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Introduction

In Korean history, the Period of Japanese Rule or Iljeong Sidae (일정시대; 日政時代; "Period of Japanese Rule") in Korean) describes the period from 1910 to 1945, when Korea (at that time called Chosun) was ruled by Japan.

European Colonialism

Although Japan had tried (and failed) to take over Korea during the Tokugawa period, nineteenth-century European colonialism likely influenced Japan's decision to annex Korea more than the Tokugawa Shogunate invasions of the late sixteenth century. The Europeans took over Africa and partitioned it between their own countries, with France and Britain getting huge portions. In addition, the British won concessions from China and the United States took over Hawaii, Alaska (which was already a Russian colony before the American takeover), and the Philippines by 1900. Moreover, the United States contacted Japan with technology that the Japanese had never seen before in the mid-19th century, sparking the Meiji Restoration. In a world dominated by European colonial powers, Japan felt that it would have to colonize or be colonized; it would have to industrialize or be left out in the rough. Therefore, the Japanese may have decided to take over the nearest country they could think of, and Korea happened to be that country.

Unequal Treaties

It was common practice for colonial powers to force unequal treaties favoring themselves on other countries prior to colonizing. For example, following the Opium War of the 1840s, the British forced the Chinese to grant trading rights and land to the British Empire, including Hong Kong. Likewise, the Japanese (after attacking Korea in 1875) required the Koreans to give Japanese extraterritorial rights and open up three of Korea's ports to trade with Japan in February of 1876. Korea went on to sign treaties with the British, Americans, Russians, Italians, and various other countries in the next ten years.

The Queen Gets Assassinated

In 1895, Queen Min was assassinated, allegedly by Japanese folks. The Queen had opposed members of her court that favored reforms suggested by Japan, and so the Japanese minister to Korea is said to have orchestrated the assassination of the Queen. People barged into the royal palace, which was under Japanese guard, and pushed aside people trying to defend the Queen. People then captured the Queen and either stabbed her to death or burned her alive; if she was stabbed to death, her body was cremated. Warning: this paragraph may not be NPOV. This is based on information from a website documenting Japanese atrocities.

The Tonghak Rebellion and Protests for Democracy

1894 and 1895 saw the advent of the Tonghak Rebellion in Korea. This rebellion, fueled by religion and anger at the government, began in southwest Korea and spread to central Korea, and caused Korea to invite China to bring in troops to stop the revolt. When China sent troops into Korea, Japan used the incursion as an excuse to send in its own troops to Korea. China and Japan soon wound up going to war with each other in the First Sino-Japanese War, which Japan won, and Japan forced another treaty onto Korea: the Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895). This treaty caused Korea to abolish class distinctions, liberate slaves, end a Chinese-influenced civil service exam system, and shift its taxes around, in an effort to prevent future revolts.

The treaty didn't work. One So Chae-p'il, who had gone to the United States and learned Western ways, and Protestant missionaries, educated Koreans about freedom, democracy, and Western ideas, causing Koreans to take to the streets, demanding democratic reforms and an end to Japanese and Russian meddling in Korean affairs. (The Russians had come into Korean politics because the King, being afraid of the Japanese, had gone to the Russian embassy in Seoul in order to run the country in an unimpeded manner.) So Chae-p'il taught his ideals starting in 1896, and government officials jailed the protesters; So had to leave Korea for the USA again in 1898.

On the Road to Annexation

Russia took over several of Korea's forests and mines, after managing to get China to grant the Russians the right to build - and run - the Chinese Eastern Railway across Manchuria. Japan and Russia soon engaged in the Russo-Japanese War in 1904 and 1905. Japan won this war as well, and Russia conceded that Japan had paramount status in Korea. Shortly afterwards, Japan and the United States, in the Taft-Katsura Agreement, agreed that Japan could do whatever it wanted in Korea, so long as Japan did nothing in the Philippines. By the end of 1905, Korea was already a Japanese protectorate. In 1907, King Kojong resigned (under Japanese influence), and his son took over. The new King soon married a Japanese lass and was given a Japanese peerage.

