This study aims to inquire into and reveal meanings of the establishment of Keijo Imperial University Faculty of Science and Engineering(KIUFSE) and its institutional characteristics in colonial Korea through analyzing the myth and reality of ‘Industrial Chosen,’ which was the motto of the Japanese Government-General of Korea since the late 1930s. After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese empire made a campaign of the ‘New Organization’ which focused on the construction of the high military state. For fitting into this ‘New Era,’ the Japanese Government-General of Korea went on to emphasize Chosen’s value and status of colonial/imperial system as a whole. Natural resources and industrial potential in Korea were stressed and their role as a supply base for the “Great Asia War” came to the forefront.
Together with radical changes in the colonial/imperial system as a whole, this period provided new challenges and opportunities for the Keijo Imperial University(KIU). As a colonial university, it needed to supply engineers with university training for meeting the growing demand of related industries in colonial Korea. But at the same time, it was necessary that KIU had to keep its status as a research-oriented modern university, through establishing a research institute of science and technology. However, the functions of university for colonial rule and the universal vision of a modern university were inherently conflicting. KIUFSE, established in 1941, was a result of these conflicts. Furthermore, institutional characteristics of KIUFSE were reflected in the outcome of such conflicts. Many controversial element coexisted in the university structure and exacerbated the disrupture of the university.