The Koreans are known to have been under the Japanese colonial administration for a span of about 35 years, starting from 1910 to 1945. Similar to other colonized countries by the European nations from the West, Koreans also opposed the advancement of education policies in Korea. However, the Japanese ensured that they had advanced their academic policies in Korea (Wee, 87). They achieved this by proclaiming ‘the Chosen Educational Ordinance’ law that ensured that the Japanese education system was established in Korea in 1911. By 1915, Japan had advanced the education system in Korea by introducing professional schools. Through the schooling system, the Japanese had managed to force the Koreans into following their practices.
For the Japanese to protect themselves from Western powers, they embarked on policy imperils. They believed that through the implementation of imperialistic policies, they could easily take control of trading activities that took place between China and Russia. The policies enforced the Koreans to get acquainted with the Japanese practices. For instance, the Japanese forced the Koreans to acquire Japanese names. Japanese through imperialistic policies managed to open the ports of Korea, being the act that enhanced the advancement of Japanese trade. For Korea to get included in Japanese trade, they had to sign the Ganghwa Treaty because Korea relied greatly on the Japanese in terms of materials, hence enhancing the assimilation of Koreans into the Japanese practices.
Japanese also enforced the Koreans to not only worship the Imperial Palace from a distance but also to perform rituals in order to become Japanese. The performance of rituals in accordance with the worship of the Japanese Emperor led to the Japanese achieving their goal of ensuring that Koreans have absorbed their cultural practices.
According to the Japanese practices, anyone who took part in honoring the Emperor could easily become Japanese. The majority of Koreans were enforced into exercising the Japanese physical practices, such as listening to morning sirens and taking part in noon prayers (Yu, 153). It was easy for Koreans to become Japanese by means of observable practices because the Koreans did not have to learn culture, language, or be Japanese by blood in order to become Japanese.
After the Russo-Japanese war in 1905, the Japanese managed to take control of the activities that were in Korea at that time. This was after the Japanese had managed to win Koreans in that war. Under Japanese rule, Koreans managed to acquaint themselves with Japanese practices. For instance, the running of the market economy Japanese made Koreans adopt Japanese trading methods. The Japanese policies also led to the transformation of the ways Koreans carried out their studies, for instance, the Japanese influenced the reading methods of Koreans greatly.
It was after the Russo-Japanese war that the commercial printing of literature books was implemented in Korea. During that time, the Japanese had full control of Koreans; they monopolized all the activities that took place in Korea. For example, the Japanese ensured that a lot of books were printed in Japanese, hence enhancing the assimilation of the Japanese language in Korea. Japan also ensured that they had imported most of the Japanese books from their native country, as such enhancing the advancement of their control in Korea.
The connection of the Koreans with the global economy after the Russo-Japanese war in 1905 made the majority of the Korean writers emulate the Japanese commercial producers of literature; it, in turn, enhanced the success of the Japanese assimilating the Koreans in regards to carrying out some Japanese practices (Frank, 173). For example, the private printing press competed in publishing newspapers, vernacular fiction materials, and school textbooks.
In addition, the protection of writers offered by the Japanese who relied greatly on kinship organizations contributed immensely to the advancement of the “pro-Japanese literature”. Printing technology in Japan had its origin in Korea; as such, Koreans adored Japanese practices with the belief that with the Japanese mode of literature they would advance economically. The Koreans had the urge to become more competitive than other nations that they bordered; via Japanese printing technology, they were assured of meeting their objectives (Kwon, 76). What is more, the implementation of the protection rule that prevented Korean writers from police execution contributed immensely to the advancement of the “pro-Japanese literature”.
The selling of books in Korea was under the observance of the colonial power. The Japanese took control of the books the Korean writers wrote, hence enhancing the spread of the Japanese-oriented books in Korea that paved the way for “pro-Japanese literature” in Korea. However, the Japanese Empire did not prevent the Koreans from learning their vernacular language (Laura, 101). Instead, it acknowledged the importance of learning the Japanese language as a second language enhancing their success in influencing literature in Korea.
In conclusion, the Japanese rule in Korea greatly influenced their literature because the majority of the school books were printed under the supervision of the Japanese colonial power. In addition, the easy method used by the Japanese in converting the Koreans into Japanese contributed to converting most of the Koreans into Japanese. The conversion of the majority of the Koreans into Japanese aided them greatly in taking control of international trading activity.
Works cited
Frank, Rudiger Korea 2011: Politics, Economy and Society. New York: BRILL, 2011. Print.
Kwon, Nayoung. Translated Encounters and Empire: Colonial Korea and the Literature of Exile. Los Angeles: ProQuest, 2007. Print.
Laura, Karen. Empire of texts in motion: Chinese, Korean, and Taiwanese transculturations of Japanese literature. New York: Harvard University Press, 2009. Print.
Wee, Lionel. The Politics of English: South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Asia Pacific. New York: John Benjamins Publishing, 2013. Print.
Yu, Beongcheon. Han Yong-un and Yi Kwang-su: Two Pioneers of Modern Korean Literature. New York: Wayne State University Press, 1992. Print.