It was definitely not easy for Joseon women to receive modern higher education under Japanese occupation. Traditionally, family support was concentrated on male family members, alienating women from education. Modern educational facilities such as schools were focused on men, leaving women with little opportunity to receive education. Moreover, as the subjugated class under colonial rule, Joseon people were clearly discriminated against in terms of education compared to the dominant Japanese. Joseon women could only receive higher education after overcoming double discrimination, as women and as a subjugated people, due to the traditional view of education and colonial policy. Only a few Joseon women received higher education at the level of specialized schools, and very few continued on to university.

Those who graduated from imperial universities were considered the greatest elite of the time. Imperial universities were the best educational institutions and were difficult for Japanese people to gain admission to, even more so for Joseon people. Furthermore, imperial universities first selected graduates of government high schools for boys (“Old System High Schools”), and for any spots remaining, they accepted male graduates of government specialized schools (Ikuo, 2017). Thus, entering an imperial university was more difficult for Japanese women than for the subjugated Joseon men, and nearly impossible for Joseon women. Sam Soon Kim (1909–2001) was a woman who made the impossible possible.

Women who left significant legacies in the modern and contemporary history of Korea—such as Esther Kim Park, Korea’s first modern female medical doctor; Bok Shin Song, Korea’s first woman to receive a Ph.D.; Hwallan Kim, first president of Ewha Womans University; and Hwang Kyung Koh, founder of Seoul Women’s University—all attended universities in the United States instead of Japanese imperial universities to overcome the institutional limitations of Japanese imperialism (G. B. Kim, 2002).

By contrast, Sam Soon Kim was the first and only Joseon woman to graduate from the Faculty of Science at a Japanese imperial university and received a Ph.D. Kim overcame the limitations resulting from being a woman and of a subjugated class within Japanese imperialism, graduated from an imperial university, and became Korea’s first female doctor of agriculture after liberation. Despite the disadvantages of her status as a Joseon woman under Japanese occupation, she secured a position of strength through her accomplishments. In fact, she was the first female scientist in Korea to be selected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences after liberation. Kim’s case shows the tremendous educational discrimination faced by Joseon women during the colonial era, as well as the difficult process by which some overcame those limitations.

This article consists of biographical research regarding the life and work of Sam Soon Kim. Biographical research is primarily concerned with how an individual’s life unfolds throughout his/her interactions with their social environment, with his/her life objectively reconstructed verifying materials containing personal stories, such as autobiographies and interviews, against non-personal public materials and reinterpreting them in light of such verification (Kang, 2013). Biographical methods are widely used in research in the fields of history, sociology, education, ethnic studies, and gender studies. Merrill and West, in particular, highlighted the value of biographical methods in feminist research, pointing out that “Feminist biographical research often revealed not only issues of gender inequality and oppression but also their interaction with other forms of inequality, such as class and race” (2009, p. 30). It is precisely this revelatory value that this study aims to bring to light through a biographical analysis of Kim.

There has been little research on individual female scientists in Korea in general, and even less on Kim in particular. In the West, bibliographic research on women scientists is being actively carried out, with a focus on Nobel Prize winners. For example, Keller (1983) conducted biological research on women scientists with a new framework by analyzing biologist Barbara McClintock from the gender perspective in her book “A Feeling for the Organism.” In Japan, there are a number of biographical research papers on women such as Kato Seiichi, Kuroda Chika, and Yuasa Toshiko, who earned doctoral degrees in modern times and became scientists, overcoming conflicts with men (Maeda, 1995, 2004; Yamamoto, 2017; Yamazaki, 2001). In Korea, there are only two biographical research papers, on female physicians Esther Kim Park and Young Sook Heo. Although these papers admirably describe their personal development stories as female physicians, I hope to call more attention to the institutional gender gap in the Japanese occupation period in order to more fully represent the experience of women scientists in Joseon (Shin, 2012; Yoon, 2014).

