Japan forced Korean officials to acknowledge a series of questionable if not illegal treaties, culminating in the Annexation Treaty of 1910, which formally ceded Korean sovereignty to the empire of Japan.
In 1904, the Russo-Japanese War
Britain and the United States saw Russia’s defeat to be more advantageous to their respective countries. The United States had its own ambitions for Southeast Asia and thought it necessary tacitly to permit Japan’s domination of Korea in return for Japan’s recognition of U.S. hegemony over the Philippines. Therefore, in the secret Taft-Katsura Agreement
Japan’s victory over Russia was another milestone not just for Japan but also for Korea; it brought Japan’s scheme to annex Korea one step closer to fruition. By the Taft-Katsura Agreement, Japan was guaranteed special favor in Korea’s politics, economy, and military affairs and received the right to guide, protect, and supervise the Korean people. After Japan attained this control over Korea, it formed a pro-Japanese group in Korea, called Il-jin-hoe, in preparation for the next treaty, the so-called Protectorate Treaty
To obtain the Protectorate Treaty for his government, Japan’s resident military commander in Korea, Itō Hirobumi, appeared at the Korean emperor’s palace with his troops in tow. He threatened Emperor Kojong and his ministers and demanded that they sign the treaty. When they refused, Itō had his troops drag the prime minister, Han Kyu-sŏl, out of the room, sent his soldiers to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to fetch the official seal, and personally affixed the seal to the treaty. The Protectorate Treaty was “signed” in this manner at about 1:00
The reaction to the Protectorate Treaty was tremendous. The treaty caused wrath from the entire Korean population. There came endless memorials to the emperor, protests and demonstrations against the Japanese “protectorate” were held, and guerrilla movements arose throughout the country to fight the Japanese. In spite of strict censorship, Korea’s newspapers took the lead in increasing public awareness of the treaty. In mortification and despair, Prince Min Yŏng-hwan and other high officials took their lives. The emperor announced in a letter of February 1, 1906, in the English-language newspaper Korea Daily News, that he had not consented to the treaty and that it was sealed illegally.
In June, 1907, the Second Hague Peace Conference
However, the event succeeded in exposing the illegal nature of Japanese conduct, which generated worldwide condemnation. The furious Japanese used the Hague incident as an excuse further to tighten their grip on Korea. Japan blamed the emperor for the incident and demanded that he accept responsibility by yielding his throne to his son, the crown prince. When the emperor refused, Japan forced Kojong to designate the prince to rule as regent, ruling in his place, an unprecedented event in the annals of Korean history. There had never been a case of a prince acting as regent for his reigning father. Nevertheless, under great pressure, the emperor finally agreed to allow his son to be named regent, only to find that his acquiescence was manipulated by the Japanese into a full abdication of his throne to the prince. By the time he realized what was happening, however, it was too late to prevent it.
Thus, one month after the Hague incident, Prince Sunjong became the twenty-seventh and final monarch of the Chosŏn Dynasty. When the news was made public, there was again public uproar and demonstrations. Two years later, in 1909, the main orchestrator of the Protectorate Treaty, Itō Hirobumi, was assassinated by An Jung-gŭn at Halbin Railroad Station in Manchuria.
The next Japanese resident general in Korea, Terauchi Masatake, was sent to the country for the express purpose of securing another forced treaty—this time one agreeing to the complete annexation of Korea by Japan. Upon his arrival, Terauchi suspended the publication of all newspapers to prevent the public from discovering Japan’s plans. He drafted the Annexation Treaty together with Prime Minister Yi Wan-yong. In addition to co-authoring the treaty, Yi Wan-yong—rather than the emperor—signed the document on August 22, 1910, making himself infamous in the annals of Korea. The treaty officially ended Korea’s status as an independent country. Yi Wan-yong, the national traitor who had sold his country, continued to serve under the new Japanese rule. He was attacked by a compatriot and his house was burned down.
The Annexation Treaty consisted of eight articles, but its central stipulations were that “Korea makes complete and permanent cession to Japan of all rights of sovereignty over the whole of Korea” and “Japan assumes the entire government and administration of Korea.” Fearful of an outburst by the populace following the Annexation Treaty’s signing, it was not announced immediately to the nation. A week later, on August 29, Emperor Sunjong was forced to announce the annexation and relinquish both his throne and his country. Thus ended the Chosŏn Dynasty, which had been founded by General Yi Sŏng-gae in 1392, had lasted 518 years, and was served by twenty-seven sovereigns.
Japan’s desire to annex Korea went back at least as far as 1572, when Shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi had invaded the country. The 1910 annexation was thus the culmination of more than three hundred years of overt and covert maneuvering by Japan. After it was completed, Japan tried to assimilate Koreans under the slogan Nai-Sen-ittai (“Japan and Korea are one entity”). To carry out this assimilationist policy, throughout the thirty-five years of its imperial rule over Korea, Japan banned all forms of Korean cultural expression that might be considered nationalistic, and Koreans were forced to change their names to resemble those of their Japanese rulers. Japan aimed at the total eradication of a Korean national consciousness.
Instead, the annexation awoke otherwise-complaisant Koreans and spurred a major independence movement in 1919 called the March 1 Independence Movement. This spontaneous national movement surprised the whole world and shocked Japan. Japan’s response, however, was severe, as the Korean independence movement was suppressed with an unprecedented level of brutality and atrocity.
-
Dudden, Alexis. Japan’s Colonization of Korea. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2005. Boldly calls Korea after the 1905 Protectorate Treaty “Illegal Korea,” yet fails to emphasize the illegal status of the treaty itself. Lacks scholarly objectivity. -
Hatada, Takashi. A History of Korea. Translated and edited by Warren W. Smith, Jr., and Benjamin H. Hazard. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-Clio Press, 1969. Presents Korean history from the Japanese perspective, a perspective counter to that of the Dudden work cited above. -
Hulbert, Homer B. Hulbert’s History of Korea. 2 vols. Edited by Clarence N. Weems. New York: Hillary House, 1962. History after the year 1904 appears in the “Editor’s Profile of Hulbert” section, which deals with Hulbert’s involvement as Emperor Kojong’s adviser and confidant until 1909. -
Lee, Ki-baik. A New History of Korea. Translated by Edward W. Wagner. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1984. General history of Korea with good coverage of the Japanese advance on Korea during the nineteenth century. -
McKenzie, F. A. Korea’s Fight for Freedom. 1920. Reprint. New York: AMS Press, 1970. Chronicles the personal observations of what the Japanese were actually doing in Korea during the occupation. Written from the perspective of a supporter of Japan.
Anglo-Japanese Treaty Brings Japan into World Markets
Russo-Japanese War
Second Hague Peace Conference
Stimson Doctrine
Rape of Nanjing
Japan Announces the Greater East Asia Coprosperity Sphere