The Japanese rule over Korea lasted only 35 years and left an indelible legacy.
The country was modernized with new railroads, roads, telegraph lines, and new schools. But, Korea became worse off as time went on. Since rice was constantly being exported to Japan, rice consumption in Korea went down. The Japanese held all of the top positions in the government. Japan began a program to eliminate the Korean's national identity in the 1930's. They banned the use of the Korean language in schools and requiring all Korean's to adopt Japanese names.