D URI NG its forty years' rule in Korea, Japan took a backward nation wi th one of the world's least efficient, most corrupt governments, and brought important elements of modernization to her. In place of the capricious rule of the House of yil and the large parasite yangban class,2 Japan established a government efficient in accomplishing certain material aims, one in the long run probably less arbitrary than that which existed before. Japan created a rationalized tax structure, telegraph and telephone systems, undertook steps to increase agricultural yield, and gave a start to technology. Unintended by the Japanese, but of significance since the post-World War H partition, southern Korea benefited more from the agricultural advances, while the north, with its minerals and chemical factories, hydroelectric plants, and textile and steel mills, was the main field for technological modernization. Furthermore, as Chongsik Lee has observed, 'Japan, through her conquest and rule of Korea, awakened and sustained Korean nationalism. Japan provided the negative and yet most powerful symbol for Korean nationalism, a national enemy.'3 In this article I shall attempt to: I) describe certain events duringJapan's rule in Korea; 2) show the responses of Koreans and Western observers to Japanese theories and actions; and 3) explore the content and significance of Japanese ideology permeating, and contributing to the failure of, the Japanese experiment. As any of these could itself form a lengthy study, this article will be limited in certain ways. First, depiction of events will be brief; there are ample sources for detailed descriptions supplemented by statistical tables, charts, graphs and maps. Second, events extrinsic to happenings within Korea, such as the independence movement in exile, will not be discussed. Third, as the framework of ideas pertaining to Japan's Korean venture was formed before the Pacific War began, the I940S will be dealt with very briefly. Finally, the emphasis will be given to