This study is the first research paper to fully discuss the life of female scientist Sam Soon Kim. It aims to reconstruct her life based on memoirs, newspaper and magazine articles, and interviews. Her years at Hokkaido Imperial University (HIU) were described based on her memoir “Memories of the 12th,” first introduced in this article. Kim’s memories were verified against known facts from newspaper articles reflecting the social conditions of that time, with HIU year-books and academic records such as those relating to HIU admissions used as statistical data. Her academic path from Gyeongseong Girls’ Higher Common School (GGHCS) to Tokyo Women’s Higher Normal School (TWHNS) and HIU was traced in detail by delving into various materials related to the educational system and school conditions during this period. In particular, the brochures of these schools, including the annual TWHNS catalog which contains a vast amount of relevant information such as education law, school regulations, department organization, the student directory, and various statistics, were helpful to achieve a better understanding of the educational system that Kim went through. They also served, above all, as important historical records uncovering the institutional gender gap. Furthermore, this research relied on secondary literature and dissertations in an effort to interpret Japanese society at the time as objectively as possible.

In 1913, the first women entered an imperial university in Japan. They were Chika Kuroda and Ume Tange, natural science chemistry majors at Tohoku Imperial University, and Raku Makita, a mathematics major also at Tohoku. Kuroda and Tange lived as scholars without marrying their entire lives, but Makita, who worked as a professor at TWHNS as well as a female mathematician, married and saw her career interrupted (Shiga, 2013). However, imperial universities did not select women as regular students for at least another 10 years because of their internal rules and only began to permit female admission in the 1930s. Even so, very few women actually attended universities—fewer than five women a year—and none of them were Joseon women.

When Kim quit teaching in Joseon and decided to return to Japan to attend university, she faced strenuous opposition from her family, mostly because she was 30 years old at the time and had already missed the chance to get married (S. S. Kim, 1990). To overcome her family’s objections, Kim sought help from Tai Kyu Ree, Japan’s first Joseon doctor in the natural sciences. Lee, who was an assistant professor at Kyoto Imperial University and was recognized as one of Joseon’s greatest scholars, was also the brother of Kim’s sister’s husband. He had arrived in Joseon on December 6, 1938, for a brief visit (Dong-A, 1938), which seems to be the time when Kim met him, judging by the fact that she quit teaching at GGHCS around this time. Thanks to Lee’s support, Kim was able to study in Japan once again. Kim recalled, “At the time, Dr. Ree, my younger sister Sa Soon’s husband’s brother, was in Joseon for a visit. I asked him to convince my mother. He asked my mother to send me to Japan, promising her that he would make me get married once I become a doctor, and finally helped me get permission” (T. K. Park, 1993, p. 81).

Why did Kim so abruptly decide to attend university? At the time, Kim was merely a graduate of TWHNS as an elective course student. Thus, it was in principle impossible for her to attend university. To continue her studies, she would have to become a research student at TWHNS, which was possible for full-time regular students, who could proceed directly to the research department for one to two years of service. However, elective course students could only enter the research department after completing the mandatory service of teaching, obtaining a secondary school teacher’s license, gaining recognition for their education level equal to full-time regular students, and then passing an exam (TWHNS, 1930).

Beginning in 1939, as a result of Japan’s involvement in the war, Japanese imperial universities had to alter their admissions process to fill vacant seats. Kim recognized this opportunity and returned to Japan in 1939 to begin the admissions process. First, she joined Kuroda’s research department at TWHNS in 1939 to prepare. While Kim was in the research department, she applied for admission to the chemistry department of Hiroshima University of Literature and Science, but she did not pass the entrance exam and was denied admission.

After her admission fell through, Kim did not return to Joseon but remained in Japan. In 1940, with Kuroda’s introduction, she became an assistant at the physiochemistry lab at Kyushu Imperial University in charge of assisting research in the lab and completing office work. She then obtained a position as a research assistant at Kyushu Imperial University to gain more experience.

