Japanese occupation on Korea

Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion (22 August 1910 to 15 August 1945). Japanese rule formally ended on 2 September 1945 upon the Japanese defeat in World War II that year.

Korea was occupied and declared a Japanese protectorate in the 1905 Eulsa Treaty, and officially annexed in 1910 through the annexation treaty. Japan's involvement in the region began with the 1876 Treaty of Ganghwa during the Joseon Dynasty and increased with the subsequentassassination of Empress Myeongseong (also known as "Queen Min") in 1895. The 1905 and 1910 treaties were eventually declared "null and void" by both Japan and South Korea in 1965.

In Korea, the period is usually described as "Japanese Imperial Period" (Hangul: 일제시대, Ilje sidae, Hanja: 日帝時代). Other terms include "Japanese forced occupation" (Hangeul: 일제 강점기; Ilje gangjeomgi, Hanja: 日帝强占期) or "Wae (Japanese) administration" (Hangeul: 왜정, Wae jeong, Hanja: 倭政). In Japan, a more common term is "Joseon of the Japanese-Governed Period" (日本統治時代の朝鮮 Nippon Tōchi-jidai no Chōsen^?)

In the late 19th and early 20th century, various Western countries actively competed for influence, trade, goods, and territory in East Asia; Japan sought to join these modern colonial powers. The newly modernised Meiji government of Japan turned to Korea, then in the sphere of influence of China's Qing Dynasty. The Japanese government initially sought to separate Korea from Qing and make Korea a Japanese satellite in order to further the country's security and national interests.

In January 1876, following the Meiji Restoration, Japan employed gunboat diplomacy to pressure Korea to sign the Treaty of Ganghwa, an unequal treaty which opened three Korean ports to Japanese trade and granted extraterritorial rights to Japanese citizens. The rights granted to Japan under the treaty were similar to those granted western powers in Japan following the visit of Commodore Perry