Photographic History of Korea for 100 Years


Colonization? Atrocities? No way!!

History of Korea for 100 Years

Before Annexation

Before air-power plays a crucial role in the war, battleships posed a major threat. Just after the Meiji Revolution in 1868, Saigo Takamori, the hero of the revolution, recognized the importance of the Korean Peninsula for the security of Japan.

Great Britain acquired part of China (Hong Kong) in the Opium War and France occupied Indo-China (Vietnam and Laos). The Imperial Russia continued its advance toward the east for expansion of the territory. If a hostile foreign force occupied the Korean Peninsula, what will happen to Japan? All the ports of the Korean Peninsula may be used as jumping points to attack Japan. The Sea of Japan will automatically become a hostile foreign territory. This was what exactly happened when the Mongols occupied China and Korea in the 13th Century (and Soviet Union/Red China in the Korean War 100 years later).

However, when the Japanese leaders in the Meiji Era visited Korea in late 19th century or early 20th century, they were all shocked to see the pre-historic impoverished neighbor, the ancient dynasty of Choson Ri, where ordinary people were persecuted for 500 years under oppression of the Ryang-bang aristocrats. (They estimated that 1/4 of the wealth was deprived by the Qing Dynasty of China every year.)

The Japanese leaders recognized the need of modernization of Korea, just as they did in their home country in the Meiji Era in order to make Korea as a buffer-zone against western colonial powers. So Japan decided to engage a war against China to make Korea independent from China as the first step for its modernization........

Seoul- South Gate in 1895

Pyongyang, the present day capital of N. Korea

Note that all the cloths they wear are white. They were so poor that they were unable to buy or import dyes/pigments for dyeing. Only the court aristocrats could wear dyed cloths.

Seoul

During Annexation (1910-1945)

"I first visited Korea in 1909 [1909-ed], to advise some Japanese industrialists on engineering matters. The Korean people at that time were in the most disheartening condition that I had witnessed in any part of Asia. There was little law and order. The masses were underfed, under-clothed, under-housed and under-equipped. There was no sanitation, and filth and squalor enveloped the whole countryside. The roads were hardly passable, and there were scant communication or educational facilities. Scarcely a tree broke the dismal landscape. Thieves and bandits seemed to be unrestrained.
     During the thirty-five years of Japanese control, the life of the Korean people was revolutionized. Beginning with the most unpromising human material, the Japanese established order, built harbors, railways, roads and communications, good public buildings, and greatly improved housing. They established sanitation and taught better methods of agriculture. They built immense fertilizer factories in North Korea which lifted the peoplefs food supplies to reasonable levels. They reforested the bleak hills. They established a general system of education and the development of skills. Even the dusty, drab and filthy clothing had been replaced with clean bright colors.
     The Koreans, compared to the Japanese, were poor at administration and business. Whether for this reason or by deliberate action, the Japanese filled all major economic and governmental positions. Thus, in1948 when they finally achieved self-government, the Koreans were little prepared for it."

(gFreedom Betrayedh by Herbert Hoover, pp.737-738)

 

Seoul- South Gate
Moderniztion is underway

Seoul (The building at the center of the photo is the main building of Korea Bank, construction of which was complete in 1912.)
Seoul

Seoul Railway Station
Pusan
Korea Bank

During Wartime

The caption says, "Koreans celebrate Japan's successful invasion in China crying "Banzai Emperor!"

Today, many Koreans argue that Japan's rising sun flag is the "war criminal" flag. However,like Austria for Germany, Korea fought WWII on the side of Japan.

Below Left:
It is well known that the South Korean President Park Chung-hee was a military officer of Manchukuo Imperial Army.

Below Right:
Professor Seo Kyung Duk of Sungshin Women's University, a Korean activist to defame Japan, compares Japan's rising sun flag to Swastika.

The caption says, "Kisaeng girls contribute comfort goods to Japanese Imperial Army." The photo was published in August, 1938.

