>>213628057You guys keep saying, "If it weren't for Japan, Korea would have been absorbed by China or Russia," but it's the opposite. If you hadnโt invaded, Korea wouldnโt have been divided and nothing would have happened.
Why did the war break out? You used the Donghak Peasant Revolution as an excuse to invade, marched all the way to Seoul, fought the Battle of Gyeongbokgung, and occupied the country. Even after suppressing the peasants' uprising, you didnโt leave and started the First Sino-Japanese War against China.
Later, when Korea brought in Russia to stop your invasion, you attacked Russia first and started a war against them as well.
In the end, you invaded and started wars to make Korea your colony, so why do you keep thinking that without you Korea would have become Chinese or Russian territory?
Before you invaded, Korea was peaceful, and after the failure of the Gapsin Coup, you just stood by doing nothing for ten years.