Japanese colonialism in Korea is a topic that is frequently brought up by Koreans. It has been over seventy years since Korea has gained its independence, but there is still a lot of anger being directed towards Japan and Japanese culture in Korea today. In this paper, I will be arguing that although Japan’s colonization of Korea modernized the country and boosted its economy, it caused detrimental effects to the culture and formed a relationship of animosity and pain that cannot be erased by the few positive impacts it has had.
Although the annexation of Korea did not occur until 1910, Japan had already been intimidating the country for thousands of years. Frederick Arthur McKenzie, who lived through the colonization, states in “Korea’s Fight For Freedom” that it almost became an inbred tradition among the Japanese to seize Korea (6). By conquering Korea, Japan could establish itself as a legitimate imperial nation and use the country for industrial and agricultural expansion (Dudden 2). When Japan won the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, it began its influence over Korea. Western countries like the United States and Britain did not really interfere with Japan’s efforts to colonize Korea, but Koreans tried their best to maintain their independence and limit Japanese influence. However, through multiple including the assassination of members of the Korean royal family, Japan took over and officially claimed Korea in 1910.
Japan benefitted from and exploited Korean resources in the forty-five years that they occupied the peninsula. Korean land was taken over by an estimated 100,000 Japanese families, resulting in many Korean farmers losing their land, income, and agricultural wages. Starvation was extremely prevalent (Kimura 629). Koreans also did not have the same rights as Japanese citizens, although they were technically members of the Japanese empire. F.A. McKenzie describes the Japanese government’s intent in “Korea’s Fight For Freedom”:
“it intended completely to destroy the independence of Korea.
Even the Court officials were at last seriously alarmed,
and set about devising means to protect themselves.
The Emperor had thought that because Korean
independence was provided for in various treaties with Great Powers,
therefore he was safe. He had yet to learn that treaty rights, unbacked by
power, are worth little more than the paper upon which they are written.” (36)
The assimilation policies that were put in place meant to erase the culture completely. In 1939, many were forced to change their name to a Japanese-style one to be recognized by the bureaucracy and receive ration cards and basic necessities. Japan also attempted to eradicate the Korean language, creating fear around speaking anything but Japanese. They took traditional Korean books and translations away and completely controlled the schools. Many children were uneducated and illiterate. The poet Ko Un describes this in a poem from his collection Maninbo (184):
“When Ham Seok-heon was a child
at a village school in Yongdangpo, North Pyeongan province,
the teacher of the calligraphy class
took great care of the students,
stooping over them
as they wrote one character after another.
His students also had to learn
to grind the ink steadily
and hold the brush firmly.
He would snatch the brush from an awkward student’s hand.
Grabbing the boy’s hand from behind, he would say:
‘You little brat,
how will you make your writing strong
if you hold your brush as weakly as that?”
“Japanese writing may be pretty,
but our writing must above all be strong.”
Another disturbing act was the use of “comfort women”. An estimated 200,000 Korean women were forced into sexual slavery during World War II by Japanese soldiers. Some thought they were being offered to work at factories or hospitals, and others were grabbed off the street by soldiers (J. Lee). They were referred to by number instead of name and had to endure being herded in wooded shacks while being drugged, beaten, and raped. There was and still is such a fear of speaking out that women in their 80s are just now coming forth and providing more information. There are 190 known comfort women who have come forth, and 40 of them have already died (J. Lee). People are now putting more effort in to publicize these women’s stories so that their history will not be forgotten and erased, which is why documentation of these events is incredibly important. However, people are concerned that more former comfort women will not come forward, as most of them have died or are still too afraid to admit to what happened to them.
Korea was not silent during this time- there were many rebellions and demonstrations against the Japanese government. A prime example of this is the case of Yu Gwan-sun, which is discussed frequently among Koreans. Yu Gwan-sun was a fifteen year old girl during Japanese occupation who began some of the first peaceful protests in 1919. On March 1, 1919, Gwan-sun and a few classmates began a protest and recited the Korean Declaration of Independence, which was created by rebels and signed by many. After the protest, she joined another student demonstration that involved marching at a gate in the middle of the city. This was the first time she was detained. After she was bailed out, she returned to her hometown and began to organize protests with neighboring villages.
On April 1, she gathered 3,000 people who marched and waved Korean flags, some of which Gwan-sun had personally made. When Japanese police arrived, they immediately began to fire into the crowd, killing 19 people and Gwan-suns parents. She was arrested and was offered a lighter sentence if she would give up the name of her collaborators and admit that she was guilty, but she refused to do so. Gwan-sun was then convicted of sedition and security law violations and sentenced to five years at Seodaemun prison, where she was frequently tortured and raped. Many women were imprisoned at this particular facility, and most were housed in cells meant to torture them, now known as “Yu Gwan-sun’s Cave”. The cells were 3.3 meters square and were designed so its occupants could not stand up. Gwan-sun endured unimaginable torture. Japanese soldiers poured tar on her head and ripped off of her scalp, cut off her breasts, and continually raped her. She ended up dying at sixteen on September 28, 1920 only one year into her sentence. She is now considered the “Korean Joan of Arc” and is a role model to many young female students.
Although Japan caused irreversible damage to Korea, its thirty-five year occupation did have some positive impacts. As a country that was already heavily westernized, Japan introduced western techniques into Korea’s economy, helping it become fast growing. In this way it helped Korea modernize and improved its infrastructure. Additionally, Japan introduced and influenced new waves of Korean art and philosophy. However, the inhuman torture, sexual servitude, forced labor, and countless deaths cannot be forgotten and should outweigh the few benefits of the occupation. Many Koreans still struggle with the trauma of the colonization, which helps fuel the continuous animosity toward Japanese culture and products.