Japanese Annexation of Korea

The Japanese annexation of Korea was made effective on August 29, 1910, through a treaty that had been signed a week before, on August 22, by Lee Wan-Yong, Prime Minister of Korea, and Terauchi Masatake, Japanese Governor-General of Korea. It is known in history as the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty. Thus, this is how Korea became part of the Japanese Empire, supplying Japan with valuable natural resources for its growing industry and infrastructure.

The first step for the Japanese annexation Korea had been the Eulsa Treaty of 1905, which was a political agreement by which Korea became a Japanese protectorate, losing its sovereignty as a nation. These two treaties were the result of the Japanese victory over the Russian Empire in the Russo-Japanese War. At the end of this armed conflict, Russia was forced to withdraw its occupation troops from Korea and Japan became the only super-power of the Far East.

The Japanese triumph in this war was possible thanks to a powerful navy, which had been equipped with modern and fast battleships. Thus, the power vacuum created by the Russian withdrawal from the Far East was immediately filled in by Japan as Korea fell under its direct political and cultural influence. However, the Japanese occupation of this country was put an end when the Soviet Army and the US Army invaded Korea to liberate this territory from Japanese occupation in August, 1945, at the end of World War II.