The Governor-General of Chōsen ( ja, 朝鮮総督府, Chōsen Sōtoku; ko, 조선총독부, Joseon Chongdokbu) was the

chief administrator The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

of the Government-General of Chōsen (a part of an administrative organ established by the Imperial government of Japan) from 1910 to 1945. The governor-general of Chōsen was established shortly after the

Korean Empire The Korean Empire () was a Korean monarchical state proclaimed in October 1897 by Emperor Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. The empire stood until Japan's annexation of Korea in August 1910. During the Korean Empire, Emperor Gojong oversaw the Gwa ...

was formally annexed by the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...

in the

Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910 The Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910, also known as the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty, was made by representatives of the Empire of Japan and the Korean Empire on 22 August 1910. In this treaty, Japan formally annexed Korea following the Jap ...

to replace the title of

Resident-General A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indi ...

. The governor-general of Chōsen was appointed from

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

and accountable to the

emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his positio ...

. The governor-general of Chōsen was responsible for the administrate ministry of the Chōsen regionin, including

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

, and the suppression of the

Korean independence movement The Korean independence movement was a military and diplomatic campaign to achieve the independence of Korea from Empire of Japan, Japan. After the Japanese Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910, annexation of Korea in 1910, Korea's domestic resistance pe ...

. The governor-general of Chōsen was seated in the General Government Building in

Keijō Keijō, or Gyeongseong, was an administrative district of Chōsen that corresponds to the present Seoul, the capital of South Korea. :ko:경성부, -(Seoul of Korea under Japanese rule) Honmachi The central district of Gyeongseong was Ho ...

after its completion in 1926.

History

After the

annexation of Korea Annexation ( Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal ac ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in 1910, the office of resident-general was replaced by that of governor-general. However, the position was unique in among Japan's external possessions, as the governor-general had sweeping

plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word ...

powers, and the position also entailed

judicial oversight Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incompa ...

and some

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...

powers. As of 1944, the governor-general did not command the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

units stationed in

Chōsen Between 1910 and 1945, Korea was ruled as a part of the Empire of Japan. Joseon Korea had come into the Japanese sphere of influence with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876; a complex coalition of the Meiji government, military, and business offici ...

. Given the powers and levels of responsibility, only ranking full generals in the Imperial Japanese Army were selected for the post, with the sole exception of retired admiral

Saitō Makoto Viscount was a Japanese naval officer and politician. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Saitō Makoto"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 809. Upon distinguishing himself during his command of two cruisers in the First Sino-Japanese War, Saitō rose ...

. The governor-general of Chōsen had a police organisation, which may have been partly involved in having Korean women working as

comfort women Comfort women or comfort girls were women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army in occupied countries and territories before and during World War II. The term "comfort women" is a translation of the Japanese '' ia ...

.西岡力

Tsutomu Nishioka Tsutomu Nishioka (西岡力, Nishioka Tsutomu, born 1956 in Tokyo) is a professor of International Christian Studies at Tokyo Christian University. He specializes in Japan-Korean relations, South Korea/North Korea Studies. His research focuses on ...

政府は名誉回復の戦いを止めてはならぬ he Japanese government must not stop demanding the restoration of honourin Seiron March 2016 (in Japanese).産経新聞社 ankei Shimbun Sya p.83 After the Japanese defeat in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

was administered by the

Democratic People's Republic of Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...

and the

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its east ...

. The governor-general building was demolished during administration of South Korean

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Kim Yong-Sam on August 15, 1995.

Prime Ministers of Japan

Four individuals who held the position of the governor-general of Chōsen also held the office of the

prime minister of Japan The prime minister of Japan (Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Stat ...

. Three,

Terauchi Masatake Gensui Count Terauchi Masatake ( ja, 寺内正毅), GCB (5 February 1852 – 3 November 1919), was a Japanese military officer, proconsul and politician. He was a '' Gensui'' (or Marshal) in the Imperial Japanese Army and the Prime Minister o ...

, and

Koiso Kuniaki was a Japanese general in the Imperial Japanese Army, Governor-General of Korea and Prime Minister of Japan from 1944 to 1945. After Japan's defeat in World War II, he was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment. Early li ...

, were governors-general before becoming prime ministers. One,

Abe Nobuyuki was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, Governor-General of Korea, and Prime Minister of Japan. Early life and military career Abe was born on November 24, 1875, in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, the son of former samurai Abe Nobumitsu. H ...

, was prime minister before his appointment as governor-general.

Ugaki Kazushige was a Japanese general in the Imperial Japanese Army and cabinet minister before World War II, the 5th principal of Takushoku University, and twice Governor-General of Korea. Nicknamed Ugaki Issei, he served as Foreign Minister of Japan in the ...

was named prime minister-designate, but he could not take office because he was unable to form a cabinet. In addition, Resident-General

Itō Hirobumi was a Japanese politician and statesman who served as the first Prime Minister of Japan. He was also a leading member of the ''genrō'', a group of senior statesmen that dictated Japanese policy during the Meiji era. A London-educated samur ...

served four terms as prime minister prior to his appointment to Korea.

Governors-general

After the annexation of Korea to Japan in 1910, the office of resident general was replaced by that of governor-general. #

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

寺内正毅 (1910–1916) #'' Gensui''

Hasegawa Yoshimichi Count was a field marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army and Japanese Governor General of Korea from 1916 to 1919. His Japanese decorations included Order of the Golden Kite (1st class) and Order of the Chrysanthemum. Biography Hasegawa was born ...

長谷川好道 (1916–1919) #

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

斎藤実 (1919–1927) #

宇垣一成 (1927) #

Yamanashi Hanzō 山梨半造 (1927–1929) #

斎藤実 (second time 1929–1931) #

Kazushige Ugaki 宇垣一成 (second time 1931–1936) #

Minami Jirō 南次郎 (1936–1942) #

(ret'd)

小磯國昭 (1942–1944) #

(ret'd)

阿部信行 (1944–1945)

References

External links

Rulers
{{Authority control Anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea

History

Prime Ministers of Japan

Governors-general

See also

References

External links