Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910

The Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910, also known as the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty, was made by representatives of the Empire of Japan and the Korean Empire on August 22, 1910. In this treaty, Japan formally annexed Korea following the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905 by which Korea became the protectorate of Japan and Japan–Korea Treaty of 1907 by which Korea was deprived of the administration of internal affairs.

Japanese commentators predicted that Koreans would easily assimilate into the Japanese Empire.^[1]

In 1965 the Treaty of Basic Relations between South Korea and Japan confirmed this treaty is "already null and void".^[2]

History

The treaty was proclaimed to the public (and became effective) on August 29, 1910, officially starting the period of Japanese rule in Korea. The treaty had eight articles, the first being: "His Majesty the Emperor of Korea makes the complete and permanent cession to His Majesty the Emperor of Japan of all rights of sovereignty over the whole of Korea".

Gojong of the Korean Empire later called the treaty a "neugyak (늑약 勒約)."^[3] The alternative term used in lieu of "joyak (조약 條約)" implies the treaty was coerced to Koreans by Japanese. "Gyeongsul Gukchi (경술국치 庚戌國恥)" and "Gukchi-il (국치일 國恥日)" are alternative terms for the year and date the treaty was signed, respectively.^[4]

Role of the British government

The United Kingdom had already acquiesced to the annexation of Korea by Japan, via the British connection to Imperial Japan via the Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902.

Legality

The legality of the Treaty would later be disputed by the exiled Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea as well as the South Korean government. While the treaty was affixed with the national seal of the Korean Empire, Emperor Sunjong of Korea refused to sign the treaty as required under Korean law. The treaty was instead signed by Prime Minister Lee Wan-yong of the Korean Empire, and Resident General Count Terauchi Masatake of the Empire of Japan.

This issue caused considerable difficulty in negotiating the establishment of basic diplomatic relations between the countries. Korea insisted on including a chapter stipulating "The treaty was null and void". A compromise was reached in language of Article II of the 1965 Treaty on Basic Relations:

"It is confirmed that all treaties or agreements concluded between the Empire of Japan and the Empire of Korea on or before August 22, 1910 are already null and void."^[5]

Conference to discuss legality of the treaty

In 2001, an academic research of the legality for Korea's annexation by Japan from 1910 to 1945 which was titled A reconsideration of Japanese Annexation of Korea from the Historical and International Law Perspectives was held at Harvard University with a support of Korea Foundation.^[6] The conference was held 3 times, namely on January, April and November and related scholars of history and international law participated from the South Korea, North Korea, Japan, the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Canada.

Anthony Carty, a Professor of the University of Derby stated "During the height of the imperialism, it is difficult to find an international law sufficient to determine the legality/illegality of a particular treaty."^[7] In his book on International Law, "Carty prefers seeing the relationship between Japan and Korea at the time with reference to the reality of the then international community dominated by Western powers, rather than viewing it in terms of treaty law as argued by Korean scholars."^[8]

Alexis Dudden, a Professor of University of Connecticut discussed about the Nitobe Inazō's science of colonial policy. She is known as the author of Japan's Colonization of Korea: Discourse and Power, in which she discusses how Japanese policymakers carefully studied and then invoked international law to annex Korea legally.^[7][9]

According to Kan Kimura, the bottom line of this conference is that the Korean claim "The annexation was illegal" was totally unaccepted by the participated Western scholars, among others by those specialized in international law.^[7]

Activism

On August 28, 2007, regarding the General Power of Attorney by Sunjong, Korean news paper Dong-a Ilbo reported that Korean monarchs did not sign in the official documents with their real names traditionally. But, the Korean Emperor was forced by Japan to follow a new custom to sign with his real name, which originated from the western hemisphere. It mentioned Sunjong's signature may be compulsory.^[10]

On June 23, 2010, 75 South Korean congressmen suggested the legal nullification of the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty to the Prime Minister Naoto Kan.^[11]

On July 6, 2010, Korean and Japanese progressive Christian groups gathered in Tokyo's Korean YMCA chapter and jointly declared that the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty was unjustified.^[12]

On July 28, 2010, approximately 1000 intellectuals in Korea and Japan issued a Joint Statement that the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty was never valid in the first place.^[13]

See also

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty

• Annexation
• Japan-Korea Treaty of 1905
• Japan–Korea Treaty of 1907
• Taft-Katsura Agreement
• Root-Takahira Agreement
• Treaty of Portsmouth
• Anglo-Japanese Alliance
• Unequal treaty
• History of Japan–Korea relations
• Korea under Japanese rule
• Index of Korea-related articles
• List of territories occupied by Imperial Japan

Notes

References

• Beasley, W.G. (1991). Japanese Imperialism 1894-1945. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-822168-1. 
• Duus, Peter (1998). The Abacus and the Sword: The Japanese Penetration of Korea, 1895-1910. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-21361-0. 
• Korean Mission to the Conference on the Limitation of Armament, Washington, D.C., 1921-1922. (1922). Korea's Appeal to the Conference on Limitation of Armament. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. OCLC 12923609
• United States. Dept. of State. (1919). Catalogue of treaties: 1814-1918. Washington: Government Printing Office. OCLC 3830508

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty.

• Japan Korea Annexation Treaty of 1910 from Wikisource
• "The annexation of Korea" (editorial) Japan Times, August 29, 2010
• "Historic declaration by Japanese and Korean intellectuals is a step towards reconciliation" Asia News, May 20, 2010