Korea, 1910–1945

Autocracy · Empire · East Asia · Interwar Years era

Rule by a Japanese Governor-General with policing powers, land and industrial restructuring, and an assimilation policy that suppressed the Korean language, names and press.

Open Korea 1910–1945 in the interactive 3D atlas →

Dominant patterns

  • Authoritarian Shift
  • Militarization
  • Regime Stabilization
  • External Expansion
  • Economic Crisis

Political-science factor profile

Each factor 0–100; higher = stronger authoritarian / crisis pole (except institutional stability, where higher = stronger institutions).

Centralization of Power78
Media Control80
Repression80
Nationalism60
Militarization70
Economic Stress60
External Conflict55
Cult of Personality55
Elite Fragmentation35
Institutions60
Social Polarization70
Corruption & Patrimonialism45
Ideological Mobilization70
External Sovereignty3

Economy & society

GDP per capita$1543 (intl-$)
GDP growth+1.3%/yr
Population25.0M people
Share of world population1%
Life expectancy34.3 years

Closest historical twins

The country-eras whose structural profile most resembles Korea 1910–1945, by similarity score (0–100).

  1. East Germany, 1949–1989 – similarity 72/100 · shared: Authoritarian Shift, Militarization, Regime Stabilization
  2. British India, 1858–1947 – similarity 72/100 · shared: Regime Stabilization, Economic Crisis
  3. Cuba, 1959–2006 – similarity 71/100 · shared: Authoritarian Shift, Militarization, Regime Stabilization, Economic Crisis
  4. French Indochina, 1887–1945 – similarity 67/100 · shared: Regime Stabilization, Economic Crisis
  5. Democratic Kampuchea, 1975–1979 – similarity 65/100 · shared: Authoritarian Shift, Militarization, External Expansion, Economic Crisis
  6. Iraq, 1979–2003 – similarity 65/100 · shared: Authoritarian Shift, Militarization, External Expansion, Economic Crisis
  7. North Korea, 1994–2024 – similarity 64/100 · shared: Authoritarian Shift, Militarization, Regime Stabilization, Economic Crisis
  8. Spain, 1936–1945 – similarity 62/100 · shared: Authoritarian Shift, Militarization, External Expansion

What followed

  • Japanese defeat in 1945 and division of the peninsula.
  • The Korean War, 1950–53.