Oriental Development Company
Encyclopedia
Oriental Development Company (Shinjitai
: 東洋拓殖株式会社, Hangul
: 동양척식주식회사, Hanja
: 東洋拓殖株式會社), established by the Empire of Japan
in 1908 is a national enterprise which was built as one of colonial exploitation policies towards the Korean Empire
and other countries in East Asia
. The headquarter of the company was naturally headquartered in Tokyo
.
In 1905, the Empire of Japan made a treaty with the Korean Empire called Eulsa Treaty
. As a result, the Korean Empire became a protectorate
of the Empire of Japan. This treaty deprived Korea of its diplomatic sovereignty.
Not only that, this treaty also allowed the Empire of Japan to build the Japanese Government-General Building
in Seoul
, and dispatched a resident-general there.
This treaty gave rise to the foundation of Japan-Korea Treaty of 1907, and soon, the National Diet of Japan passed the bill about the establishment of Oriental Development Company on March 1908. After the law was passed, the Imperial Japan forced the government of Korea to sign up the treaty. Even though it used to be managed by both the Korean Empire and the Empire of Japan, when the headquarter was moved to Tokyo in 1917, it became owned by only the Empire of Japan.
In 1927, a Korean independent movement activist, Na Seok-ju threw bombs inside the Oriental Development Company building in Seoul and killed a few managers. However, soon, Oriental Development Company started to build another branches on other foreign areas such as Taiwan
, Manchuria
, Sakhalin
, South Pacific Mandate
. Eventually, they had built nine branches and hired over 800 people in 1938.
to farm. This gave rises to a number of Japanese farmers coming to Korea. By 1917, Oriental Development Company accepted 1,000 families annually, and by 1926, they had god 260 families per year too. Therefore, Oriental Development Company accepted about 9,000 families in total by 1926.
The land in the possession of the company that had been given away to Japanese colonists up to the spring of 1924, amounts to more than 8,000 landmass and normal immigrants reach to the number of 246,767, thus put together, forming one-seventh of the whole arable land attained by Japanese migrants.
After great deal of migration policies and supports, the practice of 'subleasing' came to float. The Japanese people who moved to Joseon were allowed to permit to initiate tenant farming, and then subleased such right for normal Joseon peole who have lived originally.
After the Cadastral Survey had been done by the Imperial Japan, Oriental Development Company has bought one third farmable lands in the Korean Peninsula by late 1920s. Soon, they forced tenants who are farming on their lands to pay over 50% of their production for farm rents, whereas the possession of Japanese migrants have sky-rocketed by 300~400 % per year across the Korean peninsula.
The large amounts of landmass were started to be in grip of Japanese migrants to gain additional taxes and tenure for farmers by the authorities. The seizure of landlord class formed a sense of guild, then farmers indigneous to the region could not but lose the independent class as a farming household.
According to the research by Arthur C. Bunce, Land tenure was most popular type for farmers to go on farming since there had not been another measure to live on. 75% of Korean farmers are tenants operationg farms whose harvests would fall upon landlord.
The situation of residents in Hwanghae
provice(currently belonging to North Korea
) is descripted in Dong-A Ilbo.
in 1931, the Imperial Japan started to plan on transforming the Korean Peninsula into a supply base. Soon, Oriental Development Company also participated in these plans by investing on electricity and railroads to exploit mines in the Korean Peninsula.
decided to confiscate all the properties from Oriental Development Company in 1945. Soon, this became Shinhan Gongsa, which were located in 6 major cities of South Korea
. It later owned and controlled the landmass of Oriental company with those of Japanese landholders.
After the First Republic of Korea (South Korea
) was established, the lands belonged to Oriental Development Company were distributed to farmers in 1949 by the Land Reform
.
Currently in South Korea, the Oriental Development Company still exists in Busan
and Mokpo
. Two buildings are both operated by modern history museum to record several incidents during Japanese colonial rule
. The counterpart in Seoul is now occupied by Korea Exchange Bank.
Shinjitai
Shinjitai are the forms of kanji used in Japan since the promulgation of the Tōyō Kanji List in 1946. Some of the new forms found in shinjitai are also found in simplified Chinese, but shinjitai is generally not as extensive in the scope of its modification...
: 東洋拓殖株式会社, Hangul
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
: 동양척식주식회사, Hanja
Hanja
Hanja is the Korean name for the Chinese characters hanzi. More specifically, it refers to those Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese and incorporated into the Korean language with Korean pronunciation...
: 東洋拓殖株式會社), established by the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
in 1908 is a national enterprise which was built as one of colonial exploitation policies towards the Korean Empire
Korean Empire
The Greater Korean Empire was an empire of Korea that succeeded the Joseon Dynasty.In October 1897, Emperor Gojong proclaimed the new entity at Gyeongungung Palace and oversaw the partially successful modernization of the military, economy, land system, education system, and various industries...
and other countries in East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
. The headquarter of the company was naturally headquartered in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
.
Foundation
Eulsa Treaty
The Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905, also known as the Eulsa Treaty or Japan–Korea Protectorate Treaty, was made between the Empire of Japan and the Korean Empire in 1905. Negotiations were concluded on November 17, 1905....
. As a result, the Korean Empire became a protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
of the Empire of Japan. This treaty deprived Korea of its diplomatic sovereignty.
