WI: Russia-influenced Korea

In this timeline, negotiations for the Treaty of Portsmouth fall through and Japan continues the Russo-Japanese War. This recklessness damages the Japanese economy and the Russians, with newly arrived reinforcements, push them back from southern Manchuria and they retake Sakhalin.

The Russians force a merciless peace on the Japanese, resulting in the transfer of Korea from the Japanese sphere of influence to Russian suzerainty.

What happens as a result of this? How does a Russian-influenced Korea affect world history? How does Russian influence affect the Korean peninsula?
 
In this timeline, negotiations for the Treaty of Portsmouth fall through and Japan continues the Russo-Japanese War. This recklessness damages the Japanese economy and the Russians, with newly arrived reinforcements, push them back from southern Manchuria and they retake Sakhalin.

The Russians force a merciless peace on the Japanese, resulting in the transfer of Korea from the Japanese sphere of influence to Russian suzerainty.

What happens as a result of this? How does a Russian-influenced Korea affect world history? How does Russian influence affect the Korean peninsula?

Ooof. I'm not sure Russia could push into Korea with a PoD like this. IMO you also need Russia to do better early in the Russo-Japanese war.

As for Russian influence on Korea, I'd imagine Korea might end up less Christian, as this time they are dominated by a Christian power, not a Buddhist/Shinto power, so it's not so much of an act of nationalist defiance to convert to Catholicism or Protestantism... Of course, Orthodox is a different Christian group, so we could still see Korea end up with a large Catholic and Protestant minority.

fasquardon
 
Ooof. I'm not sure Russia could push into Korea with a PoD like this. IMO you also need Russia to do better early in the Russo-Japanese war.

As for Russian influence on Korea, I'd imagine Korea might end up less Christian, as this time they are dominated by a Christian power, not a Buddhist/Shinto power, so it's not so much of an act of nationalist defiance to convert to Catholicism or Protestantism... Of course, Orthodox is a different Christian group, so we could still see Korea end up with a large Catholic and Protestant minority.

fasquardon
Another consideration is how Russian influence would manifest, as I'm skeptical of Russia's ability to annex Korea outright as Japan did. If any domination if coming through Korea's Buddhist monarch there may still be the same push factors for Christianity's spread.
 
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