Japanese annexation of Korea

Japanese Korea
日本統治時代の朝鮮 Nippon Tōchi-jidai no Chōsen 일제강점기 (日帝强占期) Ilje Gangjeomgi
Annexed dependency of the Empire of Japan
1910–1945
Flag Seal of the Government-General of Korea
Anthem "Kimigayo"
Korea as part of the Empire of Japan in 1945.
Capital		Keijō (Gyeongseong)
Languages		Japanese (official) Korean
Religion		De jure: None; De facto: State Shintob
Government		Dependent territory
Emperor
•	1910–1912	Meiji
•	1912–1926	Taishō
•	1926–1945	Shōwa
Governor-General
•	1910–1916	Terauchi Masatake
•	1916–1919	Hasegawa Yoshimichi
•	1942–1944	Kuniaki Koiso
•	1944–1945	Nobuyuki Abe
Historical era		Empire of Japan
•	Japanese protectorate	17 November 1905
•	Annexation treaty signed	22 August 1910
•	Annexation by Japan	29 August 1910
•	March 1st Movement	1 March 1919
•	Sōshi-kaimei order	1939
•	Surrender of Japan	15 August 1945
Currency		Korean yen
Preceded by Succeeded by Korean Empire Soviet Civil Administration U.S. Army Military Government in Korea
Today part of		North Korea  South Korea
a.	Japanese: 京城, Hangul: 경성; RR: Gyeongseong; MR: Kyŏngsŏng
b.	According to Korean Christians.

Korea under Japanese rule began with the end of the short-lived Korean Empire in 1910 and ended at the conclusion of World War II in 1945. Japanese rule of Korea was the outcome of a process that began with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876, whereby a complex coalition of the Meiji government, military, and business officials sought to integrate Korea both politically and economically into the Empire of Japan. A major stepping-stone towards the Japanese occupation of Korea was the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905, in which the then-Korean Empire was declared a protectorate of Japan. The annexation of Korea by Japan was set up in the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910, which was never actually signed by the Korean Regent, Gojong.

Imperial Japanese rule over Korea ended in 1945, when U.S. and Soviet forces captured the peninsula. In 1965 the unequal treaties between Joseon-ruled Korea and Imperial Japan, especially those of 1905 and 1910, were declared "already null and void" at the time of their promulgation (i.e. "dead on arrival", implicitly a declaration of their illegality) by the Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea.

Japanese administration of the Korean Peninsula was directed through the General Government. After the Japanese withdrawal from the Korean Peninsula followed by the Japanese surrender to Allied forces at the end of the Second World War, Korea returned to self-government, albeit under two separate governments and economic systems backed (in the north) by the USSR and (in the south) by the United States.

The industrialization of the Korean Peninsula began with the Joseon dynasty (in particular with King, and later Emperor, Gojong) while Korea was still independent but accelerated under Japanese occupation. It continues to be the subject of controversy between the two Koreas and Japan. The manner of the acceleration of industrialization under Japanese occupation, especially the utilization of industrialization only for the purposes of benefiting Japan, the exploitation of the Korean people in their own country, the marginalization of Korean history and culture, the environmental exploitation of the Korean Peninsula, and its long-term negative repercussions for modern-day North and South Korea are among the most provocative aspects of the controversy.