뉴스레터

The Korean and
Japanese Editions
ofThe Centennial History
and Challenges of
Japan's Forced
Annexation of Korea
published on
August 15, 2013

The 2010 review of the centennial history and remaining challenges of Japan's forced annexation of Korea was published into a book both in Japan and Korea. After three years of preparation by the Northeast Asian History Foundation and the renowned Japanese publisher Akashi Shoten (明石書店), the Korean and Japanese editions of this book titled The Centennial History and Challenges of Japan's Forced Annexation of Korea were released on August 15, 2013, the 68th anniversary of Korea's independence from Japan. This book is also available in English edition, which is scheduled for release in early December by the University of Hawaii.

Japan's Forced Annexation of Korea, the Root Cause and Origin of Historical Conflicts Between the Two Countries

The Centennial History and Challenges of Japan's Forced Annexation of Korea begins with identifying the problem that even though Korea and Japan in the 21st century have the duty to build an East Asian era of true peace and prosperity through mutual understanding and cooperation, Korea's traumatic memory of suffering from Japan's aggression and colonial rule is getting in the way of establishing a new relationship between the two countries.

It wouldn't be an overstatement that Japan's forced annexation of Korea in 1910 was the root cause and origin of historical conflicts between the two countries. After all, the historical challenges facing the two countries today arose from the problems that Japan's aggression and colonial rule left but have remained unsolved. However, Japan has maintained that there was nothing legally or ethically wrong with their annexation of Korea in 1910, or that even if there were some ethical problems, the annexation itself was valid because so was the conclusion of the 1910 Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty under the international law of the time. The 1965 ROK-Japan Treaty, which was signed based on the assumption that the 1910 Annexation or the Treaty thereof had been valid, has also remained controversial.

Scholars from Korea and Japan, committed to revealing the truth of the 1910 Annexation and serving justice under international law, joined hands in 2010 on the occasion of the centennial anniversary of the Annexation, and have successfully carried out research and held international conferences together over the past few years to review the centennial history and challenges of the Annexation in order to overcome historical conflicts and seek historical reconciliation between the two countries.

In the course of their review of the centennial history of the Annexation, the most noteworthy events took place on June 22, 2009, when scholars from the two countries proved the 'illegality of Japan's forced annexation of Korea under international law,' and then on July 28, 2010, when, with the 65th anniversary of Korean's independence from Japan less than a month away, a total of 1,139 intellectuals, initially having started with 214 on May 10, 2010, issued a joint statement declaring "the invalidity of the 2010 Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty based on historical justice." This statement would drive the effort to review the '2015, the 50th Year Since the Korea-Japan Agreement' as the remaining challenge of the centennial history of the Annexation. The joint studies conducted by scholars from the two countries from 2011 to 2013 reviewed problems with the Korea-Japan Agreement system under international law and issues concerning responsibility for colonial rule, which provided an important momentum for the historical decisions made by the Constitutional Court of Korea on August 30, 2011 and by the Supreme Court of Korea on May 24, 2012, on the Korea-Japan Agreement and responsibility for colonial rule based on historical truth and justice under international law.

The Book Includes the Text of the Joint Statement by Korean and Japanese Intellectual Declaring "the Invalidity of the 1910 Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty"

This is a research book that reviews the 100 years since Japan's forced annexation of Korea and the remaining challenges in a total of five parts.

Part 1 "The Course of Japan's Forced Annexation of Korea" consists of: Modern Japanese Choshu (長州) Faction's Invasion of Korea (SNU Professor Emeritus Lee Tae-jin); The Perception of and Reaction Against Japan during the Korean Empire (Sangmyung Univ. Professor Ju Jin-o); The Russo-Japanese War and Japan's Annexation of Korea (Univ. of Tokyo Professor Emeritus Wada Haruki (和田春樹)); General Otani Kikuzo of the Japanese Occupation Forces in Korea and Korea before and after the Conclusion of the Japan-Korea Protectorate Treaty of 1905 (Japanese Culture Research Center Associate Professor Matsuda Toshihiko (松田利彦)); and The Types of Protectorates (International Christian Univ. Professor Emeritus Sasagawa Norigatsu (笹川紀勝)).

