한국 병합과 식민지 지배

The Annexation of Korea and the Japanese Colonial Rule over Korea

The annexation of Korea and the Japanese colonial rule over Korea comprise the most controversial issues in the historical studies of modern Korean-Japanese relations. One of the most pressing issues is whether the annexation of Korea by the Japanese imperialism was legitimate or illegitimate from the perspective of contemporary international laws. The other issue is that whether the Japanese colonial rule helped or blocked the modernization of Korea. Even if these controversies arose over the international laws and historical facts they go on and on without much settlement. This has been caused mainly by the attitudes of both parties which attempted an arbitrary understanding of history without trying to understand each other’s positions. An arbitrary understanding of history led easily and frequently to the emotional clashes which helped provide a room for the penetration of historical revisionism. As a result, the objective genuine efforts to understand the modern history of relations between Korea and Japan do not develop very much. Only after establishing the common historical understanding that the Japanese colonial rule over Korea cannot be justified under any circumstances the legality of the annexation treaty and historical characteristics of modern changes which took place during the colonial period can be discussed and researched objectively. This is the most useful measure to confront the challenges of historical revisionism which tries to justify the Japanese colonial rule over Korea by ignoring concrete historical facts.