at 1)
Korea the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century
2)
Western involvement in East Asia)
3)
Opening Korea
4)
The Unyo incident and the Treaty of Kanghwa
5)
Korean responses
Treaty of Nanjing (1842) Unequal Treaties
-
Treaty ports: Canton, Amoy (Xiamen), Fuzhou, Ningbo, Shanghai
-
Cession of Hong Kong
-
Indemnity for opium ($6 million Mexican) and war ($12 million)
-
Abolition of Cohong and Chinese payment of Cohong debts ($3 million)
-
Reduced tariffs
-
Release of British prisoners held by Chinese and amnesty for Chinese who had served the British
-
Equality of two nations
-
Extraterritoriality for British subjects
Confucian system
Korea is paying tribute to China, Korea was formally lower in this system. Formal inequality. China had
an emperor and Korea had a king. King is lower than emperor.
Practical equality/autonomy. Ching did not usually interrupt with Chosun unless they directly conflicted
(ex. Not paying tributes)
Nation system: result of war formal equality, practical inequality
1868: Western forces succeed in opening Japan. Japanese government embracing program of modernizing Japan
in technical, economic, and material capacities. Forced into greater contact.
Couple of things going on in Korea at this time.
1) various attempts to open Korea Westerner merchants to come to Korea and have advantage over
them.
Catholicism 16th c. China (intellectual system that has certain relationship to Confucian thought)
Catholicism is called in Korea Sohak Western learning.
18th c. yangban who traveled to China are first ones to convert themselves to Catholicism. They read Catholic
texts and convert themselves to this. Catholicism spreads to poor. Chosun government quickly decides
Catholicism is problem and threat. Catholics are decrying the respecting ceremony toward the ancestor as
idolizing. Writes a secret letter to pope to send navy to Korea to help with Catholics in Korea. As a result, you get
a lot of Chosun government persecution of Catholics. Every once in a while missionary comes in. Government
executes lot of them (missionaries). Attack on Catholics in early 1800s.
Western countries wants to open Korea for their own reasons, but the Catholic incident becomes moral
justification for opening Korea. U.S. gets involved in this in mid-1900 century. 1866 U.S. General Sherman
incident. Shows up at the river that leads to Pyongyang. They at first have casual interactions with people at shore.
(giving bible, often ignored) Eventually they get caught. Eventually someone gets panicked goes and fire couple.
Eventually wipes out General Shermans army. Victorious.
Erist Oppert he will go kidnap Kings ancestors. His plan is to dig up the Kings grandfather from the royal
grave and hold the bone as a hostage. Oppert manages to escape with the skin. Oppert is discovered and whole
thing falls apart.
Various attempts.
Image of Korea as closed land. This is the period when the image of Korea as such is solidified. Mainly because
Western tries to open up but Chosun resists. land Closed think about who is it closed for. It was not universally
closed. Certainly Korea- China and Korea- Japan had some relationship.
Late 19 century Western countries knocking at the door. Question for Korean is what policy to take. 1864-1873
- Holding off Westerners. That takes place when Taewongun is ruling.
1864 change in leadership.. Choljong had died leaving no male heir. So his mother had taken possession of
royal seal. She went out and adopted cousin who will become King Kojong later on, but Kojong is still a child so
there must be a ruler. While Kojong is growing up, Kojongs father Yi Ha-ung becomes Taewongun (prince of
great court). Very conservative leader. His basic idea is to return Chosun to the Confucian tradition that essentially
had served it well from his perspective. He wants to say no with the idea of having treaty with any of the Western
treaties. He says no to contact with Japan. (Japan changing different sort of power in process of Reconstruction).
Why did he say no? Taewongun standing in the way of the progress in an assumption that treaty = progress. He
saw that these new things adopted will bring end to the old system which was ultimately right. He is resisting all
these treaties. Japanese began to show up again in Korea. They are now wearing Western military clothes. They
are calling their leader emperor instead of King.
Taewonguns policy is to reject. It is not just simply Korea was closed (not passive close)
It was exclusion. Very forceful about what he wanted not to happen. After 9 years of this, in 1873, Kojong takes
power. Kojong is not nearly whetted as to exclusion policy. This enables change.
The Unyo incident and the Treaty of Kanghwa
Japan began to engage in an attempts to open Korea same as Westerners were trying for decades. It
happens in Kanghwa. In 1875, Japanese gunboat named Unyo sails over to Kanghwa. Attempts to engage people.
It ends up being a little gun battle. Japan is offended. This leads to 1876 Treaty of Kanghwa. Treaty of Kanghwa
is Koreas first modern treaty. First treaty that Korea signed that has the same model as Treaty of Nanjing
Inequality.
Previously Japans trade in Korea had been restricted to a little settlement. Area called Waegwan.
Japan now under this treaty is able to go around and look for new ports. Japan gains extraterritorial
(cant try Japanese subjects in Korean courts)
-
new ports
-
extraterritorial
-
no restrictions in trade
-
Japan is allowed to survey Korea (Japan is looking at Koreas economy)
-
Finally, Korea is defined as an autonomous nation
-
In this treaty of what Japan forces Korea to sign, named for China shifts. This treaty makes reference to
Ching, Chinese emperor. At this time, China is referred to as Chungguk (middle country) but this treaty
is used Shina. Same move as legally removing
-
Korea within the Confucian world system. Also downgrading China as a nation as any others. Trying to
remove Korea from China. China was working in a way as to Koreas protector but Japan takes that
away.