Korean Life Under Japanese Rule: A Quest for Truth in History

In approaching the subject of Japanese Imperialism in Korea from 1910-1945, I have been tempted to try to take myself out of the examination, to make it as objective as possible. However, as I review the things that I have learned about this period, I realize that this is not possible. I am wrapped up emotionally in this most sensitive of issues between these two nations. My research has been motivated as much by a quest to make some sense of the accusations that I, myself, have heard, as to bring these events to light for others. Stories abound about the tumultuous events of this time. Some of these are fantastic. It has been said that when the Japanese ruled Korea, they took all the healthy babies, and killed them, to make the Koreans a weak people. The speaking of Korean was outlawed by the Japanese. More Koreans were killed by Japanese during their occupation, than Jews were killed by the Nazis in World War II. The Japanese took the genealogies of the Koreans and destroyed them. The Japanese saw Korea as the rice bowl of Japan. These were all statements that I received prior to my search for a more accurate historical picture of Japanese Colonialism