1. Lesson 7 Modernization Part I: The Opening of Ports

2. Study Plan & Content Study Plan Many historians agree that Korea’s modernization started with the opening of ports. But Korea’s opening of ports was initially compelled by Japan and was subsequently mediated by the Qing China that introduced Western powers into Korea to curb Japanese ambition towards the continent. This part will deal with power politics in East Asia in Korea’s modernization process. Study Contents  Meiji Japan vs. King Kojong  Kanghwa Treaty vs. Chaoxian Celue  Li Hongzhang’s Korea policy  Western products and institutions

3. Meiji Japan vs. King Kojong Under the Meiji slogan of fukoku kyohei (“rich nation and strong military”), Japan decides to break Chosun from the traditional East-Asian world order. Meiji Japan approaches the Chosun court with a letter, demanding trade, written with a new diplomatic protocol based on international law. Reform-minded King Kojong in his early period recruits pragmatic scholar-officials, without being influenced by the Min in-law clan. However, conservative hard-liners, who constituted the majority in court, reject Japan’s overture. Meiji Japan then decides to resort to military intimidation, the same means Western powers had used to open Japan.

4. Kanghwa Treaty vs. Chaoxian Celue Japan’s demonstration of its military might with its warship “Unyokan” compels Korea to open its ports, and sign the unequal treaty of Kwanghwa. Watching Japan’s initiative in opening Korea, Viceroy Li Hongzhang of Qing China devises a strategy to curb Japanese ambition towards the continent by inviting Western powers to sign similar treaties with Korea. He mediates between King Kojong and Western powers. Huang Zunxien, a Chinese diplomat in Tokyo, delivers a booklet “Chaoxian celue (A Strategy for Korea)” to Kim Hongjip, a Korean envoy to Japan: It advised Korea to implement a foreign policy of “intimate relations with China, coordination with Japan, alliance with America, and caution toward Russia.”

5. Li Hongzhang’s Korea Diplomacy Li Hongzhang persuades Western envoys in Beijing to establish diplomatic relations with Korea, irrespective of Chosŏn’s “tributary relationship” with China. The United States was the first Western power to sign the Treaty of Peace, Amity, and Commerce with the Kingdom of Chosŏn in 1882. By stipulating the trade tariffs Chosun could impose on commodities, it was a relatively fair treaty. Viceroy Li sees that the treaty includes an attachment, “Dispatch from the King of Korea to the President of the United States,” which says that the Korean king, as an independent monarch, distinctly undertakes to carry out the articles contained in the treaty, irrespective of any matters affecting the tributary relations between Korea and China, with which the United States has no concern.

6. Western Products & Institutions Korea signed similar treaties with Britain and Germany in 1883, Italy and Russia in 1884, and France in 1886. Since the signing of the treaties, Korea allows Western missionaries, both Protestant and Catholic, to enter Korea. Western products and institutions, such as modern hospitals and schools, attract the monarchy and the upper class in Seoul. Imported products, such as cotton clothes, matches, kerosene, dyestuffs and chinaware began to undermine local industries. Peasants, who already had the burden of high tenant rates, suffered the most.

7. Review Meiji Japan compels Chosŏn to open its ports in 1876 through intimidation with its modern warship Unyokan. Li Hongzhang devises the Korea strategy to curb Japanese ambition in East Asia, by inviting Western powers to establish diplomatic relations with the hither-to “hermit kingdom.” The opening of ports coincides with the beginning of Korea’s modernization.

8. Lesson 7 Modernization Part II: Reforms vs. Reactions

9. Study Plan & Contents Study Plan This part discusses three influential groups in the process of modernization in the late 19 th century Korea: One conservative group and two reformist groups. Study Contents  Wijŏng ch’ŏksa movement  King Kojong’s reform initiative  Kim Okkyun’s Kapsin coup  Tonghak (Eastern Learning)  The Kabo Reforms under Japanese influence

10. Resistance to reforms Before the signing of the Kanghwa Treaty in 1876, King Kojong meets with strong protests from the conservative Neo-Confucian officials against opening the ports to Japan. The Confucian literati propounded the doctrine of “defending orthodoxy and rejecting heterodoxy” (wijŏng ch’ŏksa), criticizing the Japanese economic invasion and the proliferation of Christianity. As a newly formed military unit was being trained by a Japanese supervisor in 1882, a military mutiny erupts over rice rations. They kill the Japanese military adviser, and set fire to the Japanese legation. Queen Min had to flee. Taewongun is restored to power, but not for long. In response to the riot, China sends 3,000 troops to restore its position of supremacy in Korea.

