Korea under Japanese rule

The History of Korea from 1900-1950 began with a series of confrontations between a collapsing Joseon dynasty rent by Korean ruling class factionalism, and political influences by foreign powers on the Korean peninsula. In Korea, the period from 1910 to 1945 is called either the Period of Japanese Imperial Rule (Ilje Sidae, 일제시대) or the Period of Imperial Japanese forcible occupation (Ilje Gangjeomgi, 일제강점기).

The Japanese influence increased with the signing of the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty of 1910 under duress. The treaty is quite controversial, as historians debate the treaty's provisions, the circumstances under which it was signed and even the name of the treaty.

With the treaty, the Empire of Japan eventually enforced control over Korea for almost the entire first half of the century. Japan's defeat in the Second World War in 1945 ended Japanese administration on the peninsula. In Korea, the period from 1910 to 1945 is called either the Period of Japanese Imperial Rule (Ilje Sidae), or the more controversial Period of Imperial Japanese forcible occupation (Ilje Gangjeomgi). The loss of sovereignty significantly accelerated the growth of Korean nationalism. The annexation was followed by the widespread use of violence and deprivation of civil liberties against the Korean people. It is alleged that millions of Koreans may have been killed during the occupation.

To speed the orderly surrender of Japanese troops a demarcation line was drawn on the 38th parallel, separating North and South Korea. Japanese troops north of the line surrendered to the Soviets, south of the line they surrendered to the Americans. This quickly resulted in the Americans and Soviets acting as de facto administrators of the country, and after the Korean War the demarcation line became an official border; a demilitarized zone between what was now two countries - North Korea and South Korea.

A strong Western influence on the Korean peninsula had a profound effect on post-World War II Korean society, culture and politics. Western society saw many changes to Korean culture and education, contributing to rapid cultural change and ideological divisions among the Korean elite. This left a mixed legacy that persists today

For various reasons, anti-Japanese sentiment is strong throughout both North and South Korea. Some scholars, both inside and outside Japan, are attempting controversial reinterpretations of Japanese imperialism. For example:

• Professor Rhee Young Hoon (이영훈) of Seoul National University argued at a seminor hosted by the Asia-Pacific Research Center of Stanford University that the Korean economy had grown greatly under the Japanese rule and that the base of modern capitalism introduced by the Japanese to Korea later became a part of the foundation of the modern Korean economy (Joongang USA, October 18, 2005).

• Professor Ahn Byung Jik (안병직) of Seoul National University rejects the popular thesis about the modernization of Korea that the late Joseon Dynasty had a germination of capitalism and could have grown into a modern society on its own, and argues that the Japanese rule helped the economic development of Korea (Segye Ilbo, October 12, 2005).

• Ji Man-Won, a South Korean author, has caused controversy in Korea and further abroad with his revisionist view. Ji has praised Japan for "modernising" Korea, and has said "most of the old women claiming to be former comfort women, or sex slaves to the Japanese military during World War II, are fakes."

In Korea, such views are widely regarded as being offensive, libellous of the women concerned, and as representing historical revisionism. [1]

Non-government bodies and individuals have also undertaken their own investigations. For example, in 2005, a South Korean freelance journalist, Jung Soo-woong, located in Japan some descendants of people involved in the 1895 assassination of Empress Myeongseong (Queen Min), the last Empress of Korea. The assassination was conducted by Japanese government agents, because of the Empress's involvement in attempts to reduce Japanese influence in Korea. Jung recorded the apologies of the individuals.

Period of Japanese Rule
Korean Name
Hangul	일제 시대 or 일제 강점기
Hanja	日帝時代 or 日帝强占期
Revised Romanization	Ilje Sidae or Ilje Gangjeomgi
McCune-Reischauer	Ilche Sidae or Ilche Kangjŏmgi
Japanese Name
Kanji	日本統治時代
Hiragana	にほんとうちじだい

Background

Colonization

Japan attempted to gain control of Korea toward the end of the Sengoku period, but Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasions of the late sixteenth century were disastrous. By the late 19th-century, the European powers had partitioned Africa between them, with France and Britain obtaining huge portions. The British had also won concessions from China, while the United States had taken over Hawaii, Alaska (which was a Russian colony before being purchased by the United States in the 1860s), and the Philippines. The United States forcibly opened up Japan in the mid-19th century, introducing the Japanese to previously-unseen technology and sparking the Meiji Restoration. In this context of colonial powers, Japan decided to annex Korea as a colony, however the exact reasons for this decision can be roughly divided into two viewpoints.

