Japan’s Vicious Colonial Enslavement Schemes

In the past the Japanese imperialists occupied Korea by force of arms and imposed stringent rule by resident-general over it.

After railroading the Ulsa Five-point Treaty through in November 1905, they set up the Residency-General in Korea, an organ for colonial rule, in Kyongsong (Seoul) on February 1, 1906.

The resident-general was a viceroy, who held all power in Korea, including its diplomacy and internal affairs.

Owing to the rule by the Japanese resident-general, the feudal Joson dynasty was deprived of its right of home administration which had remained only in name, and its people were subjected to untold misfortunes and sufferings.

During its rule by resident-general, Japan fabricated many brigandish “treaties” and “laws” at random and did without hesitation what they were determined to do.

They ousted Emperor Kojong, the supreme ruler of the feudal Joson dynasty, and in conspiracy with the pro-Japanese national traitors, trumped up the Jongmi Seven-point Treaty in July 1907, thus seizing the right of home administration of Korea.

They also framed all sorts of evil laws to legalize their colonial rule, such as the Law on Papers and the Law on Public Security.

In an attempt to intensify their rule by the resident-general, they massively brought their troops, gendarmes and policemen into Korea, turning it into a huge prison and systematically weakening the authority of the emperor of the feudal Joson dynasty. They forced the emperor to promulgate a royal ordinance on forbidding free entrance to and exist from the imperial palace, and entrusted “guard” of the imperial palace and emperor to their police. And the Korean government officials were not allowed to meet their emperor without their approval.

Besides, Japan neutralized the functions of the government of the feudal Joson dynasty; it posted Japanese deputy ministers in all sectors such as legislation, judiciary and administration.

Under these circumstances, the Korea-Japan Annexation Treaty was concluded forcibly in 1910, a reaffirmation of the established fact that Korea was a colony of Japan.

During the rule by the resident-general, Japan imposed immeasurable misfortunes and pains on the Korean people.

With an aim to wipe out the Korean patriots who were hindering its colonial rule, it dispatched its troops to not only major cities but mountainous areas under the pretext of “suppression of rioters,” and committed brutal “punitive” operations against the Righteous Volunteers units. They burned down the villages where the volunteers had passed, and randomly shot to death those people suspected of having a connection with the volunteers. They also arrested and killed at any time the anti-Japanese patriots whom they had singled out.

It tried to turn Korea into its raw materials supplier and commodity market. In 1906, they passed the Law on Mining Minerals on the plea of “promoting wellbeing,” thus plundering Korea of gold, silver, copper and coal. In 1908, it fabricated Korea-Japan Fishing Agreement to ship away Korea’s marine resources. It set up the Oriental Development Company of Japan in the same year and plundered the land of Korea at its will. In the following year, through the Korean Bank, it seized the financial sector of Korea and checked the growth of the latter’s national capital.

Meanwhile, it enforced colonial enslavement education in a bid to weaken and obliterate the Korean people’s patriotism and national identity, and forcibly closed patriotic and anti-Japanese public schools.

It repressed the development of the national culture of Korea and destroyed and plundered many valuable cultural assets.

Hirobumi Ito, the first resident-general, shipped valuable cultural assets of Korea to Japan on the pretext of their “protection,” and presented them to his king.

Nearly 80 years have passed since its defeat. However, the insular country is scheming to justify its crimes without acknowledging them, and is making desperate efforts to distort history far from making an apology.

The Korean people, always remembering the vicious colonial rule by Japan, are burning their heart with a will to make it pay dearly for the crimes.

2023-02-01