Presenting Law in Colonial Studies through Korea’s Treaty Relations with Japan

• In Event: 479 - Section on Global and Transnational Sociology Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 12. Practicing Models of Global Governance

Abstract

Japan’s rise as a colonial power in the 20th century alarmed European states. By 1939, Japan possessed 27 colonial territories in Asia. Japan’s ascendency countered the race-centered view of colonialism where European states colonized non-Caucasian others. With diminished racial rationale, colonial propaganda focused on trade, development, and progress. Annexation treaties legally condoned colonization. Korea’s treaty relations with the Japan highlighted how certain legal relationships evolved towards colonialism. To existing cultural and sociological theories such as postcolonialism and the world society model, I added a linguistic-legal dimension. In Korea, Japan privileged Western legal knowledge to legitimize Japan’s economic and military successes. Examining treaties allows scholars to comprehend how international systems morphed based on individual diplomats’ interpretation of rules and constraints.

Author

• Jung Mee Park, University of Southern California