The Japanese Imperialists Who Plundered all the Forest Resources of Korea
They defined that the forests in the areas of the River Amnok and the River Tuman would be cut down by joint management of Korea and Japan and profits be shared according to their investments and plundered the inexhaustible forest resources in the areas at random.
In March 1911, they proclaimed the so-called "Special Fiscal Law on Korean Forests" and stipulated that the accounts for plundering the forest resources of Korea should be put under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Finance.
Lecturer Song Kyong Sim at the Central Class Education House said the Japanese imperialists proclaimed the "Forests and Fields Investigation Act" in May 1918 in a bid to plunder forests of Korea in large quantities, and continued:
"The Japanese imperialists made an 'investigation of forests and fields' under the pretext of finally confirming the right of ownership in forests of Korea, which ended in 1924. In those days, they completely grasped all the forests of Korea on the plea of classifying the ownership of the forests and investigating, confirming and registering their economic conditions.
On the basis of it, they plundered a lot of forests on the pretext of 'nationalization' under different excuses.
Among them were three million hectares of grave forest and one million hectares of forest jointly used by villagers.
The nature of the forests plundered by the Japanese imperialists was the best, which were equivalent to 57 percent of the entire forests and fields in Korea.
In the course of 'investigating forests and fields' the Japanese imperialists arbitrarily 'nationalized' forests of Korea to plunder them and admeasured them to plutocrats, religionists, civil engineers and timber merchants of Japan. Even after the end of the 'investigation', they took preferential measures to continuously cut down a lot of forests.
Due to their extensive plunder of forest resources, the forests of Korea were severely devastated and many mountains famous as a land of golden tapestry became bare ones.
And due to their reckless deforestation, the national economy of Korea was greatly damaged and the Korean people underwent untold sufferings and misfortunes."
The plunder of forest resources is only part of the crimes committed by the Japanese imperialists who killed Koreans and deprived Korea of all her precious things when they were occupying Korea for decades.
No matter how many years may go by and no matter how many times the generations may change, the Korean people will never forget the past history of distress forced by the Japanese imperialists but satisfy their grudge.