The Japanese settlement in Busan began with the designation of Choryang as
a Japanese residential area in 1876. With the increase in Japanese entries into
Busan, Japan expanded the settlement in various ways both legally and illegally.
Japan built a grided network of streets centered around Mt. Yongdu and
overhauled the district. It was around 1901 that urban Busan was taking
shape as a modern city. In addition, Japanese people started to reclaim the
coastal areas to secure more city space from that time on.
After the establishment of the Japanese Residency-General in 1906, Japan
organized an association of Japanese residents in Busan to take charge of the
city administration and attempted to expand its urban space by annexing illegally
purchased land to its settlement. As a result, the Japanese settlement
that was once just a small fishing village developed into a city with a population
of 20,000 people in 1910.
The Japanese-led urbanization of Busan was much imbued with Japanese
characteristics in terms of both urban space and culture. The Japanese quarters
formed the central part of the city, while Koreans were driven to the outskirts.
The ethnic division of living quarters in Busan contributed to ethnic
discrimination within the urban culture of Busan, after the Japanese annexation
of Korea.