Historical point on "China's view on Japan's colonial rule of Korea": The Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty of 1910 was concluded under coercion and intimidation.

[Context & Analysis] The South Korean side (and many international law scholars) deny the legality of the treaty, citing military pressure following the assassination of Hirobumi Ito when the treaty was concluded. The Japanese government maintains that the treaty was valid under international law at the time, but acknowledged in the Suga statement in 2010 that it was ``conducted against the wishes of the Korean people at the time.'' The 1965 Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and South Korea states that it is ``no longer valid,'' but its interpretation (whether it is invalid from the beginning or invalid after 1965) is still disputed between Japan and South Korea. [Verdict] Discussion (Source: Japan-Korea Basic Treaty (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) (in Japanese) [Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan], Statement by Prime Minister Suga (August 10, 2010) (in Japanese) [Cabinet Secretariat])

Historical point on "China's view on Japan's colonial rule of Korea": Thousands of people died and tens of thousands were arrested during the 1919 March First Movement.

[Context & Analysis] Approximately 2 million people participated in the independence movement (estimated by South Korea). The official records of the Korean Governor-General's Office show that 7,509 people died, 15,961 people were injured, and 46,948 people were arrested as a result of the Japanese suppression, but it has been pointed out that the actual damage may have been much greater. March 1st is still a national holiday in South Korea. [Verdict] Official records available (actual numbers vary) (Source: March 1st Independence Movement (Encyclopedia Britannica) [Encyclopedia Britannica], 삼일운동 (National Central Library Korean Studies Database) [National Central Library (Korea)])

Historical point on "China's view on Japan's colonial rule of Korea": Many Korean farmers lost their land due to the land survey project (1910-1918)

[Context & Analysis] Due to land surveys carried out under the pretext of establishing a modern cadastral system, many farmers who did not know the declaration procedures, as well as communal and customary land, were reportedly incorporated into state-owned land as ``undeclared'' land. As a result, many farmers became tenant farmers. Some Japanese researchers emphasize the "modernization" of land ownership, but Korean researchers argue that it was a large-scale expropriation. [Verdict] Discussion (Source: Carter Eckert et al., 'Korea Old and New: A History', 1990 [Harvard University Press / Korea Institute])

Historical point on "China's view on Japan's colonial rule of Korea": Approximately 80% of Koreans changed their names to the Japanese style due to the change of names to the So clan (1940).

[Context & Analysis] Under the ``surname setting'' system implemented from February 1940, many Koreans were effectively forced to choose a Japanese-style ``surname.'' The penetration rate of over 80% is said to be due to administrative pressure and connections with employment and distribution. Although there is a view in some parts of Japan that it was ``voluntary,'' mainstream historical research accepts that it was forced. [Verdict] Facts confirmed (compulsory nature is debated) (Source: Tessa Morris-Suzuki, 'Re-inventing Japan', 1998 [Routledge])

Historical point on "China's view on Japan's colonial rule of Korea": During the Pacific War, approximately 700,000 to 800,000 Koreans were forcibly mobilized to work in mines, factories, etc. in Japan and overseas.

[Context & Analysis] In addition to mobilization under the 1944-45 conscription order, the total number of mobilizations is even higher if we include ``official mediation'' and ``group recruitment'' from before that time. In the former forced labor lawsuit against Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal (currently Nippon Steel) (Judgment by the South Korean Supreme Court in 2018), the Japanese company was ordered to pay compensation, and the Japanese government objected, arguing that this was a violation of the 1965 agreement. [Verdict] Facts confirmed (compensation issue is under discussion) (Source: South Korean Supreme Court Judgment (October 30, 2018) [Hankyoreh Newspaper (report)], Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Regarding the so-called “recruited labor” issue (in Japanese) [Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan])

Historical point on "China's view on Japan's colonial rule of Korea": The Katsura-Taft Memorandum of 1905 tacitly acknowledged Japan's domination of Korea.

[Context & Analysis] A secret memorandum signed between U.S. Army Secretary Taft (later President) and Japanese Prime Minister Katsura Taro in July 1905. The United States is said to have effectively recognized Japan's ``suzerainty'' over Korea on the condition that Japan not interfere in the Philippines. The memorandum was published in 1924 by historian Tyler Dennett. [Verdict] Official records available (Source: Taft-Katsura Memorandum (Yale Law School Avalon Project) [Yale Law School Avalon Project])

Historical point on "China's view on Japan's colonial rule of Korea": In 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives adopted a resolution (H.Res.121) calling on Japan to apologize for the comfort women issue.

