『大東亜戦争への道』（展転社）
中村 粲
その１４ 第三章 第七節 日露戦争：韓国併合への道
日露戦争終結後、世界と極東の政局の潮流を一変させる諸々の事件や事態が、わずか十数年の間に生起しました。韓国併合、辛亥革命、いわゆる「２１箇条」問題、満州の鉄道争覇戦、米国の排日移民問題、ロシア革命、シベリア出兵、第一次欧州大戦の波紋等々です。考えてみると、この中で極東情勢に安定をもたらしたのは韓国併合のみで、他はことごとく後日の事変及び戦争の遠因となったとみることができます。
１９０４（明治３７）年２月、日本が開戦劈頭に戦勝するや、韓国は親露から親日に態度を一変させ、日韓議定書が結ばれました。議定書は、（１）韓国は施政改善に関して日本の忠告を受け入れること、（２）韓国の危機に際して日本は軍事上必要の地点を収容できる、など明確に保護化への第一歩を印したものでした。
この保護国化について、米国の外交史家タイラー・デンネットは次のように書いています。
「韓国人は、その最近の歴史も駐米外交官たちも、ルーズベルト大統領の尊敬や称賛の念を引き起こすことができなかった。…大統領にとって、長い間海上に遺棄され、航海に脅威を与える船にも似た韓国が、今や綱をつけて港に引き入れられ、しっかりと固定されなければならないことは明らかだったように見える。」
イギリス外相ランズダウンもまた「韓国は日本に近きこと、一人で立ちゆく能力なき故に、日本の管理と保護の下に入らねばならぬ」と述べているように、世界の共通認識は、韓国の保護国化の必要性を認めていたのでした。
韓国の一般国民の中に日本に好意を寄せるものも少なからずいたことも忘れてはいけません。マッケンジーは著書で「どこでも韓国の国民から日本軍に対する友好的話題ばかりを聞かされた。労務者や農民たちも好意的であった」と書いています。
親日的な朝鮮人の団体として有名な「一進会」が結成されたのは日露戦争中の明治３７年でした。李容九を会長とする一進会は会員百万を公称する団体で、日露戦争を、ロシアに代表される西欧勢力との決戦と見做し、日韓軍事同盟でロシアの侵略を阻止してアジアを復興することこそ、朝鮮の運命を開く道と考えたのでした。京義鉄道建設に１５万の会員が参加し、軍需品運搬に動員された会員は１１万５千に達しました。
保護条約に基き、統監の下日本は韓国近代化を急速に推進しました。それに抵抗する韓国人も多く、１９０８（明治４１）年、統監政治を称賛した元外交顧問スティーブンス（米国人）は賜暇帰国の際、在米韓国人に暗殺されました。そしてその翌年１０月伊藤博文もまた韓国人安重根のためにハルピン駅頭にて暗殺されるや、韓国併合論が高まり、翌１９１０（明治４３）年８月、韓国は遂に我国に併合され、李氏朝鮮は５百有余年の歴史を閉じたのです。
・その１４，第３章７節 日本語原文：http://hassin.org/01/wp-content/uploads/Road14.pdf」
・ 〃 第３章７節 英訳文： https://www.sdh-fact.com/CL/Road14E.pdf
令和５年６月２日
「史実を世界に発信する会」 会長 茂木弘道
協力者代表：神奈川大学教授 小山和伸
＊拡散大歓迎
THE ROAD TO THE GREATER EAST ASIAN WAR
Nakamura Akira, Dokkyo University Professor Emeritus
(English Translation: Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact)
Part 1４, Chapter 3: The Russo-Japanese War-７
During the dozen or so years after the Russo-Japanese War ended, numerous events occurred that ended up transforming not only the Asian, but also the world political situation. They included the Japanese annexation of Korea, the 1911 (Xinhai) revolution in China, Japan’s Twenty-one Demands of China, the struggle for supremacy over the Manchurian Railway, US exclusionist laws against Japanese immigration, the Russian Revolution, the Siberian Intervention, as well as repercussions of the 1st World War. Among these events, only the Japanese annexation of Korea brought some stability to the Far East. The others, without exception, became underlying causes of subsequent crises and conflicts.
In February 1904, in the early days of the Russo-Japanese War, Japan began winning battles. The Korean then made an abrupt shift from a pro-Russian to a pro-Japanese stance, and the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1904 was concluded. According to that pact, (1) Korea would accept advice from Japan about improving the administration of the Korean government, (2) if Korea were endangered, Japan would expropriate such territory as was necessary for military purposes. With this treaty, the traditional Japan-Korea relationship changed, clearly marking the first step toward Korea’s becoming a protectorate.
Tyler Dennett, a prominent American historian believed that the protectorate would bring stability to East Asia.
“The Koreans, in their recent history, and in most of the diplomatic representatives in Washington during the period since the President had been the resident of the city, could not have commended themselves to his respect or admiration. … It appears to have been evident to the President that Korea, long a derelict state, a menace to navigation, must now to be towed into port and secured.”
British Foreign Minister Henry Lansdowne voiced a similar opinion; “It has, however, become evident that Corea, owing to its proximity to the Japanese Empire and inability to stand alone, must fall under the control and tutelage of Japan.”
From these citations, we can see that there was a common understanding worldwide of the Korean problem.
It should be recognized that there were many ordinary Koreans who understood why it was important for Japan to win, and who were kindly disposed toward the Japanese military.
The best known pro-Japanese Korean group, Iljinhoe, was formed in the fall of 1904, with a purported membership of 1 million. Its leader, Yi Yonggu, viewed the war as a critical conflict pitting Japan against Russia, a nation that represented the encroaching Western powers. He believed that a military alliance with Japan would change Korea’s fortunes by halting Russian aggression and helping Asia recover.
Approximately 150,000 Iljinhoe members participated in the construction of the Gyeongui Line (extending from Seoul to Sinujiu) and another 115,000 members were mobilized to transport munitions from northern Korea to Manchuria.
The Japan-Korea Treaty of 1907 enabled Japan to begin modernizing Korea. There was resistance against reforms that were implemented. In 1908, Korean immigrants assassinated Durham Stevens, an advisor to Korean Foreign Office, while he was on furlough in the US. Then, in October of the following year, Ito Hirobumi was assassinated by independence activist An Jung-geun. These events may have hastened the process by which, in August 1910, Korea was annexed by Japan, bringing an end to the Joseon dynasty, which had lingered for more than 500 years.
URL: https://www.sdh-fact.com/book-article/2078/
PDF: https://www.sdh-fact.com/CL/Road14E.pdf
MOTEKI Hiromichi, Chairman
Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact