Russo-Japanese War as a Means to Invade the Korean Peninsula
ㆍOn June 23, 1903, Japan opened negotiations with Russia, proposing an agreement under which Japan would acknowledge Russia’s special position in Manchuria if Russia would recognize Japan’s supremacy over the Korean peninsula.
ㆍOn July 23, 1903, Japan issued its demand that Russia acknowledge Japan’s dominance over Korea and equal opportunity for Japan and Russia in regard to Qing China, but when the demand was rejected by Russia, Japan upped the ante and sent Russia an ultimatum on February 6, 1904.
ㆍTwo days before the formal declaration of war on February 10, 1904, in a surprise attack, Japan struck and destroyed two Russian warships and one cruiser at Port Arthur. The following day, after sinking the Russian fleet at Port Inchon, Japan illegally landed first a brigade, then a full army division at Inchon and began to gradually convert Korea into a staging base for its military operations.
－ Korea Forced to Sign Korea-Japan Protocol Agreement After a period during which Japan threatened and cajoled Korean high officials, 12 Japanese major forces divisions, led by Lieutenant General Kaoru Inoue, entered Seoul and surrounded the royal palace, thereby forcing the signing of the Korea-Japan Protocol Agreement on February 23, 1904. Having obtained the signed agreement letter by force, Japan proceeded to institute military law, seize control through military rule, establish military governments and develop Korea as a logistics base by expropriating land and forcing Koreans into labor.
- Institution of Military Law and a Warning: Japan’s Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru applied ‘military law on captive secret agents,’ which stipulated that those who seriously damaged the Japanese army should be executed, while Ito Hirobumi issued a warning to Minister of the Royal Household Min Byeong-seok that Japan would seize control of Joseon by force if Joseon would not submit to its authority (March 17, 1904)
- Authority to Deploy Troops Established: Japan established its authority to freely station its troops and place barracks anywhere on the Korean peninsula, and began to dispatch its armed forces throughout the peninsula. - On October 1905, Japan mobilized two divisions to open army headquarters in Hamheung and Pyeongyang and stationed divisional forces in the eastern (Hamgyeong Province), northern (Hwanghae and Pyeongan Provinces) and southern (Seoul and areas south of Gyeonggi Province) regions of Korea.
- Military Government Established: In preparation for war, Japan established military governments in Hamheung and other regions.
- Land Expropriated for Military Purposes: Japan expropriated approximately 32,272,500 square meters of land in Yongsan, Pyeongyang and Uiju.
- Conscription of Koreans: More than 100,000 Koreans were forced into labor to transport supplies in support of Japanese military operations, resulting in 49 casualties between April and October 1905.
Russo-Japanese War and Occupation of Dokdo
ㆍOn May 18, 1904, Japan declared all agreements between Korea and Russia to be void and withdrew Russia’s lumbering rights in the vicinity of the Yalu (Amnok) River and Tumen (Duman) River basin. Further, Japan commandeered sections of Ulleungdo for military purposes.
ㆍOn June 15, 1904, Russia’s Vladivostok fleet attacked and sank the Japanese transport ships the Mutsu and the Izumi in the Korea Strait.
ㆍBetween June 27 and July 22, 1904, Japan constructed watchtowers with wireless telegraph facilities at strategic sites in Korea, which included Jukbyeon in Uljin-gun. In all, Japan built approximately 20 military watchtowers along the Korean coastline, including one of the island of Hongdo off the shore of Namhae, one on Jeolyeongdo near Busan (August 1904) and one on Ulleungdo (September 1904).
ㆍOn August 22, 1904, following the signing of the 1st Korea-Japan Agreement, Japan installed foreign advisers to handle diplomatic and fiscal matters on Korea’s behalf. Through this process, Japan created what came to be known as “a government by advisers”in Korea.
－ Japan installed Durham W. Stevens as foreign affairs adviser and Tanetaro Megata as financial adviser. As a result, all real administrative authority in Korea moved into Japanese hands.
ㆍOn September 24, 1904, the Japanese warship Nitaka-maru was sent on an exploratory mission to Dokdo, which included interviewing Ulleungdo residents. They reported back that it would be possible to build a watchtower on Dokdo.
Japan’s Exploitation of Dokdo after Taking Dokdo by Force
ㆍOn June 12, 1905, the Japanese Navy issued secret orders to its warship Hashitade-maru to assess the possibility of constructing a watchtower on Dokdo.
ㆍOn June 13, 1905, Hashitade-maru explored Dokdo and reported that the high point of the island was suitable for constructing a watchtower.