[Context & Analysis] On July 30, 2007, a resolution submitted by Rep. Mike Honda (Democratic Party of California) was adopted by the plenary session of the House of Representatives (adopted without objection). They called on the Japanese government to issue a "clear and unambiguous public apology for the forced sexual slavery system." The Japanese government protested against this. [Verdict] Official records available (Source: H.Res. 121 (110th Congress) – Comfort Women Resolution [United States Congress])

How is "China's view on Japan's colonial rule of Korea" described in China's history textbooks?

In Chinese history textbooks, Japan's colonial rule of Korea is taught as part of the Japanese imperialist invasion and control system in East Asia. The Treaty of Shimonoseki during the **Sino-Japanese War** (1894-95), in which Japan eliminated the suzerainty relationship with Korea from Qing Dynasty, and Japan's victory in the **Russo-Japanese War** (1904-05) eliminated Russia's interests in Korea, can be described as imperialist expansion in which Japan gradually deprived Korea of its sovereignty. The acquiescence of the United States in the **Katsura-Taft Memorandum** (1905) and the retreat of Russia in the **Treaty of Portsmouth** are positioned as international contexts in which Korea (Empire of Korea), now isolated and helpless, loses its diplomatic means. (Source: Chinese history textbooks/government opinion (general description))

How is "China's view on Japan's colonial rule of Korea" described in Japan's history textbooks?

**The background to the annexation of Japan and Korea (1910)** is that after the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) eliminated Qing suzerainty over the Korean Peninsula, the independence and modernization of Korea became an urgent need. The Korean Empire (founded in 1897) under Gojong (Emperor Gwangmu) carried out the Gwangmu Reform and attempted independent modernization, but the political situation was unstable and the country continued to be interfered with by the great powers. To counter Russia's move southward, Japan fought the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05), and the Treaty of Portsmouth (1905) eliminated Russia's right to interfere in its superior position in Korea. In the same year, Japan seized Korea's diplomatic rights through the Katsura-Taft Memorandum (mutual understanding with the United States) and the Second Japan-Korea Treaty (Eulsa Treaty), abdicated Gojong in **1907**, and officially incorporated the Korean Peninsula into its territory through the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty of **August 22, 1910**. (Source: Japanese high school history textbooks/government opinion (general description))

How is "China's view on Japan's colonial rule of Korea" described in Korea's history textbooks?

In Korean history education, Japan's colonial rule is positioned as the "**Japanese Occupation Period** (일제강점기)." The Korean Empire, which was established in **1897**, aimed for autonomous modernization through the ``Gwangmu Reform'' under **Gojong** (Emperor Gwangmu), but Japan's victory in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) drastically changed the fate of Korea. Diplomatic rights were revoked by the Eulsa Treaty (Second Japan-Korea Treaty) of **1905**, and Gojong dispatched an emissary to the Universal Peace Conference in The Hague (1907) to complain of unfairness, but it was ignored and he was forced to abdicate. After that, **Sunjong** ascended the throne, but had no real power, and Korea's sovereignty was completely abolished by the forced annexation in **1910**. Japan's colonial rule was not what the Korean people desired, but was imposed through military and diplomatic coercion. (Source: History textbooks and government opinion of the Republic of Korea (general description))

China's view on Japan's colonial rule of Korea | HistoryDiff

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This project does not aim to criticize or defend any specific historical narrative or nation. We objectively present differences in textbook and official descriptions to encourage multi-faceted understanding.

ArchiveColonial rule, international relations, and historical awareness issues1910-1945Korean Peninsula/East Asia

America's view on Japan's colonial rule of Korea

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Related Photos3

The Korean Declaration of Independence, proclaimed on March 1, 1919. Signed by 33 representatives of the Korean people, this document was the central text of the March First Movement, which called for independence from Japanese colonial rule.

Source: Wikimedia CommonsPublic Domain

Portrait of Emperor Gojong (Emperor Gwangmu, 1852–1919), the first emperor of the Korean Empire. Gojong pursued the 'Gwangmu Reforms' for self-directed modernization, but was stripped of diplomatic rights by the Eulsa Treaty in 1905 and forced to abdicate in 1907 after the Hague Secret Emissary affair.

