Taming China’s Frontier

Abstract

This paper focuses on the formulation and implementation of Imperial Japan’s policy of ethnic control in the Gando region by delving into the prelude and development of the Gando Intervention from October 1920 to May 1921. The Gando region had been a significant base for the Korean independence movement due to its proximity to the Korean Peninsula, which was favorable to independence activists’ military operations along the Sino-Japanese border. From a different perspective, Japan also sought to expand its influence on Gando and eliminate anti-Japanese forces which continued to disrupt its colonial governance over Korea. China, which officially owned the territorial sovereignty over Gando, or Yanbian (based on the Gando Convention in 1909) had to deal with conflicts between Korean independent activists and Japan as well as Japan’s ambitions towards control of Gando. This formed Gando as a contested space where three sides of power existed. By analyzing newspapers and official documents produced by these three sides, this paper highlights the complex interplay of imperial expansion, ethnicity, and the geopolitical situation in the early twentieth century. This paper breaks from the traditional narrative of military history, focusing instead on Japan’s ethnic exploitation over the expatriate Koreans in Gando.