ㆍOn June 24, 1905, the Japanese Navy ordered its soldiers to build a wireless telegraph watchtower on the northern part of Ulleungdo and an observation tower on Dokdo.
ㆍOn July 14, 1905, Japan started to build a watchtower on the northern part of Ulleungdo.
ㆍOn July 25, 1905, Japan started to build a watchtower on Dokdo.
ㆍOn October 19, 1905, the watchtower on Ulleungdo was dismantled, and on October 24, the watchtower on Dokdo was dismantled.
※ After the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth on September 5 and subsequent end of the Russo-Japanese War on October 15, Japan no longer deemed the watchtowers on Ulleungdo and Dokdo to be necessary.
ㆍOn November 9, 1905, Japan finished laying underwater cables between Dokdo and Matsue.
※ Japan finished laying underwater cables from Korea’s easternmost coastal region (Jukbyeon-Ulleungdo-Dokdo) to Matsue, Japan.
ㆍOn September 29, 1904, Japanese fisherman Nakai Yosaburo submitted his “Request for Territorial Incorporation and Lease of the Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo).”
ㆍOn November 20, 1904, the Vice Commander Yamanaka Shibakichi of Japanese warship Tsushima-maru and Surgeon General Imai Kebitaro went ashore at Dokdo and spent three hours inspecting the island.
※ Yamanaka surveyed the island for locations suitable for building watchtowers while Imai searched for potable spring water. They identified three possible sites for constructing watchtowers and reported that fresh water was available on Seodo.
ㆍOn January 10, 1905, Japan’s Minister of Home Affairs Yoshikawa Akimasa sent a secret message to Prime Minister Katsura Taro, entitled “The Case Regarding the Uninhabited Island,” requesting that a cabinet meeting be called to incorporate Dokdo.
ㆍOn January 28, 1905, the cabinet agreed to incorporate Dokdo into Japan and approved Nakai Yosaburo’s “Request for Territorial Incorporation and Lease of the Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo).”
ㆍOn February 22, 1905, upon receipt of word of the Cabinet’s decision from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Shimane Prefecture issued ‘Shimane Prefectural Notice No.40,’ which placed Dokdo under the jurisdiction of Shimane Prefecture.
※ On October 25, 1900, The Great Han Empire had instituted ‘Imperial Ordinance No. 41,’ which placed Jukdo and Dokdo along with Ulleungdo under the jurisdiction of Uldo-gun.
ㆍOn June 23, 1903, Japan opened negotiations with Russia, proposing an agreement under which Japan would acknowledge Russia’s special position in Manchuria if Russia would recognize Japan’s supremacy over the Korean peninsula.
ㆍOn July 23, 1903, Japan issued its demand that Russia acknowledge Japan’s dominance over Korea and equal opportunity for Japan and Russia in regard to Qing China, but when the demand was rejected by Russia, Japan upped the ante and sent Russia an ultimatum on February 6, 1904.
ㆍTwo days before the formal declaration of war on February 10, 1904, in a surprise attack, Japan struck and destroyed two Russian warships and one cruiser at Port Arthur. The following day, after sinking the Russian fleet at Port Inchon, Japan illegally landed first a brigade, then a full army division at Inchon and began to gradually convert Korea into a staging base for its military operations.
－ Korea Forced to Sign Korea-Japan Protocol Agreement After a period during which Japan threatened and cajoled Korean high officials, 12 Japanese major forces divisions, led by Lieutenant General Kaoru Inoue, entered Seoul and surrounded the royal palace, thereby forcing the signing of the Korea-Japan Protocol Agreement on February 23, 1904. Having obtained the signed agreement letter by force, Japan proceeded to institute military law, seize control through military rule, establish military governments and develop Korea as a logistics base by expropriating land and forcing Koreans into labor.
- Institution of Military Law and a Warning: Japan’s Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru applied ‘military law on captive secret agents,’ which stipulated that those who seriously damaged the Japanese army should be executed, while Ito Hirobumi issued a warning to Minister of the Royal Household Min Byeong-seok that Japan would seize control of Joseon by force if Joseon would not submit to its authority (March 17, 1904)
- Authority to Deploy Troops Established: Japan established its authority to freely station its troops and place barracks anywhere on the Korean peninsula, and began to dispatch its armed forces throughout the peninsula. - On October 1905, Japan mobilized two divisions to open army headquarters in Hamheung and Pyeongyang and stationed divisional forces in the eastern (Hamgyeong Province), northern (Hwanghae and Pyeongan Provinces) and southern (Seoul and areas south of Gyeonggi Province) regions of Korea.
- Military Government Established: In preparation for war, Japan established military governments in Hamheung and other regions.
