History of Korea

In 1931, the Japanese Kwangtung Army attacked Chinese troops in Manchuria that is known as the the Manchurian Incident. This was an attempt by the Japanese Empire to gain control over the whole province, in order to eventually encompass all of East Asia. The Manchurian Incident marked a significant change in Japan's foreign policy, especially towards its colony of Korea. The Japnese wanted to compete in a geopolitical struggle for domination with the United States, the Soviet Union, and much of Europe who had ambitions to hold their colonies in Asia. The invasion of Manchuria and the war mobilization efforts attempted to create a strong imperial empire which could eventual compete with these "world powers."

The Japanese government set up a puppet state of Manchukuo after they took over Manchuria. Manchuria was taken in an effort to curb the advancement of Chinese nationalist forces, who were threatening Japanese interests on the Asian continent. Manchuria was also used for their vast natural resources and raw materials which would help further the economic goals of Japan. These incidents in Manchuria and China all lead to the mobilization for war in Japan and the colonies. Korea was the base for Japnese war efforts on the continent because of its close proximity to Japan and the fact that it was on the continent itself.

The war effort in Korea included the mobilization of labor, in which the workers could be moved to various parts of the Japnese Empire, all to insure production for the war effort. Koreans worked in factories and mines in Manchuria, northern Korea and Japan. About 4,000,000 Koreans were displaced from their homes and shipped to these factories so that they would be productive in Japan's war efforts. The war mobilization scattered Koreans, as manpower, all over East Asia, in an effort to maximize production for the mother country. Students were not exempt from the trials of war mobilization. In 1944 the Japanese passed a special Student Labor Mobilization Ordinance which turned students into part-time employees of the Japanese government. College students were particularly displaced from their schools and were used not just for labor, but also as participants in the Japanese military.

Koreans were also used by the military in Japan especially as the Second World War progressed into its later stages. Korean volunteers were being accepted for the Japanese Imperial Army in 1938. In the past, there had been a few Koreans who were involved in the Japanese military, such as Pak Chong-hui (Park Chung Hee) who later went on to become the president of South Korea in 1963. He was one of a few Koreans who had graduated from the Manchurian Military academy. Contrary to past actions by the Japanese, in 1938, there was a mass recruitment of Koreans for the Japanese military. This was a result of the war's continuous drain of Japanese soldiers which lead to the necessity of Korean manpower for the Japanese war effort.

Colonies were spared Allied bombings during the Second World War. Therefore, Japan moved its industrial and manufacturing needs to Manchurial and Korea. Production for the war effort was sustained in the colonies, which assisted the development of Korean entrepeneurs and Korean capitalism.

Manchuian Incident to Liberation

Colonial Period