After encountering so many obstacles, an unexpected change in circumstances provided her with an important opportunity. Numerous vacancies had suddenly opened up in the Faculty of Science at Hokkaido Imperial University (HIU). Therefore, the university decided to carry out extensive lateral entry admissions. In principle, HIU’s first choice of students were graduates of old system high schools like other imperial universities in Japan, but HIU was not a university preferred by graduates of such schools. Although there were differences by department, Tokyo Imperial University and Kyoto Imperial University were so popular that they could fill their openings every year with old system high school graduates alone, thereby excluding inadequate candidates through exams. By contrast, Tohoku Imperial University, Kyushu Imperial University, and HIU could not fill their openings with just old system high school graduates. These universities mostly recruited students twice, accepting old system high school graduates in the first round without an exam, and then filling remaining vacancies through an exam in the order of qualified candidates (Yamamoto, 2006).

According to the regulations of the Faculty of Science at HIU in 1930, the first choice of candidates for admission was “those who completed the preparatory course of HIU and graduated from high schools.” The preparatory course was a three-year program that trained secondary school graduates by dividing them into liberal arts and natural sciences and giving them first-priority qualification to immediately enter the relevant university after graduation. The second choice was “regular course graduates of the higher normal schools and women’s higher normal schools” and thus elective course students were not eligible. The third choice was “specialized school graduates who passed the exam and holders of a secondary schools teacher’s license who passed the relevant department’s evaluation and exam.” Kim was the “holder of a secondary school teacher’s license,” which made her the third choice (Yamamoto, 2006). However, until 1937, the openings at the Faculty of Science at HIU had been filled by first- and second-choice candidates in the first round of selection.

This vacancy issue in the first round of selection by the Faculty of Science at HIU became even more serious in 1938, mainly because of the war. To replace students mobilized for war, imperial universities accepted more students, and Tokyo Imperial University and Kyoto Imperial University also began to accept more students through lateral entry admission. With this series of events, the number of applications from graduates of old system high schools rapidly decreased at HIU, forcing the university to fill the vacancies with more lateral entry admissions. In fact, there were 33 high school graduates in the Faculty of Science in 1931 and 18 in 1938, but the number decreased to six in 1939 and four in 1940 (Yamamoto, 2006). This forced the Faculty of Science to turn to third-choice candidates in 1939. As a result, Kim was able to take the entrance exam as a holder of a secondary school teacher’s license, which she obtained after completing the mandatory two-year service at JGHCS after graduating TWHNS. In 1941, at the age of 32, Kim finally entered the Department of Botany in the Faculty of Science at HIU, not as an elective course student but a full-time regular student.

Upon entering the department, Kim went to the Plant Physiology Lab with Tetsu Sakamura (1888–1980) as her adviser. While Kim was there, there were two other Joseon students in the Faculty of Science: Young Sun Kang (1917–1999) in the Department of Zoology, and Min Jae Lee (1917–1991), also in the Department of Botany. Moreover, Masako Imai was in the Department of Mathematics and Tami Inoue was in the Department of Geology and Mineralogy, both of whom were her juniors from TWHNS. Although her relationship with them cannot be precisely determined, Kim was very close to Fuji Yoshimura (1905–1996), the assistant at the Department of Botany at the time (Yamamoto, 2011). Yoshimura was advised by Sakamura like Kim, and she published many articles while working as a research assistant at the Plant Physiology Lab after graduation. She became an assistant in the Department of Botany in 1941, when she began to prepare her doctoral dissertation. This was when Kim met Yoshimura.

Kim conducted research on E. Coli with Sakamura’s guidance in the lab and published “A study on absorption of nitrite and a study on absorption of acetic acid and pigment by E. Coli” (S. S. Kim, 1989, p. 4). Yoshimura served as a mentor for her research and not only supported Kim academically but also shared a close personal bond with her. Kim developed a religious faith in college, and she attended Catholic church services with Yoshimura. They shared a special bond as alumni of TWHNS of about the same age and as female scientists on the same path. Kim was naturally influenced by Yoshimura who was preparing for her doctoral dissertation. In “Memories of the 12th,” the only source on Kim’s years at HIU, she wrote about her friendship with Yoshimura: “Yoshimura was such a special senior to me that we were inseparable in my years at the Faculty of Science. I fulfill my responsibility by writing about the memories with Yoshimura whom I love and respect as a teacher, woman, and friend” (S. S. Kim, 1980, p. 337).