One view holds that Japan felt threatened by Western imperialism and decided to 'colonize or be colonized.' The second view holds that Japan wished to become a great power like many Western countries and therefore immitated the colonization being done by the West. Neither view disputes that Japan took part in unwilling colonization of Korea, and only the reasons 'why' are seriously debated by academics.

Unequal treaties

It was a common practice for colonial powers to force advantageous treaties on weaker countries: these were the so-called "Unequal Treaties". For example, following the Opium War of the 1840s, Britain forced China to grant trading rights and land (Hong Kong) to the British Empire. Likewise, Korea was required to give Japan extraterritorial rights and open up three of Korea's ports to Japanese trade in February of 1876. Korea went on to sign treaties with Britain, the United States, Russia, Italy, and various other countries in the next ten years.

Assassination of Queen Myeongseong

In 1895, Queen Myeongseong was assassinated, allegedly by Japanese agents. The Queen had opposed Japanese interference in Korea, so the Japanese minister to Korea, Miura Goro, is said to have orchestrated her assassination. A group of Japanese entered the royal palace, which was under Japanese guard, and Queen Myeongseong (also known as Queen Min) was killed. After the assassination the ruling King Kojong refused to talk with his father, the Daewongun, believing him complicit in the assassination of Queen Min. Queen Min may have been instrumental in having King Kojong crowned, removing the Daewongun from the throne. [2]

Tonghak Rebellion and protests for democracy

1894 and 1895 saw the advent of the Donghak Rebellion in Korea. This rebellion, fueled by religion and anger at the government, began in southwest Korea and spread to central Korea. The Korean government asked for Chinese assistance in ending the revolt. When China sent troops into Korea, Japan presented the Chinese dispatch as a justification send in its own troops to Korea. China and Japan soon went to war in the First Sino-Japanese War, which Japan won, and Japan forced another treaty onto Korea: the Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895).

So Chae-p'il, who had gone to the United States and learned Western ways, and Protestant missionaries, introduced Western political thought to Korea. Soon after, protesters took to the streets, demanding democratic reforms and an end to Japanese and Russian influence in Korean affairs. The Russians had become involved in Korean politics because the King, did not trust the Japanese, and had gone to the Russian embassy in Seoul in order to run the country in an unimpeded manner. Fear of imprisonment by the Japanese government led So Chae-p'il to leave Korea for the USA again in 1898.

On the road to annexation

Russia gained control of several of Korea's forests and mines after permission was given to Russia to build and operate the Chinese Eastern Railway across Manchuria. Japan and Russia soon engaged in the Russo-Japanese War in 1904 and 1905. Japanese victory in the conflict put an end to Russian influence in Korea. Shortly afterwards, Japan and the United States, in the Taft-Katsura Agreement, agreed that Japan would be given a free hand in Korea, a departure from previous US statements which had led the Korean King to believe that the United States government would support Korean independence. In return, Japan agreed not to interfere in the American-occupied Philippines. Then-US President Theodore Roosevelt: "To be sure, by treaty it was solemnly covenanted that Korea should remain independent. But Korea itself was helpless to enforce the treaty, and it was out of the question to suppose that any other nation, with no interests of its own at stake, would do for the Koreans what they were utterly unable to do for themselves .. .Korea has shown its utter inability to stand by itself." By the end of 1905, Korea was already a Japanese protectorate. In 1907, Emperor Gojong abdicated, and his son became the new Emperor.

Annexation of Korea

On August 22, 1910, Korea was officially annexed by Japan under a Governor-General of Korea with the Korea-Japan Annexation Treaty signed under duress by Lee Wan-Yong: Prime Minister of Korea, and Masatake Terauchi: Japanese Resident-General in Korea who became the Governor-General of Korea. Korea continued to be ruled by Japan until Japan's surrender to the Allied Forces on 15 August 1945. This treaty was never ratified and lacked the Imperial Korean seal making it unofficial. This period of annexation and colonization explains why anti-Japanese sentiment is still strong throughout both North and South Korea.

