Japan Annexes Korea

Setting the scene

Japan formally annexed Korea on August 29, 1910, through the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty, ending the Joseon Dynasty that had ruled Korea for 518 years. The annexation followed decades of Japanese interference in Korean affairs. After winning the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), Japan forced China to recognize Korean independence, then assassinated Queen Min in 1895 and made Korea a protectorate after the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. The 1905 Protectorate Treaty stripped Korea of diplomatic sovereignty, and the 1907 treaty dissolved the Korean army.

What happened

The 1910 annexation was signed by Korean Prime Minister Lee Wan-yong under Japanese pressure—Emperor Sunjong refused to sign. Japan justified annexation as modernizing and protecting Korea, but it was colonial conquest. The Governor-General of Korea, based in Seoul, ruled with absolute power. Japan implemented policies to assimilate Koreans: Japanese became the official language, Korean history was suppressed in schools, land was confiscated for Japanese settlers, and Koreans were forced to adopt Japanese names in 1939.

Why it still matters

Japanese rule lasted 35 years until Japan's defeat in 1945. It brought industrialization and infrastructure—railways, ports, and factories—but also brutal repression, cultural erasure, and exploitation. The March 1st Movement in 1919 saw 2 million Koreans protest for independence; Japan killed 7,000. Forced labor and 'comfort women' (sexual slavery) during World War II remain sources of bitter resentment. The annexation is remembered in Korea as a national humiliation and fuels ongoing tensions with Japan over apologies and compensation. It exemplifies Japanese imperialism and the dark side of its modernization.

Background

Colonial rule lasted until 1945.