In September 1943, Kim became the first Joseon woman to graduate from the Faculty of Science at a Japanese imperial university. She graduated in just two-and-a-half years because of the shortened semester system implemented during the war, after which she immediately continued to graduate school at HIU. Kim entered the Faculty of Agriculture instead of the Faculty of Science because she had become interested in molds while writing her thesis and was deeply impressed by the applied mycology lectures of Professor Jun Hanzawa of the Faculty of Agriculture. Hanzawa was considered a pioneer of mycology studies in Japan and had a reputation as an authority on applied mycology at the time. Kim began research for her doctorate as a graduate student in the Department of Biotechnology and Agrochemistry in the Faculty of Agriculture. At the end of 1944, Kim returned briefly to Joseon on a break. She was about to return to school in time for the new semester but decided to stay longer when the war got worse. It turned out to be the very year Joseon became independent, so Kim had no choice but to stay in Joseon, unable to earn her doctorate in Japan (S. S. Kim, 1989).

Having returned to Korea after liberation, Kim first went to her hometown Damyang. While she was there, she gave in to her parents’ pressure to get married. Her husband was Se Hyung Kang (1899–1960), who had graduated from Waseda University and majored in philosophy in Germany. He is remembered as a politician who served in the 3rd National Assembly in 1953. The rumor that Kim was single and never married is false. “All I have done was study, and I have never worked in the kitchen. I just read books next to my grandmother, and I just got married because my mother pleaded with me,” Kim recalled. She never had a child with Kang, and it seems that they never even lived together (S. G. Kim, 1990). While she was in her hometown, she was contacted by Son, who had become principal of Gyeongseong Women’s Normal School, and she went to Seoul and started a new post in the faculty of Gyeongseong Women’s Normal School. The school was then amalgamated with Gyeongseong Normal School according to the Establishment Plan of Seoul National University and integrated and reformed into the College of Education at Seoul National University, where she became a professor in 1946.

However, even as a professor, she constantly searched for ways to study in Japan to earn her doctorate. Then suddenly, studying in Japan was permitted once again, and those like Kim who had not been able to finish their studies were allowed to return to Japan. Accordingly, Kim resigned her professorship at Seoul National University in September 1948 and was interviewed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, the Korean War broke out in 1950 as she was waiting for the results of the interview, and once again her plan fell to pieces.

The Korean War left her with indelible scars. Her older brother Hong Yong Kim, to whom she had been closest among all of her siblings and who enthusiastically supported her studies and helped her financially and mentally, was killed by the North Korean army. Shocked by this incident, she became so ill that she could not even think about studying overseas. Even so, Kim did not give up on her studies. When the regime changed in 1960, her previously issued visa became invalid, making it difficult for her to go to Japan. Kim sought ways to receive a visa preferentially so that she could pursue her studies overseas. She got a job as an editorial officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, worked for three months, and received a visa with the minister’s help. The convent she had known from her time going to Catholic church during her years at the imperial university invited her as a teacher at Fuji Girls’ High School (S. S. Kim, 1989) because there was no professor at HIU to invite her at the time. Thus, she submitted an invitation from the convent in Hokkaido and was finally able to return to Japan.

In October 1961, Kim returned to her alma mater after 25 years, which had become Hokkaido University. Since she had been invited by the convent, she worked as a teacher at Fuji Girls’ High School and joined the Applied Mycology Lab in the Faculty of Agriculture not as a graduate student but as a research student. Since a long time had passed since the system changed, she had to retake the exam to return to graduate school. Because her goal was to earn a doctorate, she did not necessarily have to become a graduate student. At that time, she was interested in photobiology, especially microorganism biopolymers. However, Kim could not earn a doctorate degree at Hokkaido University because there was no professor to help with her research topic. Thus, in 1963, she transferred to the Faculty of Agriculture at Kyushu University, which she had briefly attended previously, and became a research student again in Professor Keiichi Tomita’s biophysics lab (S. S. Kim, 1989).