11. King Kojong’s Reforms After quelling the riot with the help of the Chinese troops, King Kojong restores his previous reform initiative, using the slogan “Eastern ethics and Western technology” (tongdo sŏgi). The Chosŏn court fell again under the influence of the Qing China. Li Hongzhang sends a former German diplomat Mollendorff as an advisor to the Korean king. Leery of Qing influence, however, King Kojong turned to U.S. minister Lucius Foote for advice on diplomacy, defense, education, and agriculture.

12. Kim Okkyun’s Kapsin Coup Kim Okkyun and Pak Yŏnghyo, two leaders of the Progressive Party (Kaehwadang), staged a coup in 1884, with the support of 140 Japanese troops stationed in Seoul. They demanded an end to the tributary relationship with China, and equal rights for all, among other things. Among the Progressive Party members were both yangban elite and intellectual chungin interpreters with overseas experiences in Japan. The radical reformers’ dream ends in only three days when the Chinese troops intervene.

13. Tonghak, Eastern Learning In 1860, a new religious movement called “Tonghak” (Eastern Learning), was launched by Choe Che-u, a yangban soja. Choe believed in the unity of man with God, that mankind and the Supreme Being are one and the same. He thus proclaimed an equality for all human beings that transcended social status or class. His doctrine, which was welcomed by the oppressed peasantry, was eclectically shaped by taking precepts of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism and even some elements of Catholicism and shamanism. Tonghak was not simply a religious movement but a social movement. It called for reform of the corruption ridden government. The government viewed with alarm the spreading popularity of the Tonghak faith and its founder Ch’oe Cheu was executed on charges of misleading the people and sowing discord in the society in 1863. But the discontent of the peasantry, the hotbed that had nurtured Tonghak, had not been assuaged. Before long, the Tonghak faith would revive infused with new vigor.

14. The Revolutionary Uprising of the Tonghak Peasant Army Overview: The Revolutionary Uprising of the Tonghak Peasant Army was a widespread revolutionary movement of the peasantry against Chosun’s oppressive yangban society that occurred in Korea in 1894. At the same time, it also was a struggle against the economic aggression of the Japanese. It was the catalyst for the First Sino-Japanese War. It would also be one of the series of events that would bring the Chosun dynasty to an end and to the establishment of Japanese colonial rule over Korea (1910-1945).

15. Uprising of the Tonghak Peasant Army King Kojong and the Min family oligarchs fail to win the support of the Korean people. The grievances harbored by the peasants toward their yangban rulers were on the verge of erupting into violence because of the fresh levies and harsh methods of extortion. At the same time, Japanese economic penetration was further eroding Korea’s village economy. The peasantry harbored a mounting hostility toward its exploiters, Korean and foreign alike. In 1894, the well organized Tonghak movement erupted into a revolutionary peasant struggle employing military operations on a large scale. The magistrate of Kobu County, Cho Pyong-gap, was known for his tyrannical cruelty.

16. Uprising of the Tonghak Peasant Army Cont’d Under the leadership of the head of Kobu County’s Tonghak parish, Chon Bong-jun, the peasants occupied the county office, seized weapons, distributed the illegally collected tax rice to the poor, and then destroyed the Mansokpo reservoir. The government dispatched a special inspector, but he charged the Tonghak with responsibility for the uprising, thus further inflaming the peasants. A call to arms now went out to the peasants, appealing to them to rise in defense of the nation and to secure the livelihood of its people. Peasants from all surrounding areas came to join forces with the Tonghak army, swelling its ranks to some several thousands.