Annexation

On August 22, 1910, Japan annexed Korea by the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty and the Japanese Resident-General in Korea 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.

Japanese landowners

Japan, being a crowded country and unable to grow enough food for its own people, was forced to look elsewhere for its land - so Japan took land from Korean farmers. Many farmers were stripped of the land they were farming on during the ownership registration process that Japan required of the Koreans. This was due to the Japanese landowners forcing them from their land. Joint ownership as it was common in Korea at the time was not recognized by Japan and this led to many disputes over land ownership. Many Koreans blame Japanese rule for the mass expulsion of Korean landowners from their property.

Industry and development

Modern transport and communication networks were established across the nation. This facilitated Japanese commerce. An industrial base was established in Korea under Japanese rule. Also, the average lifetime expectation rose from 26 years to 42 years (1945) and the population increased twofold. Korea's underground resources were also exploited at this time by conscripting Koreans to work in mines connected to various railroads, all built by the Japanese. In addition, Japanese products flooded into Korea, causing thousands of Korean industries to go bankrupt.

Education

A Japanese school system was introduced, which led to increase the number of Koreans who could receive oppotunities to study at school. In the beginning of Japanese rule, classes were tought solely in the Japanese language. After the 1919 March 1st (Samil) Movement, the Japanese eduacation policy was relaxed, allowing the use of Korean in schools. During World War Two, the more lenient policy towards Korean culture and language was reversed, and school subjects such as Korean history and language were again removed in favour of their Japanese equivalents. After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937 and World War II, Japan attempted to convert the Koreans into Japanese. Worship at Japanese Shinto shrines was made compulsory. The school curriculum was radically modified to reflect the changed policies. Korean people were given an opportunity to adopt Japanese names whilst the celebration of Korean culture was discouraged. The study of Korean history was banned at Korea's universities.

Culture

Western and Japanese culture seeped heavily into Korea during the Age of Japanese Rule, and Korean intellectuals read and talked about European, American, and Japanese writers and artists. Authors tended to write about 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 wrote about the Japanese occupation and the contempt many villagers had for such rule. (The Japanese-led government squashed that Federation in 1935.)

Independence Movement

After the former Korean emperor Gojong had died, 1542 anti-Japanese rallies took place nationwide 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 peaceful protests were violently suppressed: according to Korean records, 49,948 were arrested, 7,509 killed and 15,961 wounded (although the Japanese records claim far smaller numbers, the numbers were significatly decreased in order to downplay the popular feeling of independence). After the declaration of independence and the subsequent massacres by Japanese authorities, some of the aspects of Japanese rule considered most objectionable to Koreans were removed. The military police were replaced by a civillian 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. In addition, the Japanese frequently rounded up entire village populations and locked them into buildings before slaughtering them all by burning the building, as witnessed by several Catholic priests, who called such practices "utterly savage and against the will of the Holy See." Such events continued to escalate tensions on the peninsula.

The end of Japanese rule

A self-professed "Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea" was established during the Period of Japanese Rule in Shanghai. On December 11, 1941 the organization declared war on Japan, even though it was not widely recognized as a legitimate government. It fought with its Korean Restoration Army alongside the Allied Forces. 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 southern part of Korea until September 8th. Colonel Dean Rusk proposed splitting Korea at the 38th parallel at an emergency US 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 by both United States and Soviet occupation authorities. The US occupation authorities in southern Korea viewed the self-proclaimed government as a communist insurgency and resisted the "Provisional Government". Biterness over the division of Korea into two halves by Soviet and US occupation authorities is widely felt by many Koreans to this day.

See also

• History of Korea
• Imperialism in Asia
• Japanese Empire
• List of Korea-related topics

External links

• Country Studies on Korea

• Korean history