Development of Land Utilization Research Projects at the Institute of Pacific Relations: Focusing on Studies in China, Japan, and Korea

<p>Since its founding in 1925, the Institute of Pacific Relations (IPR) has regularly held the Pacific Conference and supported expert-led research projects. Land utilization research has been a main focus of these research projects since the late 1920s. In particular, J.L. Buck’s studies on China and Shiroshi Nasu’ studies on Japan were given priority funding. From the perspective of comparisons with these two countries, Hoon Koo Lee conducted similar studies on Korea.</p><p>The present paper clarifies the characteristics of the research-project adoption process of these three parties. In addition, comparative analyses are performed of the three research projects in terms of 1) the amount and duration of financial support received, 2) the main source of research data (government statistics and/or field surveys conducted by the researchers themselves), 3) the research implementation system (division of labor and collaboration among the researchers’ groups), and 4) achievements in fostering the next generation of researchers who will continue to implement the project.</p><p>Nasu succeeded in obtaining financial support for a long period of time due to Japan’s status as a major IPR participant. He conducted his own studies on rural communities and took advantage of the opportunity to train the next generation of researchers. Buck, an influential American intellectual, obtained large amounts of research funding over a long period of time through his own contacts and also conducted a large-scale agricultural census. At the same time, he introduced the American research and education system to Chinese researchers. In contrast, the intellectuals of colonial Korea, including Lee, were marginalized in the decision-making process by the IPR. Lee’s research projects were small in scale and he was unable to train the next generation of researchers.</p>