The Japanese annexation of Korea occurred on August 22, 1910, and lasted until August 15, 1945 with the close of WWII. During this time Koreans were suppressed by Japanese military forces and they felt that it was a "forced occupation." The country was a hotbed for activity between China and Japan, both countries with imperialist motives. Japan began harassing Korea in 1876, using "gunboat diplomacy" to pressure Korea into unfair political agreements favoring Japan. Some Koreans turned to the Chinese for support, but soon they were trampled underfoot as Japan and China clashed on their land.
I think that this period of aggression added to the anxiety westerners already felt towards the Orient. I think these conflicts lent fuel to the racist fire. Undoubtedly civilized whites talked in disgusted tones about how the eastern savages can't get along with one another. Even more unsettling was the fact that Japan was emerging from a long period of isolation; combined with rising public awareness caused by increased communications (around the world through technology such as pictures and the telephone), this led Americans to hastily and apprehensively label all asians as alien and foreign contaminants. Today we have more than 100 years of history and culture, both separate histories and our conjoined, textured meanings, to reflect upon, for instance, how Asians are different from whites. However, during this time U.S. relations with the east were just beginning, so that many Americans had little knowledge to go off of except stereotypes which were propagated through controlled media. This is definitely one source from which the Yellow Peril has emerged. War-time is the easiest time to demonize a people or country. As we see today in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the fog of war clouds our perceptions so that even with our comprehensive coverage, we still feel we are dealing with faceless terrorists; and so it was during this time. I'm not sure that I can blame the turn of the century people for their racism, because even though communication was increasing there was so little information. Today we have many networks and are bombarded with the latest news. Back then, however, there may have been only one foreign correspondent for a newspaper, and he was read by millions of people as having the only clear picture on Asia. In this way we can see how popular culture, such as a newspaper during the early 1900s, not only shaped but in many instances, in which there was not another sufficient source of information, created Americans' conceptions of the east.
-Jeremy Steinberg
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