Why Koreans can't like Japan?

I read the following article today.

"The content that many Koreans were forcibly conscripted as sexual slaves during Japan’s Pacific War was diluted or deleted, and even the content that Dokdo was originally Japanese territory, but was forcibly occupied by Korea 70 years ago, was published in Japanese history textbooks, and it is scheduled to be published next year after proofreading." Many Koreans are very angry about this fact and have a lot of dissatisfaction with the current government for not responding directly to Japan. So, for those who want to know about Korean history, I'm going to post why Koreans don't like Japan. Today, we look back to Korea and Japan about 100 years ago. A hundred years ago, Korea and Japan were under different political systems. Korea was a kingdom ruled by the Joseon Dynasty, and Japan was a constitutional monarchy through rapid modernization. However, as Japan began to exert its influence on Joseon in the name of modernization in the early 20th century, Joseon eventually forcibly lost its dynasty to Japan, and Joseon had to live as a Japanese colony from 1910 to 1945. The Japanese colonial period is divided into three periods.

1. Unauthorized Rule (1910-1919)

After the annexation of Korea and Japan, the Japanese Government-General of Korea established the military police and entered into unauthorized rule, restricting freedom of speech, assembly, publishing, and association, and reviving the decree of flogging and discriminatory application. Japanese imperialism restricted the freedom of Koreans through the Newspaper Act, the Publication Act, and the Security Act, and established elementary schools to abolish Seodang, which was centered on Chinese literature education. From 1912, Japan carried out a land investigation project in the Joseon colony, encroached on farmers' land, and ignored the concept of land ownership, the conventional right to cultivate. In addition, the Japanese Government-General of Korea promulgated a company decree, which allowed Japanese companies to monopolize most important industries, and tried to hand over economic control to the Japanese by favoring the Japanese in resource development and company establishment licenses. During the Japanese colonial era, a monopoly on tobacco, ginseng, and salt was implemented in order to seek financial income from the colony, and new roads, main railways, and port facilities were reorganized to increase efficiency in sales in Korea. During this period, the number of Japanese residents swelled, reaching 700,000 in 1940.

2. Cultural Reign (1919~1932)

The Japanese Government-General of Korea switched from coercive rule to conciliatory rule due to the "Independence Movement day(March 1st, 1919)", and group and media activities were permitted and education was expanded. However, there was a limit in that the movement to establish a private university was suppressed and there were evil laws discriminating against Koreans. Japan selected key pro-Japanese figures, organized various pro-Japanese organizations in consideration of class and circumstances, and centralized religious organizations to seat pro-Japanese pro-Japanese people. He raised many pro-Japanese intellectuals by providing convenience and assistance to pro-Japanese civilians, and used them in exchange for a way of life for those without a job among yangban Confucian scholars. In order to control and adjust farmers, Gyopoonghoe and Promotionhoe were set up and part of the national forest was sold. The suppression of nationalism continued, and intransigent nationalism and national reformism emerged, which developed into a self-governing movement. Labor disputes were activated along with food shortages on the Korean peninsula due to Japan's plan to increase acidity, deepening of the colonial landlord system, colonial industrialization using Japan's surplus capital, and an increase in the number of Korean workers due to the growth of companies.

3. Ethnic eradication reign (1932~1945)

While Japan invaded China, it made the Korean peninsula a base for advancing into the Chinese continent, and accordingly, the policy of economic dominance was converted into a logistical base. After the Great Depression, the South-Myeon Bukyang policy was established to increase production of industrial raw materials and build military factories in North Korea. With the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese Government-General of Korea forced Koreans to work in factories, construction sites, coal mines, and farms in Japan, and forced women to be mobilized or sent to munitions factories. Most of them were sent to the front lines in China and the Namyang region as comfort women (sexual slavery) for the Japanese military.

    

Statue of Peace

During the Japanese colonial period, the rule of genocide was carried out to make Koreans into perfect Japanese. As a result, the use of Japanese was forced, Korean language education was stopped, and the family name was changed into Japanese style forcibly. Opinions were also presented that forced Japanese to become their mother tongue. In the most extreme case, it is presumed that they tried to eradicate the Korean language, and it can be seen that Japanese was used in most of the compulsory education courses.

Japan's Defeat, Soviet and US Military Government and Independence

On August 15, 1945, Japan was defeated in the Pacific War, and the Korean Peninsula welcomed independence. However, the Japanese Government-General of Korea did not withdraw immediately, but maintained its rule for a while until the US-Soviet military government came to power. For reasons such as colonial liberation and security maintenance, the US military was in power in South Korea and the Soviet military was in power in North Korea.

Unfortunately, the US military forces hired the public officials and police personnel during the Japanese colonial period as it was. So the eradication of pro-Japanese factions has not been resolved and has become a conflict in Korean society to this day. 

So far, I have roughly summarized the history of Japan's rule of Joseon until independence. In the meantime, many Koreans resisted Japanese colonial rule and fought for independence, and Japan's cruel treatment of Koreans during this period, such as forced labor, sexual slavery, and suppression of Korean culture and language, left a cruel legacy of resentment and distrust between Korea and Japan. Even today, the relationship between Korea and Japan continues to be contested over historical issues. Japan is not properly apologizing, which saddens the few remaining victims and Koreans. Japan also refuses to teach their descendants even their shameful history. For reference, all Koreans learn Korean history in depth throughout elementary school, middle school, and high school. It's an independent movement with a lot to memorize for the exam, but I also have a heart of gratitude to them. In the next post, I will post about what kind of efforts the Koreans made during the Japanese colonial period.