Economy

Modern transport and communication networks were established across the nation in order to facilitate industrial exploitation and mining systems. An industrial base was established in Korea under Japanese rule for the production of weapons and military arms for use in the First World War, the Sino-Japanese War, and the Pacific War. The average lifetime expectation rose from 26 years to 42 years (1945) and the population increased twofold, despite widespread economic poverty and malnutrition caused by the annual confiscation of Korean rice by Japanese landfords. The average amount of rice brought from Korea to mainland Japan yearly was 1,056,000 sacks (8.33% out of 12,303,000 sacks) from 1912 to 1916, 2,196,000 sacks (14.29% out of 14,101,000 sacks) from 1917 to 1921, 4,342,000 sacks (28.57% out of 14,501,000 sacks) from 1922 to 1926, 6,607,000 sacks (40% out of 15,798,000 sacks) from 1927 to 1931, 8,757,000 sacks (47.06% out of 17,002,000 sacks from 1932 to 1936, and 7,161,000 sacks (36.84% out of 19,410,000 sacks) in 1937. Korea's underground resources were also taken advantage of at this time through the conscription of Koreans to work in mines connected to various railroads, all built by Japanese companies. During the Period of Japanese rule, trade barriers between Korea and mainland Japan were lifted. Many Korean businesses were unable to compete with their Japanese competitors in the Korean market, as they lacked the capital, financial expertise, and low tax rates of their Japanese counterparts. As a result, many Korean businesses went bankrupt, and many sectors which had been filled by Korean companies were after the introduction of Japanese rule largely the domain of Japanese-owned businesses.

Japanese landowners

As the Japanese government encouraged its citizens to emigrate to its new Korean dominions for colonization and development, these settlers came and bought many land reforms from the Korean aristocracy who had monopolized the land and farms before 1884. Many Korean farmers were hired by these Japanese, and labored under significantly higher taxation rates than before, and learned slightly more advanced agricultural methods from the Japanese. As such, Korean farmers suffered under the high degree of their labor, which was required in order to supply rice to an increasingly urbanized Japan. The ownership registration process that Japan required of the Koreans made it not only difficult for the Korean aristocracy to hide and monopolize farming land, but also made it impossible for self-employed Korean farms to keep their estates from being exploited and taken by the Eastern Real Estate Corporation, which had been established in the beginning of the colonial era by the Japanese Governor-General to consficate all land of hereditary ownership. Consequently, Japanese landowners succeeded in monopolizing the management of Korean farms and property, very much like their pre-19th century Korean predecessors. This is well demonstrated during the years 1916, 1920, and 1932, during which the ratio of Japanese land ownership started at 36.8%, then rose to 39.8%, and finally jumped to 52.7%, while the ratio of Korean ownership began at 63.2%, dropped to 60.2%, and finally ended up at 47.3%.

Employment

The Japanese gathered Koreans to work in Japan in three steps. First, the Japanese government permitted recruitment of Korean workers by Japanese companies. The number of Korean employed in this way is estimated at about 0.6 million people. From 1939 and until the end of World War II in 1945, the Japanese government also offered jobs at local offices in Korea to 10,000 Koreans. Finally, from February 1942, the Japanese government forced tens of thousands of Koreans to move to Japan as forced labor. The second and third steps fit into the category of forced labor.

In 1938, 0.8 million Koreans were living in Japan as immigrants. The combination of immigrants and forced labor workers during WW2 brought that estimate to about 2 million Koreans living in Japan at the end of the war (GHQ estimation). In 1946, 1.34 million people returned to Korea (also estimated by GHQ) and 0.65 million Koreans remained in Japan.

Politics

Residents of the Korean peninsula, whether ethnic Korean or Japanese, did not have the right to vote or right to hold office in Japan's House of Representatives (衆議院). The election law was amended in 1945 to allot 18 seats of the House of Representatives to the Korean peninsula, but this did not go into effect because of the end of the war later in the same year. Koreans living in Japan did, however, have both a right to vote and a right to hold office. Park Sung-Kong (朴春琴) was the first Korean to be elected into the House of Representatives in 1932, and re-elected in 1938. Several members of the Korean Royalty were appointed to the House of Peers (貴族院) including Park Yong-Hyo (朴泳孝) in 1932. 38 Koreans were elected into local assemblies in 1942.

Royalty

The Korean royalty was incorporated into the Japanese royalty during the Japanese Rule. Yi Eun (李垠), then the prince of Korea, married Masako (方子) of Nashimotonomiya (梨本宮). Koreans who supported the annexation also were invited into the Korean royalty. Lee Wan-Yong (李完用), the last prime minister of the Korean Empire, was given the title of Count (later Duke) by Japanese fiat and against Korean resistance. In total, 76 Koreans were titled Count, Baron, etc. all of which were later invalidated by the Koreans.

