Koreans seen by the United States during the Pacific War

The Koreans claim that they could play a very important role in the war effort in the Pacific. They point out that more than 25% of Japan’s industry has moved to Korea. More than 600,000 Koreans moved to Japan to work in the military industry. More than 200,000 Koreans are employed in the public goods sector in Japan and Korea. Koreans also point out that many of the fishermen for Japanese fishing companies are Korean. The industry, which employs many local people, is strategically important to the Allied Forces in the Pacific. They claimed that secret information about Japan obtained from them was transmitted through South America, and that Koreans in China maintained continuous contact with Japan through links with North China, Manchuria, etc. This author also had evidence to partially substantiate most of what was said above.

To exploit this potential for coordinated effort, the Koreans hope for compensation in the form of recognition, so that they can be represented at the peace conference. Koreans also argue that the 1882 treaty between the U.S. and Korea (the Treaty of Amity, Amity, and Commerce) between the U.S. and Korea has never been abrogated and is the basis for past relations worth considering in the present.

From a Korean analysis report sent to the U.S. State Department on October 28, 1942