Japanese Flag Erasure Incident
Also called: Hinomaru erasure incident
Printing photographs of Sohn Kee-chung, winner of the Berlin Olympic marathon, the Dong-a Ilbo and the Joseon Jungang Ilbo erased the Japanese flag from his chest. The Government-General suspended the Dong-a Ilbo indefinitely and arrested its journalists.
Dong-a Ilbo · Public domain · Source
Koreans rejoiced when Sohn Kee-chung won the Berlin Olympic marathon on 9 August 1936. On 13 August the Joseon Jungang Ilbo, whose president was Yeo Un-hyeong, printed a photograph of Sohn and Nam Sung-yong with the Japanese flags on their chests blurred out, and a photo with the flag erased also appeared that day in a regional edition of the Dong-a Ilbo.
On 25 August the Dong-a Ilbo, through the reporter Yi Gil-yong and others, again printed a photograph of Sohn on the podium with the flag erased. The Japanese Government-General arrested and tortured the journalists involved and suspended the Dong-a Ilbo indefinitely from 29 August (it resumed the following June), and its president Song Jin-woo and others resigned. The Joseon Jungang Ilbo suspended publication itself, never managed to resume, and closed in 1937. The incident is remembered as a symbol of national resistance through the press.
