Colonial Administration and Resistance in Korea, 1910–1919

The treaty signed on August 22, 1910, by Terauchi Masatake and Yi Wan-yong was proclaimed on August 29 and took effect that day. It transferred the Korean emperor’s entire sovereignty to Japan. The royal family retained titles and allowances, while Japanese authorities assumed government. Annexation replaced the protectorate, which had already removed independent Korean diplomacy and restricted domestic administration.

The Government-General’s founding ordinance took effect on October 1. An army or navy general served directly under the Japanese emperor, combining governing authority with military command. The Cabinet had decided that Japan’s Constitution would provisionally not apply in Korea. Colonial offices controlled finance, justice and other departments, and military-police arrangements restricted opposition.

The land survey completed in 1918 collected ownership documents and claim forms, classified and valued properties and investigated disputes. Maps and registers supplied the basis for assessing taxes and recognizing land claims. These procedures increased the administration’s reach into farms and households; their consequences depended on particular holdings and claims, rather than every cultivator suffering an identical loss.

Korean resistance continued under direct rule. The March First Movement in 1919 expressed mass demands for independence. Changes afterward to police arrangements and eligibility for the governor’s office adjusted how the colony was administered. They did not reverse the treaty’s transfer of sovereignty or establish an independent Korean government.