Teaching East Asia: Korea Teaching East Asia: Korea | Page 68

The First Phase of Japanese Rule (1910–1919)
Koreans were controlled by a police system that deprived them of basic freedoms. Newspa-
pers were suspended, political parties abolished, and public gatherings disallowed. Authority was in-
vested in the Governor-General who was appointed by the Emperor and controlled the military and
civil police forces, made all laws, and had fiscal independence and total control of all appointments.
The police was the ruling agency in politics, education, religion, morals, health and public welfare,
and
tax collection.
The first decade of Japanese administration has been called the dark period because of the
extensive repression of political and cultural life. The occupiers created an educational system to
train a labor force to serve the homeland’s economy. Their goal was also to educate the population in
Japanese customs, culture and language to the point of creating loyal, useful, and obedient subjects
of the emperor. Japanese was spoken and Korean was taught only as a second language.
The colonists consolidated their position in communications, public services, and economic
activities throughout the peninsula. Railroads were particularly vital for strategic and economic
reasons. Japan was then free to exploit Korea’s gold, silver, iron, tungsten, and coal. A law was
passed requiring approval for the formation of public or private corporations. Few Koreans received
such approval. Japanese banks dominated the economy, and Korean businessmen had to depend on
them for capital.
In this first phase of colonial rule, the oppressive rule forced a growing number of Koreans
who expressed opposition to colonial rule to resettle in Manchuria and Russia, Some became con-
tract laborers in Hawaii, others settled in California. After 1914 the major powers were consumed by
the World War. Koreans tried to get the attention of other nations without success.
The Second Phase of Colonial Rule (1919–1931)
President Woodrow Wilson raised the hopes of colonized peoples around the globe with his
commitment to self-determination of peoples. Korean activists planned a nationwide demonstration
for independence on March 1, 1919 . It was to be a non-violent expression of their desire to be free and
independent from Japan. Rumors that the Japanese were involved in the death of the former Korean
emperor led to widespread demonstrations throughout the country. The Japanese were caught by
surprise and the police responded with thousands of arrests, beatings, and the destruction of homes,
churches, and even entire villages.
Many nationalists were forced to flee their homeland and join compatriots in Shanghai and
elsewhere. In 1919 , nationalists in Shanghai established the Provisional Government of the Republic
of Korea in exile and elected Dr. Syngman Rhee its first president. Other nationalists were attracted
to communism because of the Russian Revolution and the emergence of a Soviet Union as the
champion of oppressed peoples everywhere. Ultimately, the differing ideologies seriously divided
the movement, and no group was able to gather mass national support. In the twenty-first century
both North and South Korea continue to be influenced significantly by the class and ideological con-
flicts that developed during and after the period o f colonial rule.
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