Empire of Japan and Korea

[general_tiu]

I'm speculating at this. What would happen if Korea was absorbed into Japan, with a twist? Instead of absorbed directly into Japan, the Meiji Emperor becomes the Korean emperor as well, and the Japanese decide not to implement the anti-Korean policies as in OTL.

 

[EvolvedSaurian]

Like England and Scotland before 1707?

That's quite an original idea.
A good one too.

There's probaly going to be a lot of movement back and forth. Languages will mix. The England-Scotland analogy is probably a good one, though it would take longer.

Eventually there probably would be a formal union.

 

[general_tiu]

I'm thinking about the POD. The POD is that Ito Hirobumi did not die at the hands of the Korean assassin that I forgot the name, and was severely wounded instead. Instead, he dies a natural death. Besides, the influence of pro-Korean Japanese societies and anti-expansionists is pervasive enough that the imperialists, even they succeeded in annexing Korea, decided to give Korea some equal status with the Japanese Empire. So It was renamed the Empire of Japan and Korea. In this case, the Meiji Emperor is the Emperor of Japan-Korea as a whole. The last Korean emperor, Sunjong, became the King of Korea, while Meiji becomes the king of Yamato, in tribute to the old Japanese state.

Is it good enough? How about the world in this timeline?

 

[EvolvedSaurian]

So they'd already be connected. OK.

Would they still go after Taiwan and Manchuria? Or maybe the Philippines instead?

Or just stay Japan-Korea?

 

[Neroon]

Read our Forum better before asking!

That is precisely what's happened in LacheyS "In his own Right" TL.

 

[Hapsburg]

Hmmm. That's pretty cool. The only stumbling block would be intense Japanese nationalism, but that more evolved later, so really, your idea is pretty fuckin' sound.
Coincidentally, a similar event (japan-korea union) occurs in my Sorrow of the Samurai ASBTL, when a non-isolated and musket-armed Japan establishes a beachhead on Southern Korea in the 1680s, and conquers it by 1706, and the Emperor of Japan, Kenshin I Kyoga, declares himself Emperor of Korea is 1716.

 

[Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy]

Would they still go after Taiwan and Manchuria? Or maybe the Philippines instead?

The POD is in 1905 at the earliest, Japan already has Taiwan and influence over part of Manchuria, while the Philippines are American.

 

[EvolvedSaurian]

The POD is in 1905 at the earliest, Japan already has Taiwan and influence over part of Manchuria, while the Philippines are American.

I thout it was earlier.

Disregard then.

 

[Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy]

I thout it was earlier.

Disregard then.

I wasn't talking about Ito Hirobumi, I was refering to the Russo-Japanese war that sealed Korea's fate. Now that I think about it, you can get an earlier POD.

 

[HueyLong]

You have anti-Korean sentiment centuries earlier, with the failed colonies, the wako and the other attempts to gain Korea.

 

[Mark]

On the Korean side, you also have anti-Japanese sentiments for centuries.