Korean Political History I: Chapter 1, Exercise 1 — Possible Solution
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TASK
Set out the 1905, 1907 and 1910 steps in order and say what each removed
from Korean control. Then explain why the 1965 wording did not settle the
dispute.

ANSWER
1905 (17 November): the Eulsa Treaty reduced Korea to a Japanese
protectorate. Gojong opposed it but was excluded from the negotiations.
1907: after Gojong's Hague emissaries, he was forced to abdicate on 19 July
and his successor Sunjong faced continued Japanese intervention. A 1907
treaty stripped Korea of internal administrative authority, and the Korean
military was disbanded.
1910 (signed 22 August, proclaimed 29 August): the Japan-Korea Treaty formally
annexed Korea and ended the Korean Empire.

WHY 1965 DID NOT SETTLE IT
The Treaty on Basic Relations says that treaties and agreements on or before
22 August 1910 "are already null and void." Korea had argued the treaties
were coerced and void from the start; Japan disputed that claim. The word
"already" can be read as void from the start or as void by 1965, and the
source says both sides accepted the wording without resolving the
disagreement.

CAUTION
The reading of "already" as ambiguous is drawn from the source's note that
the disagreement remained, not from the treaty's negotiating history.