Jun Uchida draws on previously unused materials in multi-language archives to uncover the obscured history of the Japanese civilians who settled in Korea between 1876 and 1945, with particular focus on the first generation of pioneers between the 1910s and 1930s who actively mediated Japan's colonial presence on the Korean peninsula.

Exploring the interaction among system, state, and society, this book illuminates the social and economic history of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century colonial Korea. Dennis McNamara argues that transformation within and trade abroad, led by rice exports, spurred Korea's shift from isolation to inclusion in a modem regional system. In hi

This book revises the conventional wisdom about the Anglo-Japanese relationship in the late nineteenth century that these two countries were bound by mutual sympathy and common interests, and therefore the common ground which led to the signing of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance in 1902, had already existed in the 1880s. Such understandings fail to take account of the fact that the Qing dynasty of China had emerged as the strongest regional power in East Asia by reasserting its influence as the traditional suzerain of the region in the years prior to the First Sino-Japanese War. The British and the Japanese governments clearly recognised that it would become difficult to maintain their interests in East Asia if they antagonised the Qing by challenging its claim of suzerainty over Korea. It was difficult for them to come to closer terms when their priority before 1894-5 was to maintain good relations with China, and when they were also experiencing numerous diplomatic difficulties with each other.

From the late nineteenth century, Japan sought to incorporate the Korean Peninsula into its expanding empire. Japan took control of Korea in 1910 and ruled it until the end of World War II. During this colonial period, Japan advertised as a national goal the assimilation of Koreans into the Japanese state. It never achieved that goal. Mark Caprio here examines why Japan's assimilation efforts failed. Utilizing government documents, personal travel accounts, diaries, newspapers, and works of fiction, he uncovers plenty of evidence for the potential for assimilation but very few practical initiatives to implement the policy. Japan's early history of colonial rule included tactics used with peoples such as the Ainu and Ryukyuan that tended more toward obliterating those cultures than to incorporating the people as equal Japanese citizens. Following the annexation of Taiwan in 1895, Japanese policymakers turned to European imperialist models, especially those of France and England, in developing strengthening its plan for assimilation policies. But, although Japanese used rhetoric that embraced assimilation, Japanese people themselves, from the top levels of government down, considered Koreans inferior and gave them few political rights. Segregation was built into everyday life. Japanese maintained separate communities in Korea, children were schooled in two separate and unequal systems, there was relatively limited intermarriage, and prejudice was ingrained. Under these circumstances, many Koreans resisted assimilation. By not actively promoting Korean-Japanese integration on the ground, Japan's rhetoric of assimilation remained just that.

Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century when Korea became entangled in the world of modern imperialism and the old social, economic and political order began to change; this handbook brings together cutting edge scholarship on major themes in Korean History. Contributions by experts in the field cover the Late Choson and Colonial periods, Korea’s partition and the diverging paths of North and South Korea. Topics covered include: The division of Korea Religion Competing imperialisms Economic change War and rebellions Nationalism Gender North Korea Under Kim Jong Il Global Korea The Handbook provides a stimulating introduction to the most important themes within the subject area, and is an invaluable reference work for any student and researcher of Korean History.

South Korea (Republic of Korea) is the more successful of the two Koreas in both economic and political terms. Even the Asian economic crisis of 1997–1998, which hit badly, was weathered successfully, and when the next crisis came along in 2007, South Korea coped better than many other countries. This economic strength, taken with the steady progress of democratization since 1987, indicates that when the peninsula is eventually reunified, as one day it probably will be, a new unified Korea will follow the South Korea model rather than that of North Korea. This fourth edition of Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Korea contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on important personalities as well as aspects of the country’s politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Republic of Korea.

A comparative look at North and South Korea's political and economic institutions and processes, and an examination of their evolution since 1945. Problems such as leadership succession, democratization, nuclear weapons, education and reunification are explored.