Japan Annexes Korea: A Nation Under Colonial Rule
Japan formally annexed Korea on August 22, 1910, through a treaty signed under duress by Korean Emperor Sunjong. The annexation followed a decade of escalating Japanese control: a protectorate in 1905, dissolution of the Korean army in 1907, and forced abdication of Emperor Gojong. Colonial rule lasted 35 years and included forced labor, suppression of the Korean language in schools, compulsory Shinto worship, the comfort women system, and the requirement that Koreans adopt Japanese names. Korean cultural identity survived underground through secret schools, independence movements, and exile governments. Liberation came only with Japan's surrender in August 1945, but the Korean peninsula was immediately divided between Soviet and American zones.
August 22, 1910
116 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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