- Land Expropriated for Military Purposes: Japan expropriated approximately 32,272,500 square meters of land in Yongsan, Pyeongyang and Uiju.
- Conscription of Koreans: More than 100,000 Koreans were forced into labor to transport supplies in support of Japanese military operations, resulting in 49 casualties between April and October 1905.
Russo-Japanese War and Occupation of Dokdo
ㆍOn May 18, 1904, Japan declared all agreements between Korea and Russia to be void and withdrew Russia’s lumbering rights in the vicinity of the Yalu (Amnok) River and Tumen (Duman) River basin. Further, Japan commandeered sections of Ulleungdo for military purposes.
ㆍOn June 15, 1904, Russia’s Vladivostok fleet attacked and sank the Japanese transport ships the Mutsu and the Izumi in the Korea Strait.
ㆍBetween June 27 and July 22, 1904, Japan constructed watchtowers with wireless telegraph facilities at strategic sites in Korea, which included Jukbyeon in Uljin-gun. In all, Japan built approximately 20 military watchtowers along the Korean coastline, including one of the island of Hongdo off the shore of Namhae, one on Jeolyeongdo near Busan (August 1904) and one on Ulleungdo (September 1904).
ㆍOn August 22, 1904, following the signing of the 1st Korea-Japan Agreement, Japan installed foreign advisers to handle diplomatic and fiscal matters on Korea’s behalf. Through this process, Japan created what came to be known as “a government by advisers”in Korea.
－ Japan installed Durham W. Stevens as foreign affairs adviser and Tanetaro Megata as financial adviser. As a result, all real administrative authority in Korea moved into Japanese hands.
ㆍOn September 24, 1904, the Japanese warship Nitaka-maru was sent on an exploratory mission to Dokdo, which included interviewing Ulleungdo residents. They reported back that it would be possible to build a watchtower on Dokdo.
Japan’s Exploitation of Dokdo after Taking Dokdo by Force
ㆍOn June 12, 1905, the Japanese Navy issued secret orders to its warship Hashitade-maru to assess the possibility of constructing a watchtower on Dokdo.
ㆍOn June 13, 1905, Hashitade-maru explored Dokdo and reported that the high point of the island was suitable for constructing a watchtower.
ㆍOn June 24, 1905, the Japanese Navy ordered its soldiers to build a wireless telegraph watchtower on the northern part of Ulleungdo and an observation tower on Dokdo.
ㆍOn July 14, 1905, Japan started to build a watchtower on the northern part of Ulleungdo.
ㆍOn July 25, 1905, Japan started to build a watchtower on Dokdo.
ㆍOn October 19, 1905, the watchtower on Ulleungdo was dismantled, and on October 24, the watchtower on Dokdo was dismantled.
※ After the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth on September 5 and subsequent end of the Russo-Japanese War on October 15, Japan no longer deemed the watchtowers on Ulleungdo and Dokdo to be necessary.
ㆍOn November 9, 1905, Japan finished laying underwater cables between Dokdo and Matsue.
※ Japan finished laying underwater cables from Korea’s easternmost coastal region (Jukbyeon-Ulleungdo-Dokdo) to Matsue, Japan.
ㆍOn September 29, 1904, Japanese fisherman Nakai Yosaburo submitted his “Request for Territorial Incorporation and Lease of the Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo).”
ㆍOn November 20, 1904, the Vice Commander Yamanaka Shibakichi of Japanese warship Tsushima-maru and Surgeon General Imai Kebitaro went ashore at Dokdo and spent three hours inspecting the island.
※ Yamanaka surveyed the island for locations suitable for building watchtowers while Imai searched for potable spring water. They identified three possible sites for constructing watchtowers and reported that fresh water was available on Seodo.
ㆍOn January 10, 1905, Japan’s Minister of Home Affairs Yoshikawa Akimasa sent a secret message to Prime Minister Katsura Taro, entitled “The Case Regarding the Uninhabited Island,” requesting that a cabinet meeting be called to incorporate Dokdo.
ㆍOn January 28, 1905, the cabinet agreed to incorporate Dokdo into Japan and approved Nakai Yosaburo’s “Request for Territorial Incorporation and Lease of the Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo).”
ㆍOn February 22, 1905, upon receipt of word of the Cabinet’s decision from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Shimane Prefecture issued ‘Shimane Prefectural Notice No.40,’ which placed Dokdo under the jurisdiction of Shimane Prefecture.
※ On October 25, 1900, The Great Han Empire had instituted ‘Imperial Ordinance No. 41,’ which placed Jukdo and Dokdo along with Ulleungdo under the jurisdiction of Uldo-gun.
