Japan's Colonization of Korea

Viewpoint #1:

The legacy of a colony and its influencing country can change the course of millions of lives across the globe forever. Such a case occurred in the instance of Japan’s hostile takeover of the Korean peninsula, where both Korea’s original government and culture were radically changed into a lifestyle completely different than anyone had ever seen. One of the most important lasting effects was the institution of a Communist regime under Kim Il Sung, as well as a great contrast in literature and other cultural aspects. The colonization continues to affect the world today and most likely will do so long into the future.

A generalized background on the geography of North Korea is necessary to understand its history. Currently, the name the Western world refers to it by is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and in the native Korean language it is called Dae Han Min Gook. To the south lies South Korea along the 38th parallel, to the east is Japan, across the aptly named Sea of Japan, and to the north and west lie China. China, an extremely broad country both literally and as compared with North Korea, has a border with Korea along the Yalu River, which flows to the west, and the Tumen River, which flows to the east, as well as sharing the Yellow Sea with North Korea. To the north of China lies Russia, formerly known as the Soviet Union. Many of North Korea’s cultural aspects were determined from topography as well. For example, traditional art has long been based on the surrounding landscape, particularly mountains and trees. This is probably due to the fact that 70% of the land is covered with mountains, such as the Nanĝim, Hamgyŏng, Kangnam, and T’aebaek Ranges, all of which include forest-covered peaks. Rivers have also influenced the development of North Korea throughout history. P’yŏngyang, its current capital, in fact lies on the Taedong River, which allowed it to develop from a port city into one of the region’s most majestic cities. The geography of North Korea and other countries in its area has caused a great deal of conflict, including the affair surrounding the Japanese colonization of Korea.

The whole ordeal began in the 1870s, when the Japanese “wanted to draw Korea into the Japanese orbit” (Beasley 144). After unsuccessfully trying to add their own influence to Korea by such means as a failed coup d’état and negotiations with China in Tientsin to reach an agreement to stay away from Korea, they decided to use force after the agreement in Tientsin was broken by the Chinese helping to control a revolt in Korea. Slyly, they blackmailed Korea by sending in troops and refusing to leave until Chinese influence was completely replaced by that of Japan. Unsurprisingly, Korea resisted, but it was in vain and, by September 1894, the Korean peninsula was totally controlled by the superior Japanese army. Following the victory, Russia came into the picture, which eventually led to the Russo-Japanese War from 1904-1905, in which the Japanese won easily even though they were weaker militarily and outnumbered. After proving to not only the rest of East Asia, but also the rest of the world, that they were a force to be reckoned with, Japan annexed Korea in 1908. There are many conflicting misunderstandings and perspectives of this process. But one must understand that Korea was a nation with no desire for power and expansion, while the Japanese had an increasing desire to expand due to their idenitity as an island nation. And the closest place they had to capture to succeed was Korea.

In 1392, General Yi Sŏng-gye founded the Yi dynasty, also called Chosŏn, with its capital at Seoul, the current capital of South Korea. Its governmental policies were the basis of Korean society. One of the general-turned-king’s first acts was to give control of all land to the government, thus undermining the power of Buddhist temples with large land plots or high-class clans to charge unreasonably high rents to peasants. In fact, under Sŏng-gye’s watch, land reform was the most important aspect of politics. For the first century of its existence, “Chosŏn flourished as an exemplary agrarian bureaucracy influenced by…the doctrines of neo-Confucianism” (Savada 14). Clearly, Korea’s traditional form of economy, agriculture, heavily affected the government. Civil service exams were administered to allow admittance into the bureaucracy, and the tests were taken by many farming peasants. As a result of the land control, landowners conflicted with the government, and often came out victorious. Therefore, the centralized style put in place in Chosŏn was really masking the aristocratic power. At first, Korea began to have a good relationship with China, “adopting a policy known as sadae chuui, or ‘bending before the great’” (Nash 49). They used China for protection by becoming a less powerful ally. In time, however, they adopted a strict policy of isolationism towards all countries, with a bad taste in their mouth from a series of Japanese invasions in the 1590s. This became the image that Korea has been known by ever since. This is a misunderstanding and a bias many people (especially westerners) have. One must not judge a country by its actions in the past. Because of this colonization some textbooks (such as Malaysia) state that Koreans and Chinese were people from the colony of Japan, which is no longer true. An effort to understand Korea better must be achieved in order to make peace with the Koreas, Japan, and China. Crudely, Japan is accused as a "power-hungry," and "responsible for war crimes," which is partially true along with the Germans in WW2.

