Japanese Imperialism
"All listen carefully.
Ito, the man who killed the Choseon Dynasty's first lady, Myeongsong, is innocent. However, I who killed this villain to Korea am guilty. Why is Japanese law so corrupt?
- Ahn Jung-geun, talking to the Japanese court (1910)
1895- Start of Colonization
The Korean peninsula was always viewed as a "bridge" to other countries such as China and Russia. Therefore, when Japan was attempting to expand its empire, annexation of the Korean peninsula was necessary to further colonization.
Queen Myeongsung was a very strict nationalist who believed that the Choseun Dynasty should not be subjugated to another's reign. She resisted Japanese attempts to colonize and was eventually killed on August 20, 1895.
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1910- Korea illegally forced into annexation
The Eulsa Treaty in 1905 made Korea into a protectorate of Japan. The Korea-Japan Treaty of 1910 then formally annexed Korea. Both were unequal treaties, or "neugyaks," favoring the Japanese.
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1910 ~ 1945 - Anti-Japanese sentiment grows
Ahn Jung-geun's shooting of Ito Hirobumi triggered a "domino effect" of future independence movements such as the Samil Movement on March 1, 1919.
Various laws such as "Chang Si Gae Myung" prohibited the use of "hangeul," the official Korean language, coerced Koreans into joining the Japanese army, and established the Japanese Military Slavery Unit. All of these which started in the 1920s made hatred toward the Japanese and nationalism more prevalent among Koreans.