James Freers' Schools of Tae Kwon Do Leicester Loughborough Syston Leicestershire Tae Kwon Do Association of Great Britain (TAGB)

Korean & Tae Kwon Do History - Start of Japanese rule and the Korean War

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.

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	James Freer's Schools of Tae Kwon Do Leicester, Loughborough and Syston - Leicestershire, UK Tae Kwon Do Association of Great Britain (TAGB)
	Korean & Tae Kwon Do History - Start of Japanese rule and the Korean War 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. 1 2 3 4
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