Kim decided to conduct research on the topic of taka-amylase A, which she had been interested in since her studies at Hokkaido University. Fully committed to research at Kyushu University, Kim also published articles such as “Photoinactivation of taka-amylase A” in 1965 and “Photochemical sensitization inactivation response of taka-amylase A by riboflavin” and “Inactivation response of taka-amylase by ultraviolet rays” in 1966 in Japanese scientific journals (S. S. Kim, 1965, 1966). Then, she earned global recognition for publishing “Substrate effect on heat inactivation of taka-amylase A” and “Inhibition of photo-inactivation of taka-amylase A by halogen ions” with Tomita in Nature (Tomita & Kim, 1965a, 1965b). Kim combined these articles and submitted her doctoral dissertation with the title of “Photoinactivation of Taka-amylase A” in 1966; she earned a doctorate as the first female doctor of agriculture in Korea in July 1966 at the age of 57 (Kyunghyang, 1966).

As soon as Kim returned to Korea after earning her doctorate, she started her new post as a professor at Konkuk University. She focused more on lectures than research while she was there. In fact, in an interview she gave in Korea after earning her doctorate, Kim claimed that she might go to the U.S. to continue her studies rather than staying in Korea, where research was difficult due to a lack of proper equipment for experiments (Dong-A, 1966). Then, Hwang Kyung Koh, her senior from GGHCS and a dean at Seoul Women’s University, approached Kim and suggested she transfer to her school for female education. In 1968, Kim transferred to the Food and Nutrition Department at Seoul Women’s University, inspired by Koh’s vision of female education and her own desire to participate in establishing the school (S. S. Kim, 1989).

Kim initiated research on mycology, which is a branch of biology focused on all types of fungi such as molds and mushrooms, after she transferred to Seoul Women’s University. Kim had been interested in mycology since HIU, although it was quite different from her doctoral dissertation topic. While her doctoral dissertation was basic research that investigated the components created from microorganisms, Kim’s mycology research was applied research that investigated and classified the components of mushrooms and processed them for practical use.

Kim began studying mycology because she understood the domestic situation well. The research environment in Korean universities in the 1960s did not have proper research facilities, unlike Japan. Moreover, to obtain the necessary financial backing, applied research was much more likely to attract government backing than basic research (G. B. Kim, 2008; Moon, 2012). Thus, Kim tried to expand research opportunities by implementing mycology in ways appropriate for domestic Korean circumstances instead of conducting world-class research as she had done in Japan. To institutionalize mycology, she founded the Korean Society of Mycology in 1972 and carried out national research projects, while also publishing many research papers in cooperation with more junior researchers and colleagues (S. S. Kim, 1975, 1992; H. S. Kim, 2008). Then, in 1990, at the age of 80, she published Mushrooms of Korea (Kim & Lee, 1990), which is considered a major achievement in the world of Korean mycology. This book, the result of 10 years of work, describes the shapes, distribution, and ecology of 325 species of mushrooms that grow in Korea (Yang, 1990). As such, Kim pursued her studies in the new area of mycology despite her age.

Kim’s journey toward becoming a doctor included a series of discriminatory hurdles. When Kim tried to enter GGHCS, she faced difficulties such as her family’s opposition as well as changes in the school system resulting from the 2nd Joseon Education Decree. When she entered TWHNS, she faced discrimination because she was not a Japanese woman as were other auditing students. To enter an imperial university, Kim had to overcome many hurdles such as her family’s strenuous opposition, her status as an elective course graduate, and the university entrance exam. To receive higher education, she continued from GGHCS to TWHNS and then to HIU. Each time, she had to overcome increasingly fierce discrimination owing both to her being a woman and to her being a subjugated Korean. She was able to overcome these impediments and become a Japanese colonial female scientist on account of her strong academic ability, her family’s economic status, her strong supporters, and her ability to cope sensitively with the changing times. She became Korea’s first doctor of agriculture at nearly 60 years of age and maintained her passion for science for over 30 years after earning her doctorate (W. C. Kim, 2000).