Not only that, this treaty also allowed the Empire of Japan to build the Japanese Government-General Building
Japanese General Government Building, Seoul
The Japanese Government-General Building was the chief administrative building in Keijo during the Japanese colonial rule of Korea and the seat of the Governor-General of Korea. It was a neo-classical building designed by German architect Georg De Lalande, and was completed in 1926...
in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, and dispatched a resident-general there.
This treaty gave rise to the foundation of Japan-Korea Treaty of 1907, and soon, the National Diet of Japan passed the bill about the establishment of Oriental Development Company on March 1908. After the law was passed, the Imperial Japan forced the government of Korea to sign up the treaty. Even though it used to be managed by both the Korean Empire and the Empire of Japan, when the headquarter was moved to Tokyo in 1917, it became owned by only the Empire of Japan.
In 1927, a Korean independent movement activist, Na Seok-ju threw bombs inside the Oriental Development Company building in Seoul and killed a few managers. However, soon, Oriental Development Company started to build another branches on other foreign areas such as Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
, Sakhalin
Sakhalin
Sakhalin or Saghalien, is a large island in the North Pacific, lying between 45°50' and 54°24' N.It is part of Russia, and is Russia's largest island, and is administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast...
, South Pacific Mandate
South Pacific Mandate
The was the Japanese League of Nations mandate consisting of several groups of islands in the Pacific Ocean which came under the administration of Japan after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I.-Early history:Under the terms of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, after the start of World...
. Eventually, they had built nine branches and hired over 800 people in 1938.
Migration Business
Due to the decreasing number of farmable lands in Japan, the Imperial Japan decided to establish migration policies which would help people to move to the Korean PeninsulaKorean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
to farm. This gave rises to a number of Japanese farmers coming to Korea. By 1917, Oriental Development Company accepted 1,000 families annually, and by 1926, they had god 260 families per year too. Therefore, Oriental Development Company accepted about 9,000 families in total by 1926.
The land in the possession of the company that had been given away to Japanese colonists up to the spring of 1924, amounts to more than 8,000 landmass and normal immigrants reach to the number of 246,767, thus put together, forming one-seventh of the whole arable land attained by Japanese migrants.
After great deal of migration policies and supports, the practice of 'subleasing' came to float. The Japanese people who moved to Joseon were allowed to permit to initiate tenant farming, and then subleased such right for normal Joseon peole who have lived originally.
Land Investment
The large amounts of landmass were started to be in grip of Japanese migrants to gain additional taxes and tenure for farmers by the authorities. The seizure of landlord class formed a sense of guild, then farmers indigneous to the region could not but lose the independent class as a farming household.
According to the research by Arthur C. Bunce, Land tenure was most popular type for farmers to go on farming since there had not been another measure to live on. 75% of Korean farmers are tenants operationg farms whose harvests would fall upon landlord.
The situation of residents in Hwanghae
Hwanghae
Hwanghae was one of the Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Hwanghae was located in the northwest of Korea. The provincial capital was Haeju.The regional name for the province was Haesŏ .-History:...
provice(currently belonging to North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
) is descripted in Dong-A Ilbo.
Owing to bad harvest, caused by the flood, drought, and attacks by insects, poor and wretched tenants have pleaded over a month that they must have been exempt from paying the rents, or that the rents must have been reduced, for the year. (abridged) Regardless of how old they are, most of residents came to the local office of the Oriental company and pleaded the cancellation of the tax. The local agents of the company threatened, however, that the farmers shall lose their tenant rights in case they do not pay the rents.
Other Investments
After the occurrence of Mukden IncidentMukden Incident
The Mukden Incident, also known as the Manchurian Incident, was a staged event that was engineered by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for invading the northern part of China known as Manchuria in 1931....
in 1931, the Imperial Japan started to plan on transforming the Korean Peninsula into a supply base. Soon, Oriental Development Company also participated in these plans by investing on electricity and railroads to exploit mines in the Korean Peninsula.
Aftermath
After Korea was liberated by the Allies, the United States Army Military Government in KoreaUnited States Army Military Government in Korea
The United States Army Military Government in Korea, also known as USAMGIK, was the official ruling body of the southern half of the Korean Peninsula from September 8, 1945 to August 15, 1948...
decided to confiscate all the properties from Oriental Development Company in 1945. Soon, this became Shinhan Gongsa, which were located in 6 major cities of South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. It later owned and controlled the landmass of Oriental company with those of Japanese landholders.
After the First Republic of Korea (South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
) was established, the lands belonged to Oriental Development Company were distributed to farmers in 1949 by the Land Reform
Land reform
[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...
.
Currently in South Korea, the Oriental Development Company still exists in Busan
Busan
Busan , formerly spelled Pusan is South Korea's second largest metropolis after Seoul, with a population of around 3.6 million. The Metropolitan area population is 4,399,515 as of 2010. It is the largest port city in South Korea and the fifth largest port in the world...
and Mokpo
Mokpo
Mokpo is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea, on the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula. Mokpo has frequent train service to Seoul and is the terminus for a number of ferry routes serving islands in the adjacent Yellow Sea...
. Two buildings are both operated by modern history museum to record several incidents during Japanese colonial rule
Korea under Japanese rule
Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....
. The counterpart in Seoul is now occupied by Korea Exchange Bank.
See also
- Eulsa Treaty
- Japan-Korea Treaty of 1907
- Korea under Japanese ruleKorea under Japanese ruleKorea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....
- List of territories occupied by Imperial Japan