This paper examines transportation infrastructure in the Japanese empire and its role in positioning Korean migrants in the labor markets of the metropole. To do so, it focuses on the Pusan–Shimonoseki ferry which, between 1905 and 1945, transferred over 30 million people between Japan and Korea. During this time, the ships that comprised this ferry line helped articulate new borders between the metropole and its annexed colony. In this capacity, the vessels helped constitute and control the flow of a new class of colonial migrants as they entered the labor markets of Japan. Historically, transportation networks have been looked on as modes of conveyance or as symbols of political amalgamation. Colonial era descriptions of the Pusan-Shimonoseki ferry commonly maintained this view. However, rather than stress the spatial integration brought by the line, this paper highlights its function as a source of delineation. The ferries connecting Japan to its closest colony not only served as a conduit for Korean workers, but also introduced forms of constraint and contingency that shaped their ability to sell their labor in Japan. Transportation thus became an issue of political contestation and resistance. Korean workers and union activists employed an array of tactics to undermine the borders imposed through the regulation of transportation. Doing so was part of an attempt to assert greater control over the migrant's position in regional markets and mitigate the unevenness of the colonial system.

本文考察了日本帝国的交通基础设施及其在将韩国移民定位于大都市劳动力市场中的作用。为此，它专注于釜山-下关渡轮，该渡轮在 1905 年至 1945 年间在日本和韩国之间运送了超过 3000 万人次。在此期间，构成这条渡轮航线的船只帮助在大都市与其附属殖民地之间建立了新的边界。以这种身份，这些船只在进入日本劳动力市场时帮助构成和控制了新一类殖民移民的流动。从历史上看，交通网络一直被视为交通方式或政治融合的象征。釜山-下关渡轮的殖民时代描述通常保持这种观点。然而，本文不强调线条带来的空间整合，而是强调其作为划定来源的功能。将日本与其最近的殖民地连接起来的渡轮不仅为韩国工人提供了通道，而且还引入了约束和应急形式，塑造了他们在日本出售劳动力的能力。因此，交通成为一个政治争论和抵抗的问题。韩国工人和工会积极分子采用了一系列策略来破坏通过交通管制强加的边界。这样做是为了加强对移民在区域市场中的地位的控制，并减轻殖民体系的不平衡性。将日本与其最近的殖民地连接起来的渡轮不仅为韩国工人提供了通道，而且还引入了约束和应急形式，塑造了他们在日本出售劳动力的能力。因此，交通成为一个政治争论和抵抗的问题。韩国工人和工会积极分子采用了一系列策略来破坏通过交通管制强加的边界。这样做是为了加强对移民在区域市场中的地位的控制，并减轻殖民体系的不平衡性。将日本与其最近的殖民地连接起来的渡轮不仅为韩国工人提供了通道，而且还引入了约束和应急形式，塑造了他们在日本出售劳动力的能力。因此，交通成为一个政治争论和抵抗的问题。韩国工人和工会积极分子采用了一系列策略来破坏通过交通管制强加的边界。这样做是为了加强对移民在区域市场中的地位的控制，并减轻殖民体系的不平衡性。韩国工人和工会积极分子采用了一系列策略来破坏通过交通管制强加的边界。这样做是为了加强对移民在区域市场中的地位的控制，并减轻殖民体系的不平衡性。韩国工人和工会积极分子采用了一系列策略来破坏通过交通管制强加的边界。这样做是为了加强对移民在区域市场中的地位的控制，并减轻殖民体系的不平衡性。