A War Without Weapons: Rugby, Korean Resistance, and Japanese Colonialism, 1910-1945

The Japanese colonial period was a critical time in the introduction and development of modern sport in Korea. A range of modern sports was introduced to colonial Korea by Western missionaries and the Japanese. The political circumstance of usurpation caused sport to develop by Koreans linking it with a nationalist movement. Rugby, one of the sports introduced during this era, was a crucial vehicle in Koreans expressing their national superiority and confidence. Koreans engaged in a 'war without weapons' against Japan at the extraterritorial site of the sport arena and expressed their will of independence and autonomy through dynamic movements of the body on the rugby field.