Truly, Japanese colonialism following the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-189 !

an" the su#se$uent anne%ation of &orea in the Japan-&orea Treaty of 191' ha" profoun"ly shape" the character of the state of &orea from the Joseon empire into what is now recogni(e" as the nation of &orea, South or )orth* +lthough the Japanese con$uest in an" of itself was fairly "etrimental in terms of &orea,s "e-elopment as an in"epen"ent nation, ultimately, the colonial perio" is crucial to un"erstan"ing &orea,s transformation into a mo"ern nation-state* .olitically, &orea change" "rastically, #oth in terms of the ma/or policy ma0ers in &orea as well as in terms of &orea,s role in 1ast +sia politics* 2nternally, there is a great shift from the ol"er, 3ing 4ynasty worshipping min"set to a more &orea-centric min"set* .re-iously, with #oth the 5ing an" 3ing "ynasties, the &orean court ten"e" to put itself un"erneath the hierarchy that e%iste", with 6hina as 7#ig #rother7 state (8arsen!* +s &ir0 8arsen notes, this was not a relationship #uilt simply on ser-itu"e9 rather, this was a metho" for &orea to ha-e a close "egree of frien"ship with 6hina, as 6hina "i" not e-en treat &oreans as foreigners* :owe-er, there is a clear shift in min"set "uring an" after the occupation* ;ather than relying on 6hina for autonomy an" recognition, as 8arsen puts it, the call was for a &orean in"epen"ence, rather than a return to the prior su(erainty* 1-en one of the earliest such mo-ements, the 5arch 1st mo-ement of 1919 following &o/ong,s "eath, calle" for &orea,s in"epen"ence, with the general populace proclaiming 7mansei,7 implying 75ay &orea li-e ten thousan" years*7 These calls for in"epen"ence were not limite" to specific regions or classes, rather, this was a general call for &oreans to stan" as &oreans against Japanese in-asion (&ang!* 2n this then lies the see"s for the characteristic nationalism of #oth )orth an" South &orea, as the Japanese occupation #re" a "esire for self-"etermination an" so-ereignty* This e%ten"s not only to &orea on its own #ut also in-ol-es in"i-i"uals #ecoming e%tremely -isi#le an" acti-e politically* 1-en in 19'<, when the occupation was not 7official7 as the treaty ha" not #een formally signe", &ing &o/ong ha" sent a group to the :ague to plea" their case on an international le-el, while prominent historians an" nationalists wrote treatises an" articles in the news in an attempt to awa0en nationalism in the general populace (:wang!* This sort of in"i-i"ual attention continue" throughout the colonial perio", with &im San tra-eling to 6hina for his #eliefs in the 6ommunist party as a force for &orean in"epen"ence in the 19='s an" the e"itors of Tonga ilbo who smu"ge" out the Japanese flag from the picture of Son &i/ong, &orean olympic me"alists in 19=> as their own small form of resistance (:wang!*