During the Japanese colonization, a tight watch was kept on the Korean people, particularly because many rebellions arose in protest of the Japanese rule. The “Righteous Armies” (Wright 82) used guerilla tactics in their attempt to defeat the Japanese, but were unsuccessful. Half of the country’s rice crop, one of its biggest moneymakers, Japan seized for themselves. Japan built centralized bureaucracies, similar to Chosŏn’s, but these were ruled by the upper-class Japanese colonizers and were truly centralized. Many new laws were made to officially discriminate against Koreans, another reason such revolts occurred. Newspapers and other literature were censored to favor Japan, and the Koreans could do nothing about it, lest they be subject to the feared police. Japanese government in Korea showed great contrast with its previous dynasties, particularly Chosŏn. In fact, one main reason for Japan's success today is due to the flourishing economy of Korea in the Choson Dynasty. Korea provided literature, art, and econmic benefactors to Japan, and without this Japan would not be an Asia #1 today.

Since 1945, North Korea has been a Communist nation, a bit similar to the Japanese. One plausible reason that the format was kept is that new leaders analyzed the positives and the negatives of Japanese rule and decided that the positives outweighed the negatives. The Korean Workers’ Party has had a monopoly over the government, with its leader being Kim Il Sung. The Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA), with 655 elected officials with four-year terms, is supposedly the most powerful organization in the North Korean government, but really approved measures that undermined their outright authority. Their 1972 constitution gave the president much more power and a large cabinet, called the Central People’s Committee (CPC). The president, who is in fact elected by the SPA, heads the CPC and helps them make nearly all major policy decisions. Communist ideals led to many practices used in North Korea still today. For example, the court’s role is to protect state lands more than citizen’s constitutional rights. Kim Il Sung’s Marxist-Leinist chuch’e has been used to run the government since 1955. It rejects policies of other Communist nations and stresses national independence. However, it has some policies that are common for all Communists, especially control of all wages and prices in the economy. The Korean government after the era of colonization was undoubtedly influenced by Japanese rule.

Not only was the government drastically changed, but culture too evolved as Japan introduced Western ideas to North Korea. Religion was one of the main components of their culture that was changed. Shamanism, “the folk worship of a pantheon of household, village, animate and inanimate forces in nature through a female medium or Shaman” (Wright 96) is at the backbone of not only the religion but many other aspects of North Korean culture. Visitors from all religions use the Shamans to drive away evil forces, cure an illness, or even learn about a future in-law. The superstitious practices persisted throughout and past Japanese rule, most likely because it is deeply rooted in everything Korean. Buddhism, however, was dramatically affected by the Japanese. The basic principles behind Buddhism, that one should abandon his or her possessions to understand his or her standing in the universe, remained unchanged, but the Japanese sects assimilated into the relatively small amount of Buddhist sects. Chosŏn had discouraged Buddhism, so the Japanese encouragement essentially sparked a revival. Confucianism was just the opposite. As the official state religion of Chosŏn, it had achieved much governmental and social influence. Socially, Confucius believed in filial piety, or the subordination of someone to those with a higher social rank. His political ideals revolved around civil service exams and the concept that the righteous should rule, not the wealthy or powerful. Once the Japanese invaded, it lost its political power, as they ruled strictly for themselves. On the other hand, Confucianism’s moral teachings still make up the backbone of society. One of the most rapidly growing religions in North Korea is Christianity. In 1863, it began to arise amid numerous persecutions. After 1940, by which time most Koreans had been exposed to Western ideas through Japan, Christianity began its steep rise to a population of more than 8 million today. It is evident that religion and philosophy have been shaped by Japanese influence.

