Alejandro Cardenas

WLC
8th Period

Japanese Imperialism in Korea

In the year 1905, after Russia and Japan had a year long war, in which Japan came out
victorious over the conflict of who should colonize Korea. As soon as Japan colonized Korea, the
Japanese changed many aspects from the Korean culture; For example, they forced Koreans to
adopt Japanese names, to accept Shinto as their state religion, and Japanese imperialism
oppressed Koreas culture, economy, and environment.
To begin with, Japanese imperialism affected the Korean culture. When the Japanese
colonization started, the Japanese wanted to eliminate the Korean identity. According to The
Japanese Colonial Period, its stated that In the 1930s Japan began a program to erase the
Korean national identity by banning the use of Korean language. (koreanhistory.info). This
affects the Korean culture because banning a cultures identity and language is basically erasing
the culture. It also affects Koreas younger generations because they wont be able to know
anything about their culture, which will cause it to disappear. In addition, the Japanese forced
Koreans to learn about the Japanese culture. In an article named The Japanese Colonial Period,
it says that Korean schools were forced to teach children the Japanese culture.
(koreanhistory.info). By preventing Korean children from learning about their ancestors and
religion, Korean children cant teach the Korean culture to their younger generation which will
cause the Korean culture to disappear. Finally, the Japanese forced Koreans to adopt Japanese
names. For example, according to Korea Under Japanese Rule, In 1939, another decree

encouraged Koreans to adopt Japanese names, and by the following year it was reported that
84 percent of all Korean families had done so. (countrystudies.us). Every culture has their
unique names, so changing names erases their cultural Korean identity. Cleary, Japanese
imperialism took away from Koreas unique culture.
Furthermore, Japanese imperialism affected the Korean economy. When Korea was under
the Japanese rule, Japan had control over Korea politically. In an article titled The Japanese
Colonial Period, it says that Top political positions were held by the Japanese.
(koreanhistory.info). Because Japanese had control over the economy, Japan had more power
and resources. Also, Japan took over Koreas rice consumption. In an article titled The Japanese
Colonial Period, it states that Koreas per capita rice consumption went down by 50%.
(koreanhistory.info). This affects the economy on Korea because Japan is taking over 50% of
Koreas rice consumption and will affect trading rice on Korea and other countries. By taking
away Koreas major trading resources, Koreas rice consumption decreased. As a result Korea
lost a major source of revenue. Last, although Japanese imperialism negatively affected the
Korean rice production, it positively affected the agricultural production. In an article named
Korea Under Japanese Rule, it says that Japans initial colonial policy was to increase
agricultural production in Korea to meet Japans growing need for rice. (countrystudies.us).
Despite production growth, Korea became reliant on Japan. In other words, Japanese imperialism
affected the economy in Korea in a positive and negative way.
Finally, the Japanese colonization affected the environment in Korea. When the Japanese
started to colonize Korea, they wanted to modernize it. In an article titled The Japanese
Colonial Period, it is stated that The country was relentlessly modernized with new roads,
railroads, telegraph lines, and new schools. (koreanhistory.info). This affects the environment

because Japan is modernizing Korea and changing the area by using Koreas natural resources
and causing pollution. Also, Korea became an industrialized country after the Japanese
colonization. According to Japanese Colonial Rule, By the time of the Japanese surrender in
August in 1945, Korea was the second-most industrialized nation in Asia after Japan itself.
(afe.easia.columbia.edu). This affected the environment because Korea is now industrialized
with more technology. Technology impacted Korea because the advance technology is used to
makes new homes, streets, and schools. Furthermore, during the Japanese colonization in Korea,
Japan is in war and had brought destruction in Korea. In an article called Japanese in Korea, it
states that The war also brought environmental damage to Korea especially in the North where
there was 3 years of bombing. (ss10imperialismproject.wikispaces.com). This affected the
environment because its destroying the land and many homes in Korea. This caused Koreans to
be homeless which then leads to many Koreans dying. Clearly, Japanese imperialism changed
the Korean environment.
With these strong impacts, Japanese imperialism caused many changes in Korea which
included cultural, economic, and environmental changes. Imperialism makes stronger countries
colonize weaker countries, gain power, and exploit the dominated country. Imperialism also
forces the country to become reliant on the imperial power, and in this case, Korea became
heavily reliant on Japan because of Japans dominant influence of control.

Citations

"The Japanese Colonial Period." Korean History. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.
<http://koreanhistory.info/japan.htm>.
"Japanese in Korea." SS10 Imperialism -. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.
<http://ss10imperialismproject.wikispaces.com/Japanese
"Korea Under Japanese Rule." Country Studies. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.
<http://countrystudies.us/south-korea/7.htm>.
"20th CENTURY: Korea as a Colony of Japan, 1910-1945." Afe.easia.columbia.edu. N.p., n.d.
Web. 26 Apr. 2016. <http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/main_pop/kpct/kp_koreaimperialism.htm>.