+""itionally, later lea"ers of &orea .ar0 6hung :ee an" &im 2l Sung #oth ha" their #eginnings as Japanese enforcer an" &orean resister in 5anchuria "uring the latter half of the 19='s (:wang!* This relati-ely new acti-ism can #e sai" to pro-i"e the character of mo"ern &orea then, as the memory of Japanese oppression "ro-e &oreans, #oth as a nation an" in the in"i-i"ual spirit, to #e fiercely in"epen"ent an" uni$ue* This political nature e%ten"e" itself into creating a uni$uely &orean nature, to "istinguish &orea from #oth Japan an" 6hina9 more importantly though, this also unite" &oreans #ehin" a single national i"entity* +lthough &orea ha" lost its so-ereignty, it was still a uni$ue cultural entity9 thus, art, music, foo", all of these aspects of culture were use" as -ehicles to "emonstrate to the worl" that &orea is an entity "istinct from Japan an", thus, it re$uires its own self"etermination as #oth a cultural group an" a people* The #urgeoning ra"io in"ustry was a fair in"ication of this* +lthough it was primarily use" #y the Japanese to promote Japanese culture an" Japanese -alues an" propagan"a, &orean ra"io accomplishe" a unification of the &orean language across -arious -ernaculars* +""itionally, ra"io programmes on Station ?@ inclu"e" lectures on &orean culture an" society, al#eit more for the intellectuals an" stu"ents rather than the masses, as well as performances of &orean culture in terms of fol" songs an" 0isaeng entertainers (;o#inson!* )ot only "i" this populari(e an" "isseminate the tra"itions of &orea, #ut it also le" to "e-elopment of a &orean pop culture, as well as sprea" it to an au"ience far more #roa" then /ust &orea* Ane famous song of the time was +rirang* To #e accurate though, this was a set of songs, with the same central motifs of trage"y an" a -ery similar recurring melo"y an" rhythm* This sort of song truly capture" the &orean spirit9 in"ee", the song is still hugely famous to"ay in &orea (Suh!* This is mirrore" in the great artists of the time, li0e 6hoi Sung-:ui an" )a :yeso0, #ut this also recogni(es the growing influence of women in culture* Bnli0e in the Joseon perio", in which their influence was limite" to those of the women painters, women ha" a greater role in the arts, encompassing e-erything from literature to painting (:wang!* 2n general though, the growth of culture in this time "ue to the reaction against Japanese encroachment #oth co"ifie" an" soli"ifie" a uni$uely &orean i"entity* 1conomically, Japanese influence cannot #e sai" to #e the "ri-er of the powerhouse that is mo"ern-"ay &orea* Bn"er the occupation, what Japan pro-i"e" was a -ery strong infrastructural #asis to #uil" off of, as well as the #eginnings of a in"ustrial re-olution from the agriculture-#ase" economy of tra"itional &orea* )ota#ly, the South 5anchuria ;ailway, #uilt

more for 5anchuria than &orea, lai" the foun"ations for a rail system for the peninsula, as a ma/or #ranch connecte" the #ul0 of it (Suh!* +""itionally, "ue to the necessities of wartime logistics an" the Secon" Sino-Japanese War, there was #oth a nee" an" a "ri-e to create a strong #asis for infrastructure, al#eit its primary purpose was not for economic growth* ;egar"ing the growth of manufacturing, from the start to the en" of the Japanese colonial perio", manufacturing grew from appro%imately =C to @@C of the &orean economy, a significant increase (Suh!* +""itionally, mining an" usage of &orean natural resources grew, although how much was use" to fuel &orean economic growth -ersus Japanese is "e#ata#le* :owe-er, in terms of #oth e"ucation an" mar0et control, the Japanese goal, as e%pecte", was the #etterment of Japan an" its citi(ens, of course* + ma/ority of in"ustries in &orea were Japanese-owne" in 194', an" the proportion of s0ille" &oreans -ersus s0ille" Japanese in terms of e"ucation was a#ysmal, on the or"er of =D1, without e-en ta0ing account the fact that the -ast ma/ority of the population of &orea was, of course, &orean (Suh!* 1-en agricultural growth stagnate" "uring this perio", although gi-en that more people #ecame in-ol-e" in in"ustriali(ation, this may #e a testament to the smaller amount of people nee"e" to fee" the country* A-erall though, the Japanese "i" not in-est in &orea in the sense of creating a strong &orean economy9 rather, it followe" the tra"itional imperialistic moo" of e%ploitation, #oth in the sense of a protecte" mar0et an" in resources, human an" natural* 2n general, although the Japanese occupation was, on #alance, neutral or outright harmful to the growth of &orea as a nation, in "ramatically altering the status $uo, it cataly(e" the "e-elopment of &orea as more than simply a state* To #e &orean #ecame a sort of national pri"e an" i"entity, an" something to #e fiercely prou" of* 2n that then, the Japanese occupation completely change" &orea as a state an" as a people*

Suh, Soyoung* 8ecture gi-en on Acto#er @4th, @'1=* +51S 11, 4artmouth 6ollege* Suh, Soyoung* 8ecture gi-en on Acto#er @9th, @'1=* +51S 11, 4artmouth 6ollege* :wang, &yung 5oon* A History of Korea* @'1'* &ang, :il"i* Under the Black Umbrella: Voices from Colonial Korea, 191 !19"#$ @''1* ;o#inson, 5ichael* Colonial %odernity in Korea: Broadcasting, C&lt&ral Hegemony, and Colonial %odernity in Korea, 19'"!19"#$ @''1* 8arsen, &ir0 W* Tradition, Treaties, and Trade: (ing )m*erialism and Choson Korea, 1+# !191 $ @''8