The purpose of this study is to investigate and reflect on the pro-Japanese activities of Choe Seunghui, also known as Sai Shoki (1911-1969) during the Japanese colonial period. I reviewed literature including the Dictionary of Pro-Japanese Figures and documents from the Investigation Committee on Pro-Japanese Collaborators, as well as newspaper articles. Choe Seunghui's pro-Japanese activities from 1937 to 1944 included: first, donating large sums of money to national defense funds and pro-Japanese organizations; second, performing numerous consolation shows for the Imperial Japanese Army; and third, receiving the National Cultural Award for her pro-Japanese work Muhon. Immediately after liberation, Choe exhibited a process of denial, acknowledgment, atonement, and justification regarding her pro-Japanese actions. The study discusses her own stance on her pro-Japanese activities, the positions of South and North Korea, and the perspectives of the South Korean dance community after the lifting of restrictions on her works, highlighting the gap between 'facts' and 'acknowledgment.' In conclusion, the study emphasizes the importance of remembering both Choe Seunghui's pro-Japanese misconduct and her contributions to dance. As Hannah Arendt insightfully noted, the phenomenon of 'thoughtlessness' leading to immense evil can occur not only in past instances like Nazism or pro-Japanese collaboration but also in contemporary contexts. This study aims to assist the dance community in existing as reflective individuals, aware of these historical lessons.

The purpose of this study is to uncover the specific pro-Japanese actions of dancer Jo Taek-won (Japanese name Fukugawa Moto 福川元, 1907-1976), to improve our understanding of the history of Korean modern dance. Research was carried out through analysis of the Encyclopedia of the Pro-Japanese collaborator(2009), Report on the Truth of Pro-Japanese Anti-National Activities (2009), and visual data. First of all, I identified the collaborations with the Japanese Empire of Jo Taek-won. Jo Taek-won choreographed the representative pro-Japanese dance drama Buyeohoesanggok (1941.5.12.-16), and performed in other pro-Japanese contexts, including a number of Japanese military consolation performances for conscriptsand student soldiers. After liberation, Jo Taek-won took the lead in the dance world despite his pro-Japanese career, and after his death, a dance memorial stone produced through fundraising was erected. I argue that Jo Taek-won's artistic achievements and pro-Japanese activities should be taught together in dance education for later generations. In that sense, I suggested that an inscription containing the pro-Japanese history be added next to Jo Taek-won's dance memorial stone built at the National Theater of Korea.