Evening star., 1942-03-01
Free Koreu'

which opened a three-day session
here last evening brings to the atten-
tion of Washingtonians the claims OF
a people long submerged beneath the
rising tide Of japanese imperialism.
Korea was, indeed, the first nation
to lose its independence to Japanese
expansion when it was formally
annexed to Japan in the year 1910.
However, a stream Of exiles have
never ceased to protest against this
loss of national identity, and Ko-
rean independence movement has
functioned vigorously to regain the
lost freedom. The present war comes
as a golden opportunity to those who
previously had entertained only a
forlorn hope.
Korea is a mountainous peninsula
jutting out from the Asiatic main
land toward Japan, from which it is
separated by the island-studded
Shimonoseki Strait, about 100 miles
wide. Slightly smaller than Great
Britain, Korea has a population of
nearly 25,000,000. 1t Is an ancient
land with a long history and we'll
defined national consciousness. It's
culture and ideals come mainly from
China, and during most Of its exist
ence, dating back some 5000 years,
it was a loose dependency of the
Celestial Empire. Furthermore, this
was essentially a voluntary arrange
ment, due to Korean acquiescence in
the beneficence of Chinese culture
and protection. Except during the
Mongol ascendancy in China, Korea
never suffered from Chinese In
vasions or attempts to suppress its
national life.
Far different have been Korea's
relations with Japan. Harried pc
riodically by japanese pirates, Korea
suffered its worst disaster through
the great japanese invasion at the
close of the sixteenth century, when
Hideyosni, the Japanese Napoleon,
ravaged the country with an i'm
mense army as prelude to more
ambitious schemes Of conquest in
Asia rivaling those of today. So
terrible was the devastation wrought
during that period that Korea never
recovered its former prosperity. The
memories of this invasion left in the
minds of the Korean people an in
tense hatred of the japanese which
never died out.
The ambitious founders Of modern
Japan inevitably sought to revive the
expansionist dreams of three CEN
turies before. A decadent dynasty
and a weak government furthered
japanese ambitions, and when China
intervened to save its dependency,
Japan declared war in 1894, beat the
Chinese, and took their place as
suzerain. For time, Czarist Russia,
with expansionist ambitions of it's
own, took advantage of Korean dis
content to try and impose its own
supremacy. But the Russo-Japanese
War of 1904-5 left Japan the undis-
puted master of Korea. Thence
forth, the program of Japanese
domination was swift and ruthless.
In 1910 the Korean Emperor abdi-
Gated and the country was formally
annexed to the japanese Empire,
being henceforth officially know as
Chosen.
Japanese rule unquestionably has
done much to modernize Korea. Rail-
ways and highroads have been built,
mineral resources have been de-
veloped and industry has been fur
thered. But most of this material
prosperity has benefited the Japa-
nese officials, businessmen and i'm
migrants, now numbering some 700,-
900. The Korean peasants and town
laborers are in some respects worse
off than they were under their native
rulers. And, despite all efforts, the
Korean people have never been
Japanized. There has been no genu-
inc assimilation. To the average
Korean, Japan is still an alien power.
On the larger test OF empire, Japan's
annexation of Korea thus has not
succeeded.