Kisaeng girls earned more than ordinary girls who worked in factories. However, Comfort Women earned more than Kisaeng girls. Therefore, there were many Kisaeng girls who wished to become Comfort Women. Typical examples of Kisaeng-turned Comfort Women were Mun Ok-chu and Kim Huk-soon. Kil Won-ok was also a Kisaeng girl who went to Manchuria to become a Comfort Woman but she changes her testimony very often.

Photo taken from October 19, 1938 edition of Asahi-graph magagine. The caption says the Army of Korean Youth Federation proudly marches with Rising-Sun flags before Japanese Governor-General of Korea Hirota.

Many Korean young people craved to become Japanese Army men during the wartime. One typical example was Park Chung-hee, father of the current president of South Korea.

Koreans bullied the Chinese in Manchuria taking advantage of being a part of the Imperial Japan

And now this «««
Prof.Seo Kyung Duk of Sungshin Women's University Koreans running on a US street in an attempt to equate the Rising Sun Flag to Swastika.



After "Liberation" from Japan

North Korean Tanks Advancing into Seoul
You ruined Japan's effort and made your country a mess!

Many Koreans consider August 15, 1945, is the day when Korea was liberated. But, the big question is gliberated from what?h Japanfs annexation of Korea, which continued from 1910 to 1945, was the great days for Korea.

The faction fights among aristocrats and nepotism, the long tradition of Korea, were eradicated by Japanfs occupation. When Japanese leaders visited Korea, they were shocked to see that there were slaves tortured horribly by the aristocrats who spent all days reading and preaching mambo-jumbo of Confucian scrolls. They dominated education and the education was out-of-date. They needed modern schools where the young people could learn modern science. Without Japanfs effort, even though it was violent, how could the Ryan-bang aristocrats be eradicated so Korea could achieve the basic principle of a modern nation, which is thegEqual Opportunity for Everybodyh?

Although Japanfs 35 years effort of modernizing Korea was not entirely arising from charitable spirit or benevolence, as it was part of Japanfs self-defense, the Annexation Era was the peaceful days, the days of Korean-Japanese joint effort for gradual modernization and industrialization.

One example is the fact that the population of Korea (the north and the south combined) had doubled during the Annexation Era. This population increase was achieved due to improved irrigation systems, construction of dams and waterways, and creation of fertilizer industry. It contrasts greatly to todayfs North Korea, which suffers from famines almost every year. Another example is the railway network systems which connected all parts of the Korean Peninsula and enabled ground transportation of travelers from Seoul or Pusan to Europe through the Siberia Railway.

See what happened after the Annexation. All kinds of puppets came home and Koreans began its traditional faction fights again and made fratricidal wars.

There was nothing to steal or deprive from the impoverished stone-age Korea before Annexation!!

Despite all these efforts, Koreans persecuted, killed, injured and raped more than 400,000 Japanese residents in Korea while they were trying to go home peacefully.

Besides, without Japanfs financial aid given to S. Korea in 1965, how could the economic growth in 1970s be possible?

Seoul in 1960s

However, Koreans continued anti-Japan education as if Japan-bashing is only their national identity and now they were totally brainwashed.

Just recently in 2004, Koreans passed the laws to confiscate the property of the descendants of the people who cooperated with Japan during the Annexation days, calling them gtraitors.h It was the retroactive law to punish their ancestors on the basis of the present interpretation. How can you humiliate your own ancestors who devoted their lives for advancement of civilization in Korea although it was attained within the framework they could not alter? What kind of people are you?

Now Koreans fabricated a forced sex slavery fake story and began international smear campaign against Japan.

We Japanese are already sick of it. Many of us today consider that the Annexation of Korea was a total failure, the great misfortune for Japan, and some people insist that Japan should adhere to the following three basic principles: Do not help Korea; Do not teach Korea; Do not have any relationship with Korea. The author cannot agree more.

Above: Behind the old city hall of Seoul that was built during the Annexation Era, the Koreans have built the new one in November, 2013. The official name of the new building is gBig Wave.h The people of Korea call it gTsunami.h

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