Independence movement

After the former Korean emperor Gojong had died, anti-Japanese rallies took place nationwide beginning on 1 March 1919 (the March 1st (Samil) Movement). A declaration of independence was read in Seoul. It is estimated that 2 million people took part in these rallies. The protests were violently suppressed: according to Korean records, 49,948 were arrested, 7,509 killed and 15,961 wounded; according to Japanese figures, 8437 were arrested, 553 killed and 1409 wounded. After the declaration of independence and the subsequent massacres, some of the aspects of Japanese rule considered most objectionable to Koreans were removed. The military police were replaced by a civilian force, and limited press freedom was permitted.

Continued anti-Japanese rallies, such as the nationwide uprising of students in November 1929, led to the strengthening of military rule in 1931, after which freedom of the press and expression were curbed. Many witnesses, including Catholic priests, reported that Japanese authorities dealt with alleged insurgency severely. When villagers were suspected of hiding rebels, entire villages of people are said to have been herded into public buildings (especially churches) and massacred when the buildings were set on fire. One priest who witnessed the aftermath of a mass killing by Japanese forces termed their actions "utterly savage and against the will of the Holy See." Such events deepened the hostility of many Korean civilians towards the Japanese government.

Education

As a result of the introduction of the Japanese school system, more Korean children could receive education. In May 1942, the number of elementary schools built in Korea counted 4,945, the number of the students totaled 1,876,455, and the school enrollment rate went up to 60%, which was about 42 times greater than the number at the beginning of the annexation period. There were also 75 junior high schools, 75 girl's high schools (高等女学校), 133 trade schools (実業学校), 145 trade continuation schools (実業補修学校), 16 teacher's schools (師範学校), 24 vocational schools (専門学校), and 1 prep school in May 1944. Keijo Imperial University (京城帝國大學), which was absorbed into today's Seoul National University and was one of six imperial universities back then, was established in Seoul in 1924. The numbers of Korean graduates from the law school and medical school of the university are as follows:

	Law School		Medical School
Year	Japanese	Korean	Japanese	Korean
1929	43	25
1930	44	25	43	12
1931	39	31	57	14
1932	45	20	44	21
1933	38	27	43	18
1934	36	30	42	29
1935	32	25	50	15
1936	41	38	54	12
1937	48	28	54	22
1938	38	29	58	12
1939	13	12	50	16
1940	30	25	22	4
1941	41	20	50	20
1942	43	21	44	18
1943	41	31	36	24
Total	572	387	674	237

As the Japanese were attempting to assimilate Korea into the Empire of Japan, classes were taught in Japanese during the early years of the annexation period. After the March 1st (Samil) Movement in 1919, the Japanese were forced to allow Koreans to learn Korean culture. After the outbreak of World War II, however, this lenient policy was reversed, and school subjects such as Korean history and language were once again turned into electives and not encouraged. During the entire colonial period, Korean students were required to pay their respects at Shinto shrines, swear an oath of loyalty to the Emperor of Japan, and show their support for Japan's "Asia for Asians" policy. Teachers at elementary, middle, and high schools were dressed in military uniforms and armed with swords to enforce the intimidation of students. It was also during the annexation that Japanese hair length regulations and regular corporal punishment were introduced, and these school rules are still applied in modern Korea.

Culture

Western and Japanese culture seeped heavily into Korea during the Period of Japanese Rule, and Korean intellectuals read and discussed European, American, and Japanese writers and artists. Authors tended to discuss social and political agendas, and some looked up to Western ideals such as modernization and mass education, as well as socialism. While many authors engaged in romanticism, the Korean Proletarian Artists' Federation of the 1920s and 1930s criticized the Japanese government and expressed the contempt of many Koreans towards the Japanese authorities. The Federation was banned in 1935. In the meantime, the Japanese Governate based in Keijo (modern-day Seoul) rigidly enforced the oppression of Korean culture and language in public, eventually going as far as to ban the use of the Korean language in the media, outlawing Korean newspapers, encouraging the adoption of Japanese names in favor of Korean names, demolishing Korean national monuments and edifices, demonizing Korean heroes, degrading the statues of Korean culture, and propagating the importance of the Japanese race while emphasizing the inferiority of the Korean race. This eventually led to a revival in Korean nationalism, including in-depth research projects into Hangul, the Korean alphabet, which resulted in the standardization of the Korean writing system by scholars such as Lee Hui Sung and Choi Hyun Bae in the 1930s, as well as underground publications of books about historical Korean figures.

