilization.

The documents on Korea published before 1945 that are housed at National Library of Korea have mostly been written in Japanese by the Japanese people and printed after an inspection by the Japanese Government-General of Korea. Accordingly, while these materials reflect the biased interests and perspectives of the people of Japan, who colonized and governed over Korea at the time, they still serve as valuable resources that provide insight into pre-liberation Korean society.

A total of 70 types of materials included in “The Explanatory Guide on National Library of Korea’s Collection of Korea-Related Materials Published Before 1945” were chosen for the information service, provided for the purpose of stimulating interest in the materials published in the Japanese language during the Japanese occupation period and giving an opportunity for the public to access such rare and relatively unknown materials. The materials have been classified under 10 themes, and made available through “The Collection of Korea-Related Materials Published Before 1945.”

The abstracts of the materials provided through the aforementioned information service can be retrieved using the internal search engine provided on the website of National Library of Korea (www.nl.go.kr). Anyone, including researchers and the general public, can access the information for research and educational purposes.

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