Korea Under Japanese Rule

Writer: Priyanka Padala (Hyderabad, Telangana, India)

Editor: Divya Sonawane (Pune, Maharashtra, India)

We all know that India and South Korea celebrate their Independence Day on the same date, August 15. However, little do we know about the story and struggle of the people in South Korea during Japanese colonialism. Japanese rule in Korea lasted from 1910 to 1945, after taking it over completely (called annexation). The Japan-Korea Treaty of 1876 was the beginning of Japanese influence on Korea.

Before the 19th century, the people in South Korea had trade relations only with suzerain China and Japan. But from the early to mid-19th century, several Western vessels started surveying sea routes and seeking trade with Korea. Warships from Britain, France, Russia, and America were part of this.

Heungseon Daewongun decided to keep Korea closed off from the rest of the world and didn’t want to trade with other countries. After he was removed from power, the new officials supported the idea of foreign commerce. This period of political instability gave Japan the idea to devise a plan to exert influence on Korea before the Europeans.

To achieve this, a small Japanese warship was sent to survey the Korean waters without Korea’s permission. This was done to present a show of force in 1875. The Japanese gunboat was sent to Ganghwa Island, where the people in South Korea and the foreign forces confronted. An open fire broke out between the Korean forts and the warship. The Japanese were well armed with rifles and attacked several Korean forts before withdrawing to Japan. Around 35 soldiers died in this incident.

It was now the right time for Japan to press Korea on signing the unequal treaty that ended Joseon’s status as a tributary state of the Qing dynasty and also opened three ports to Japanese trade. It also guaranteed other unfair benefits to Japan. With this, Korea became vulnerable to the influence of imperialistic powers. Other such unfair treaties followed, like the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1905. It was in 1910 when Japan formally took over Korea in the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1910.

During the 35 years of Japanese colonialism, Japan took several measures to wipe out the Korean culture. They forbade speaking Korean in schools and universities. Teaching Korean history from non-approved textbooks was considered a crime. The authorities went to the extent of burning over two lakh Korean historical documents. Korea’s land was also taken as Japanese families started settling down in Korea. Several trees were chopped down and replaced with non native plant species to transform the Korean landscape like that in Japan.

_{Picture Credits: Spatial History}

Korea’s symbol of sovereignty, Gyeongbokgung Royal Palace, was ruined, and the remains were turned into tourist attractions for Japanese visitors. The Japanese even targeted religion, as the people in South Korea were forced to worship Shinto shrines. The gods of imperial Japan, dead emperors, and war heroes who helped in conquering Korea were made to be worshipped by the people in South Korea. Those were made in a way that compelled the people of South Korea to adopt Japanese-style names.

_{Picture Credits: Spatial History (Construction of the Japanese General Government Building in front of Gyeongbok Palace)}

The most painful and inhuman effect of Japanese colonialism was on the comfort women. Sadly, about 725,000 South Korean women were forced to work as sexual slaves for the Japanese military.

All the difficult things that happened made secret groups like the Party of Three Thousand start fighting to free Korea. With Japan’s devastation and World War II, the Korean peninsula was captured by the United States and the USSR. Thus ended the Japanese rule in Korea on 15th August 1945.

After this, Korea was temporarily divided into two zones: the Soviet and Chinese-backed northern half and the United States and United Nations-backed southern part. In 1965, the Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and South Korea declared all the unequal treaties, including those of 1905 and 1910, null and void.

Are you interested in Korean History? Let us know in the comments below.