In addition, Japan destroyed the Korean Imperial palace, Gyungbok Palace, which was originally constructed in 1394 AD by Jung Dojun, a Korean architect. Located near northern Seoul, the palace had endured various reconstructions and eventually ended up as a massive 330-building complex. Covering over 41 hectares (101 acres) of land, it was a symbol of majesty for the Korean people and the home of the Royal family. In 1911, the Japanese destroyed all but 10 buildings. Currently the area is used as a National Museum, with Koreans hoping to resurrect part of the original palace.

Koreans and the Japanese Imperial Army

Starting in 1938, Koreans located in Korea were allowed to volunteer for the Japanese military and the first Korean Voluntary Unit was formed. Among notable Korean personnel in the Imperial Army was Hong Shi-Yok (洪思翊), a lieutenant general. Many volunteers later gained administrative posts in the government of South Korea, one well-known example being Park Chung Hee (朴正熙; 박정희).

Starting in 1941, Japan started conscription of Koreans into the armed forces. All Korean males were drafted to either join the Imperial Japanese Army, as of April 1944, or work in the military industrial sector, as of September 1944. Prior to 1944, 18,000 Koreans passed the examination for induction into the army. The application ratio was allegedly 48.3 to 1 in 1943. From 1944, about 200,000 Korean males were inducted into the army. The total number of Korean military personnel was 242,341, and 22,182 of them died during World War II. At the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal 148 Koreans were convicted of Class B and C war crimes, 23 of whom were sentenced to death.

Victims of Nuclear Attack and Sexual Slavery

In the case of Korean A-bomb victims in Japan during the Second World War, many Koreans were drafted, enslaved or kidnapped for work at military industrial factories in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There were a total of 70,000 Korean casualties in both cities; 40,000 were killed and 30,000 were exposed to the A-bomb radiation.

During World War II, Japanese officials and local collaborators forcibly kidnapped poor, rural women from Korea (and other nations) for sexual slavery for men in the Japanese military. These women became known as comfort women. Estimates regarding the number of Korean women sexually enslaved within this system range from 20,000 to 300,000.

It has been claimed that the Japanese government intentionally destroyed the reports on these Korean women. Some have cited Japanese inventory logs and employees on the battlefield as evidence for this claim. For example, one of the names on the list was of a comfort woman who stated she was forced to be a prostitute by the Japanese. She was classified as a nurse along with at least a dozen other verified comfort women who were not nurses or secretaries. Currently, the South Korean government is looking into the hundreds of other names on these lists.

1940s and the end

A "Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea" was established in Shanghai during the Period of Japanese Rule. On December 11, 1941, shortly after the Attack on Pearl Harbor, the provisional government under the leadership of Kim Gu, declared war on Japan.

Seven days after the sundering of the Friendship Pact, Soviet tanks invaded Korea from Siberia, meeting little to no resistance. Japan surrendered to the Allied Forces on 15 August 1945, ending 35 years of Japanese rule. US forces under General Hodge, would not arrive to the southern part of Korea until 8 September. Colonel Dean Rusk proposed splitting Korea at the 38th parallel at an emergency U.S. meeting to determine spheres of influence during this time. Efforts by the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea to establish control over Korea at the conclusion of the war were resisted and ultimately stopped by both United States and Soviet authorities. The U.S. authorities in southern Korea viewed the self-proclaimed "Provisional Government" as a communist insurgency and refused to recognize it. Bitterness over the division of Korea into two halves by the Soviet Union and the United States is widely felt by Koreans to this day

See also

• History of Korea
• Imperialism in Asia
• Japanese Empire
• Anti-Japanese sentiment
• List of Japanese War Atrocities
• List of Korea-related topics
• List of Japanese governors-general in Korea
• Assassination of Empress Myeongseong of Korea
• March 1st Movement
• Japan-Republic of Korea Joint Declaration A New Japan-Republic of Korea Partnership towards the Twenty-first Century
• Korean-Japanese disputes

External links

• Country Studies on Korea
• Ji Man-Won's website (in Korean) Various dates.