The was a colonial company established by the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

in 1908. The company was headquartered first in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, and later in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Foundation

In 1905, the Empire of Japan made a treaty with the Korean Empire called the

Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905 The Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905, also known as the Eulsa Treaty, was made between delegates of the Empire of Japan and the Korean Empire in 1905. Negotiations were concluded on November 17, 1905. The treaty deprived Korea of its diplomatic s ...

. As a result, the Korean Empire became a

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

of the Empire of Japan. This treaty deprived Korea of its national sovereignty. The treaty also allowed the Empire of Japan to build the Japanese Government-General Building in

and appoint a

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 in ...

. The treaty of 1905 led to the foundation of the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1907. In March 1908, the

National Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

passed the bill establishing the Oriental Development Company that the government of Korea was forced to sign. It was initially managed by both the Korean Empire and the Empire of Japan. When the headquarters were moved to Tokyo in 1917, it became wholly owned by the Empire of Japan. In 1927 Na Seok-ju, a Korean independence movement activist, bombed the building in Seoul, which resulted in the death of some of the managers. Despite this incident, the company started to create branches in other Japanese-controlled areas overseas, such as

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...

, and the

South Seas Mandate The South Seas Mandate, officially the Mandate for the German Possessions in the Pacific Ocean Lying North of the Equator, was a League of Nations mandate in the " South Seas" given to the Empire of Japan by the League of Nations following W ...

. In 1938 there were nine branches with over 800 employees.

History

Migration

Due to a decrease in arable land in Japan, Imperial Japan decided to establish migration policies that would help people move to the

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

n peninsula to farm. It has been estimated that the Korean branch of the company accepted 85,000 Japanese people in 1904, and about 500,000 had migrated there by 1908. Company land had been given to Japanese colonists up to the spring of 1924, amounting to more than 8,000 landmass and normal immigrants reached 246,767, thus put together, forming one-seventh of the whole arable land attained by Japanese migrants. Along with other government support for migration, the practice of "subleasing" was adopted. Japanese people who moved to Joseon were allowed to initiate tenant farming subleasing to Joseon people who lived there originally.

Land investment

After Imperial Japan carried out a

Cadastral Survey Cadastral surveying is the sub-field of cadastre and surveying that specialises in the establishment and re-establishment of Real estate, real property boundaries. It involves the physical delineation of property boundaries and determination of dim ...

, by the late 1920s the company had bought one third of the arable land in the Korean Peninsula. They forced tenants to pay over 50% of their production as rent, while the holdings of Japanese migrants rose by 300% to 400% per year across the Korean Peninsula. The large amounts of land held by Japanese migrants accrued taxes for the authorities, while Korean farmers lost their independence. According to Arthur C. Bunce, land tenure was the most common approach for farmers, since there was no other employment. 75% of Korean farmers became tenants. Life in

Hwanghae Province Hwanghae Province (''Hwanghae-do'' ) was one of the Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon era. Hwanghae was located in the northwest of Korea. The provincial capital was Haeju. The regional name for the province was Haeseo (). It is a reg ...

(in current-day

North 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 Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

) was described thus:

Owing to a bad harvest, caused by the flood, drought, and attacks by insects, poor and wretched tenants have been pleading for over a month that they must have exemption from paying their rents, or that the rents must be reduced, for the year. . . regardless of how old they are, most of residents came to the local office of the Oriental Company and pleaded for the cancellation of taxes. The local agents of the company threatened, however, that the farmers would lose their tenancy rights if they did not pay their rents.

Other investments

After the Mukden Incident in 1931, Imperial Japan started to transform the Korean Peninsula into a supply base. Soon, the company invested in electricity and railroad to exploit mines.

Aftermath

After Korea was liberated by the Allies, the

United States Army Military Government in Korea The United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) was the official ruling body of the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula from 9 September 1945 to 15 August 1948. The country during this period was plagued with political a ...

confiscated all company property. Soon, this became Shinhan Gongsa, operating in six major cities of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. It later owned and controlled the land of Oriental Development Company. After the

First Republic of Korea The First Republic of Korea () was the government of South Korea from August 1948 to June 1960. The First Republic was founded on 15 August 1948, and it became the first independent republican government in Korea. Syngman Rhee was the first p ...

was established, the lands that belonged to Oriental Development Company were distributed to farmers by the 1949

Land Reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...

. Oriental Development Company buildings still exist in

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

and

Mokpo Mokpo (; ) is the List of cities in South Korea, third largest and most densely populated city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea, located at the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula, close to Yudal mountain. Mokpo has frequent high-speed ...

.Koehler, Robert (10 August 2008) . Retrieved 9 June 2011. Two buildings have been converted into museums to document incidents when Korea was under Japanese rule. The land of the building in Seoul is now occupied by the Korea Exchange Bank.

References

{{Authority control 1908 establishments in Korea 1945 disestablishments in Korea Companies based in Seoul Trading companies based in Tokyo Companies disestablished in 1945 Real estate companies established in 1908 Foreign trade of Japan Japan–Korea relations History of international trade Companies of Korea under Japanese rule Settlement schemes in the Empire of Japan