Leicester, Loughborough and Syston - Leicestershire, UK
Tae Kwon Do Association of Great Britain (TAGB)
Tonghak
revolt (1894) & start of Japanese rule
Ordinary farmers & civilians had to cope with severe taxes
and poor living conditions. There were large - scale revolts,
and Government troops were defeated. The Government called in
Chinese troops to help - at which point Japanese troops moved
in, uninvited. In 1894 war broke out between Japan and China,
which Japan won. The treaty of Shimonoseki recognised Japanese
hegemony over Korea.
Japanese
annexation
There were many political problems between the Japanese, Koreans,
Russians and Chinese. During the Russo-Japanese war(1904-5), Korea
was made a Japanese protectorate. In 1910, Japan formally annexed
Korea, and the Korean army was disbanded. The Japanese imposed
a Governer - General. Some resistance continued from the remnants
of the Korean Army for 5 years - but it was eventually driven
out to Manchuria. Many Koreans emigrated to Manchuria, Shanghai
and Hawaii.
Koreans had very little freedom - they had no freedom of association,
assembly, press or speech. The Japanese imposed their own educational
system on Korea - one effect of this was that subjects like Korean
history and language were excluded, and there was heavy emphasis
on the Japanese language. Japanese could trade in Korea, but not
the other way round. Many farmers were deprived of their land,
which was sold cheaply to Japanese. Many Koreans emigrated to
Manchuria or Japan in search of jobs. Korean martial arts were
suppressed, and Japanese ones taught in their place.
The Japanese did, however, develop communications and transport
links. This period also saw the birth of Ch'ondoGyo,
a new religion, which was a combination of Buddhism, Confucianism,
Taoism & Christianity.
In
1919, there were nationwide anti-colonial rallies. Independence
from Japan was declared on 1 March 1919.
2 million people attended a peaceful rally - however, the Japanese
responded with force, killing about 23,000 and arresting about 47,000.
Meanwhile, in Shanghai in April 1919, Syngman Rhee, An Ch'ang
Ho and Kim Ku formed a Provisional Korean government. The
Japanese eased off slightly, but in 1931 reimposed military rule.
Second
World War & after
During the period of Japanese occupation between 1910 and 1945,
Korea was systematically strip-mined for its raw materials and cheap
labour to build Japan's newly industrialising economy. In 1941,
the Japanese tried to completely obliterate Korea as a nation -
in terms of Korean religion, books, magazines, newspapers etc. The
subjugation was total: Koreans were not even allowed to speak their
own language, and were forced to use Japanese names. More than 100,000
Koreans were drafted to fight in the Japanese Army, work in mines,
factories etc. The Japanese war machine was also notoriously supplied
with female sex slaves ("comfort women"). Most of the
estimated 200,000 Asian women forced to work as sex slaves for the
Japanese military were Korean. In the meantime the Korean independence
movement was fighting the Japanese in China.
The significance of the 38th parallel is that is was the line above which, at the end of World War 2, Japanese soldiers could surrender to the then USSR, and below it to the USA. This line ended up being the boundary between North & South Korea.
Japanese
apology - 1998
The Japanese Prime Minister, Keizo Obuchi, expressed his country's
"deep remorse" for the suffering caused during Japan's
colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. In the first written World
War II apology ever issued by Japan to a specific country, Mr Obuchi
"sincerely recognised the historical fact that our country
inflicted tremendous damage and suffering on the people of South
Korea through the colonial rule during a certain period of the past
and expressed deep remorse and heartfelt apology over this."
Japan's Emperor Akihito also expressed "deep sorrow" over
the suffering inflicted by Japan on the Korean people. However,the
thousands of South Korean women forced into sex slavery by the Japanese
Imperial Army angrily rejected Tokyo's apology-they wanted a direct
apology for "crimes" against the women and compensation.
Korean
War (1950-1953)
After the 2nd World War, there was pressure from the UN for free
elections. The Soviets banned elections in the North; in the South,
Syngman Rhee was elected President. North Korea invaded South Korea,
and eventually China, the US and the UN all got involved. Approximately
4 million people died during this conflict.