Part 2 "East Asian Colonialism and Japan" consists of: The East Asian Crisis and Colonialism (Ibaraki Univ. Professor Emeritus Arai Shinichi (荒井信一)); On the Nature of the Policy of Recreating Imperial Subjects (Kyoto Univ. Professor Mizuno Naoki (水野直樹)); Japan's Rule Over its Colony 'Joseon' and the Reaction of Koreans (NAHF Research Fellow Jang Se-yun); Japan's Invasion of Northeast China and the Theory of 'Machus and Han Chinese Being Inseparable' (Beijing Univ. Professor Xu Yong (徐勇)); and The Colonial System and the Crowd (NCKU Univ. Professor Li Cheng-Chi (李承機)).

Part 3 "The Illegality of Japan's Forced Annexation of Korea under International Law" consists of: On Criminalizing Colonialism: Lessons from Japan's Forced Annexation of Korea (Osaka Univ. of Economics and Law Professor Mushakoji Kinhite (武者小路公秀)); The Settlement of History in East Asia (International Human Rights Policy Institute Secretary General Totsuka Etsuro); Revealing the Historical Truth of the Forced Signing of the 1910 Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty and Review under International Law (NAHF Research Fellow Doh Shi-hwan); and A Review of Japan's Annexation of Korea under International Law (SNU Professor Lee Geun-gwan).

Part 4 "Perception of History and Remaining Challenges" consists of: 100 Years Since Japan's Forced Annexation of Korea and Korean Residents in Japan (Tsuru Univ. Professor Byun Young-ho); Why the Settlement of the Past Is Needed and Choice for the Future (Sogang Univ. Professor Emeritus Cha Ha-sun); Space for Dialogue on East Asian Historical Issues (CASS Researcher Bu Ping(步平)); The Korea-Japan Agreement and Remaining Challenges (Waseda Univ. Professor Lee Jong-won); and America's Occupation of Hawaii as an Act of Aggression (Univ. of Hawaii Professor Edward J. Shultz).

In particular, Part 5 "Realizing Historical Justice and Reconciliation," the final and concluding part, includes the text of the Joint Statement by Korean and Japanese Intellectuals declaring the invalidity of the 1910 Japan-Korea Treaty of Annexation, and a list of the 1,139 signatories.

This book has great scholars and experts in related fields from Japan, China, the U.S. as well as Korea as authors. This book is also academically valuable for its in-depth review and objective analysis from interdisciplinary perspectives, including history, international law, and international politics, which reveals the nature of historical conflicts between Korea and Japan, and seeks solutions to over come the conflicts, and presents a forward-looking outlook.

Furthermore, the Japanese edition of this book, also published on the same day as the Korean edition, August 15, 2013, shares the title "The Centennial History and Challenges of Japan's Forced Annexation of Korea." where the term 'forced' was specified for the first time. I believe that this, in addition to the Joint Statement included in this book, will be the first academic step toward "realizing historical justice and reconciliation."

Responsibility for Colonial Rule Needs to Be Resolved to Pursue True Historical Reconciliation

The publication of this book should remind us of the significance of the Joint Statement by 1,139 Korean and Japanese intellectuals declaring the invalidity of the 1910 Korea-Japan Annexation Treaty based on historical justices in 2010 on the occasion of the 100th year since Japan's forced annexation of Korea. With the upcoming year 2015, the 50th anniversary of the conclusion of the Korea-Japan Agreement, the issue of 'responsibility for colonial rule' that failed to be cleaned up under the 1965 Korea-Japan Agreement system must be resolved in order to move toward true historical reconciliation. This is a historical challenge and another mission of justice to all of us living today.

If the year 2010, the centennial of the Annexation, marked the beginning of 'serving historical justice' by the Korean and Japanese intellectuals, I hope that the year 2015, half a century after the Korea-Japan Agreement, will be the beginning of "establishing true historical reconciliation."