The Japanese have changed literature as well. Early on, literature was used mainly for religious purposes, to transcribe principles. Eventually, following a breakthrough in language in 1443 with the development of an alphabetic language called hangŭl, folk songs and poems were recorded on paper. These were the primary functions of the written word until the Japanese came along, bringing Western styles with them, a movement called Shinmunhak. It had one main purpose: “to take literature out of the court and down into the street” (Wright 108), or to educate the common man about the history of his people. During the Japanese period, however, creativity was hampered by censorship of nationalistic works. Thus, today, basically only short stories are published. Japanese influence is obvious in the area of literature, as well.

Art, another form of self-expression, was heavily affected by the Japanese colonization period. Pre-Japan, art was limited to landscapes, spiritual depictions, and other religious ideas. From Japan, however, a realistic style was taken, specifically that which uses watercolors called che sek hwa. All of Japan's art are primarily based on the cultural and artistic influences of China. Japan adopted many of China's ideas and changed them into their own. Studies display that during the colonization, 석굴 암 was viewed by the Japanese, who then attempted to "correct Korea's architecture" but ended up destroying it. To this day, the 석굴 암 remains in deep decay, but it was once the most maginificent Buddhist Temple in all of Korea, China, and Japan, having brilliant details such as the Buddhist in the middle placed at the precise angle rays of the sun.

It may seem that way, but not all results of the Japanese colonization of North Korea were negative. In fact, one could argue that the net outcome, when considering both diffusion and improvements in economics, was positive. Japan built railroads, ports, and factories, and although they did it for an ulterior motive (to attack China more easily), one cannot deny the improvements it made. The economy of Korea during Japanese colonial rule was actually better than that of Japan! Agricultural production and efficiency became much improved in Japan with the help of western tools and the economy of Korea. As we enter into the central years of Japanese colonization, we see how the Japanese chop down trees of the luscious green mountains of Korea to use for their purposes. Because of this reason, Koreans have efficiently been planting trees over a long period of time, and now most of those trees have grown back. The Japanese attempted to "kill off" Korean culture first, then move on with China, and into the heart of the main land. Due to this reason many Koreans as well as the Chinese were killed maliciously and historical records were burned mercilessly.

Japan’s forced claim of the Korean land was, in the minds of most, wrong and shameful, yet the diffusion that it caused cannot be denied.In addition, a change in governmental policies was impossible to not notice, as the people went from having an isolationist leader to a powerful Japanese aristocratic class to a Communist system in which all land was divided and controlled. Many examples of this type of situation can be made to support the argument that all colonization leaves a personal imprint on the world.

One main effect of this colonization and WW2 overall was of American influence in Japan. To this day, the process of westernization is strong in Japan. North Korea is heavily influenced by China and remains a communist nation, though some signs show that severe communism is winding down. South Korea is still one of the traditional "Asian Tigers" and stays a strong, independent nation.

All in all, the two Koreas struggle to remain strong and be unified under the title of one Korea.

Viewpoint #2:

It is easy to speak of transformation and evolution in historical and technical terms.

ReferencesBeasley, W.G. The Rise of Modern Japan. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1990.

Duiker, William J. and Jackson J. Spielvogel. World History – 3rd Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2001.

Macintyre, Donald. “Guilt Trip.” TIME Asia Magazine 9 September. 2002. 26 February. 2005 <http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/article/0,13673,501020916-349191,00.html>.

Nash, Amy K. Places and Peoples of the World: North Korea. U.S.A.: Chelsea House, 1991.

“North Korea.” The Encyclopedia Americana. 1999 ed. U.S.A.: Grolier, Inc., 1999.

Savada, Andres Matles, ed. North Korea: a Country Study. Lanham, Maryland: bernan, 1994.

Wright, Chris. Korea: Its History and Culture. Seoul: Korean Overseas Information Service, 1996.

http://www.kimsoft.com/kr-japan.htm

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