Japanese Control

Japan forced Korea to open its ports to Japanese ships in 1876. Korea then made commercial agreements with the United States and other nations. China was forced by Japan to acknowledge Korea's independence in 1895. (See Sino-Japanese War, 1894–95.) After fighting Imperial Russia, which had been extending its influence into Korea, Japan made Korea its protectorate and annexed it in 1910, ending the Yi dynasty. (See Russo-Japanese War.)

Although Japanese rule brought economic development to Korea, it also led to political and cultural repression. The Japanese imposed their national religion, Shintoism, on the Koreans, and required the use of Japanese in schools and publications. Protests against the Japanese broke out in 1919 and were brutally suppressed.