History

By 1910, Korea's incorporation into the Japanese empire represented the culmination of over a decade of growing Japanese influence over the peninsula. Japan had already identified Korea as within its sphere of influence during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905): the war itself began partly over rival claims to control of Korea and Manchuria, and Japan's victory over Russia at Mukden and Tsushima, confirmed by the Treaty of Portsmouth, removed the main rival power capable of contesting Japanese dominance there. With Russia defeated and China weak and unstable, Korea had little external support to resist growing Japanese pressure.