Keijō Imperial University
Keijō Imperial University was established due to Japanese colonial regime. During the time of its establishment, there were only eight known Korean colleges within the country which had a tertiary level equivalent to Japanese secondary school. Due to Japan’s colonisation of Korea, Keijō Imperial University was deemed a Japanese university. Cultural policies aimed in increasing the level of Korean tertiary education, and there has been controversy surrounding the educational imperialism implemented through scholarly commentaries, both during the universities time being active, and after. Through the implementation of this university, Korean education became centralised. This meant that several Japanese ideologies were implemented into this education system, such as the implementation of students and teachers paying homage to Shinto shrines. Other forms of Japanese cultural implementation were the prohibition of religious instruction as part of official curriculums, as well as the Japanese standing as the givers of particular instructions concerning tertiary decisions. The establishment of Keijō Imperial University was viewed by scholars as means of having a higher education institution in place for Japanese occupants of Korea, as well as providing political influence and advantage. Political influence included the suppression of growing Korean nationalism, as Japan was an occupying force. This was largely due to the want in preventing the People’s University from coming into fruition, through the influence of Japanese nationalism towards Koreans individuals such as through tertiary institutions. The founding of Keijō Imperial University allowed for the introduction of the modern four-year university system into Korea.