Australia and the World Past and Present

In 1854 Japan was “opened” by Western powers.

This opening was forced by Western powers seeking to expand their trading empires.

The timing of Japan’s opening to the rest of the world after a long period of seclusion was not determined by Japan itself.

The opening of Japan introduced new ideas and technologies.

The Japanese state embarked on a study of European and American legal systems, modes of governance and administration.

Japan’s leaders decided to embrace modernity and embark upon a rapid modernisation project.

Japan’s might rose relative to that of its neighbours.

Japan won the First Sino-Japanese War.

Japan’s victory loosened China’s influence over the Korean Peninsula. The “land of the rising sun” now had an opportunity to expand its own influence.

In 1910, Korea became a colony of Japan. Like many other colonial powers, Japan wanted to control Korean territory and resources with minimal effort. Thus, the initial preference was for indirect rule.

Japan and Korea had had contact going back centuries.

Korea had a history of being overshadowed by powerful neighbours. At times it was as a vassal of China, a vassal of the Mongols, and a battle ground in Japan’s foreign adventures.

In Japan, theories of common Japanese-Korean ancestry rose to prominence. Known as the nissen dōsoron (日鮮同祖論) or “The Japan–Korea Common Ancestry Theory”, it acted as an intellectual foundation for the annexation of Korea.

A countrywide legal right for Japanese to own land in Korea was introduced in 1907-8.

The first Governor-General, Terauchi Masatake, kicked off a program of land reform.

Previously, absentee landlords had been common.

Masatake ordered cadastral surveys be carried out. Boundaries were drawn. Maps were produced.

These surveys would be beneficial to the Japanese in collecting taxes.

The Joseon government had kept land registers (hojeok, 戶籍) and tax registers (yangbo, 量簿) to determine who worked the land and tax obligations. These were administrative records, not legal title deeds. Farmers’ claims to land were often customary, not formally documented with deeds. Now, paper deeds or titles were required. If one could not be produced to prove ownership, too bad.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of land passed into Japanese hands. Many Koreans became tenant farmers, required to hand over perhaps half of their rice production as rent to Japanese landlords.

Rice grown in Korea was transported to Japan. Meanwhile, the per capita consumption of rice in the Peninsula fell.

There was a rice shortage in 1918.

Japanese were taking ownership of more and more arable land.

By the early 1930s, the number of Japanese residing in Korea was a little over half a million. By the end of the decade, it had roughly doubled.

Archeological diggings were conducted by the Japanese.

Cultural artifacts were taken back to Japan.

By the late 1930s, the Japanese had embarked on a policy of assimilation. By the 1940s, most Koreans had adopted Japanese names, as a failure to do so meant that they would not be able to send their children to school. This name change policy was known as the soushi kaimei 創氏改名.

World War II led to labour shortages for the Japanese. By 1939, close to 1 million Koreans were toiling in Japan, some working in Japanese mines.

In the early years of the war, Koreans could voluntarily join the Japanese Imperial Army. In the early days of the war, they had more latitude in decision making. In the latter stages of the war conscription was demanded.

Some figures influential in the postwar period had worked with the Japanese. Former President, Park Chung Hee is one example.

In 1944, conscription was enacted.

Hundreds of thousands of Koreans were forced to serve the war effort. Often, they were not fully trusted by Japanese troops. Accordingly, they were often assigned to non-combat roles, such as prison officers.

Koreans could be found throughout East and Southeast Asia.

There were Korean guards on the Burma railway.

After the war, over 100 Koreans were convicted of Class A and B war crimes.

Young Korean women were sent throughout Asia to provide sexual services for Japanese soldiers.

Resources were extracted from Korea. Coal and iron was sent eastwards.

The Japanese introduced rail to Korea. By the 1930s, there was an extensive rail system. It was almost completely built during the Japanese period (with Korean labour of course). Many of these lines became the backbone of modern South and North Korean rail systems after 1945.

In the 2000s, the issue of collaboration loomed large.

An investigation began in 2002 and closed in 2010. A list of individuals who benefited from collaboration with the Japanese was drawn up and in some instances, land was confiscated.

Since World War II, South Korea has become an established democracy and an economic powerhouse. It became one on the East Asian economic tigers. North Korea has gone in the opposite direction.

The relationship between the Japan and Korea has come a long way since 1945.

The two countries have a pro-Western, capitalistic outlook. Both live under the threat of North Korean nuclear weapons. There are strong person to person ties and many Japanese have become avid consumers of Korean popular culture.