Source: Wikimedia CommonsPublic Domain

Members of the Korean Liberation Army at a welcome meeting of the U.S.-Soviet Joint Commission in 1945. With Japan's defeat, 35 years of colonial rule ended and Korea was liberated.

Source: Wikimedia CommonsPublic Domain

United StatesColonial rule, international relations, and historical awareness issues1910-1945Korean Peninsula/East Asia

America's view on Japan's colonial rule of Korea

Source:Academic research, official government documents, and diplomatic history of the United States (general description)

Source Nature:

Academic & Scientific ResearchOriginal Language

As for the history of U.S. diplomacy and the loss of Korea, the 1905 Katsura–Taft Agreement is a particularly important diplomatic context. This informal understanding between William Taft (then Secretary of War) and Prime Minister Katsura Taro recognized Japan's "suzerainty" over Korea in exchange for the United States' control over the Philippines. The Treaty of Portsmouth (1905), mediated by President Theodore Roosevelt, indirectly facilitated recognition of Japan's superior status in Korea. Even when Gojong appealed to the international community through the Hague Emissary (1907), the United States did not provide effective support. American academic circles have critically evaluated this as ``diplomatic acquiescence'' to the loss of Korean independence.

**As an academic argument for "colonial modernization theory," research by Bruce Cummings (University of Chicago) and others analyzes the fact that Japan's colonial rule brought a certain level of infrastructure development, industrialization, and education to Korea, but also clearly shows that the benefits were more unevenly distributed to Japanese immigrants and capitalists than to Koreans, that extractive land and food policies impoverished the peasant class, and that forced cultural assimilation suppressed ethnic identity. In mainstream American academic circles, the view that ``modernization'' during the Japanese colonial period is the basis for justifying Japanese rule is not mainstream.

As for the US position in modern times, the US Congress adopted House Resolution 121 (submitted by Rep. Honda) in 2007, calling on the Japanese government to issue an official apology to the Japanese military's "comfort women." Although the U.S. government regards the historical issue between Japan and South Korea as a bilateral issue, it has consistently promoted historical reconciliation between Japan and South Korea from the perspective of stabilizing the Korean Peninsula and the triangular alliance between Japan, the United States, and South Korea.

Perspectives Summary

Item	China	Japan	Korea	United States
Title	China's view on Japan's colonial rule of Korea	Description of Korean rule	South Korean Perspective on Japanese Colonial Rule	America's view on Japan's colonial rule of Korea
Category	Colonial rule, imperialism, and historical recognition issues	Colonial rule and historical recognition issues	Colonial Rule & Historical Perception	Colonial rule, international relations, and historical awareness issues
Era	1910-1945	1910-1945	1910-1945	1910-1945
Source	Chinese history textbooks/government opinion (general description) Official / Authorized TextbookVia Translation	Japanese high school history textbooks/government opinion (general description) Official / Authorized TextbookVia Translation	History textbooks and government opinion of the Republic of Korea (general description) Official / Authorized TextbookVia Translation	Academic research, official government documents, and diplomatic history of the United States (general description) Academic & Scientific ResearchOriginal Language
Excerpt	In Chinese history textbooks, Japan's colonial rule of Korea is taught as part of the Japanese imperialist invasion and …	The background to the annexation of Japan and Korea (1910) is that after the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) eliminated …	In Korean history education, Japan's colonial rule is positioned as the "Japanese Occupation Period (일제강점기)." The Ko…	As for the history of U.S. diplomacy and the loss of Korea, the 1905 Katsura–Taft Agreement is a particularly important …

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Notes on this comparison

This comparison is based on general descriptions from official or widely used history textbooks in each country. While minor nuances may change in translation, the goal is to highlight differences in how major events are perceived, the order of description, and what is emphasized. In particular, notable differences in the naming of events and the background of their occurrence can be seen between "United States" and "China".

Item

China

Japan

Korea

United States

Title

China's view on Japan's colonial rule of Korea

Description of Korean rule

South Korean Perspective on Japanese Colonial Rule

America's view on Japan's colonial rule of Korea

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America's view on Japan's colonial rule of Korea

America's view on Japan's colonial rule of Korea

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America's view on Japan's colonial rule of Korea

America's view on Japan's colonial rule of Korea

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Guess the Country's Textbook!

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