17. Tonghak Uprising Under the command of Chun Pong-jun, the Tonghak peasant army crushes government troops sent from Chonju at a hill in Kobu County, then in turn seize Chongup, Kochang and Mujang, and still further southward took control of Yongkwang and Hampyong. Their ranks meanwhile increase to over 10,000 men. The government in Seoul dispatches an elite battalion of about 800 men, but their number is cut in half by desertions. The Tonghak army pushes north against virtually no resistance and occupied Chonju. In a state of panic, the government hastily appealed to China for military support. Within a month, 3,000 Chinese troops had landed at Asan bay. Japan also sent in 7,000 troops. (Convention of Tianjin, 1885) Chon Bong-jun accepts a government proposal for a truce, on condition that an end be put to government misrule. The Tonghak demands remained consistent: first that the yangban be prevented from draining the life-blood of the peasants by their illegal extortions; and secondly, that the government block the inroads of foreign merchants.

18. Tonghak, Eastern Learning But this leads to the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War with Japan making a preemptive attack at Asan Bay in July 1894. In October, the Tonghak again took up their arms and began to move northward, but they were defeated in fighting at Kongju against government troops reinforced by a Japanese army contingent. Many of the leaders, including Chon Pong-jun, were captured or killed. The Sino-Japanese War ended in a Japanese victory in April 1895. In the ensuing Treaty of Shimonoseki, China acknowledges the “full independence of Korea.” Japan now believed that Korea had been brought firmly in its grasp.

19. The Kabo Reforms With the backing of Japan after the Sino-Japanese War, the progressive cabinet of Kim Hongjip and Yu Kilchun implements a comprehensive modernization program from 1894 to1896, known as the Kabo Reforms. King’s title is upgraded to ‘His Majesty Great King’ (Emperor). The sadae relationship with China is terminated. Abolishing the centuries-old State Council and six ministries, the reforms created a cabinet as an executive body with eight ministries.

20. The Kabo Reforms Cont’d The traditional civil-service exam (kwagŏ) is abolished. A modern education system (elementary schools, high schools, colleges) is introduced. Social discrimination among statuses is abolished. Yangban is allowed to engage in commerce. Sons of concubines would no longer be discriminated against. Early marriages are to be prohibited, and widows would be allowed to remarry.

21. Resistance to the Reforms The Kabo Reforms, an ambitious modernization program, however, met with strong protests not only from the Neo-Confucian yangban literati but from the people and the monarchy. King Kojong’s power as well as Queen Min’ s influence had been reduced by the cabinet. They began to look to the Russians for help. In 1895, Queen Min was brutally murdered at her palace in an assassination scheme plotted by Japanese minister to Korea Miura Koro. The Japanese-initiated reforms, including an edict to cut off the traditional topknots of Korean males, met with an armed resistance by the rural Neo-Confucian literati. But they were a poor match for the Japanese and Korean government forces and were not supported by the peasants, many of whom now backed the egalitarian reforms.

22. Reforms vs. Reactions [Timeline 1873-1895] 1873 – King Kojong begins to rule personally the Chosŏn kingdom. 1874 – Meiji Japan makes a diplomatic demarche to Chosŏn based on international law 1875 – On September 20, the Japanese warship Unyokan provoked an exchange of fire with Korean batteries on Kanghwa Island and the Japanese troops landed and killed the Korean soldiers. 1876 – On February 26, Chosŏn grudgingly signed the “(Kanghwa) Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation” with Japan. 1880 – Huang Zunxien delivered Chaoxian celue to Kim Hongjip in Tokyo. 1880 – Commodore Robert Wilson Shufeldt, the U.S. commander of Asiatic Squads, engaged in secret negotiations with Beijing and Seoul. 1881 – In January, T’ongnigimu amun created after the Qing model. 1882 – On May 22, Commodore Schufeldt and Korean representatives Sin Hŏn and Kim Hongjip signed the “Treaty of Peace, Amity, and Commerce (Shufeldt Convention).”

23. Reforms vs. Reactions [Timeline 1873-1895] Cont’d 1882 – In July, a military mutiny breaks out; In August, the Qing troops are dispatched to Seoul. 1883 – Treaties with Britain and Germany are signed. 1884 – Treaties with Italy and Russia are signed. 1884 – On September 20, American Protestant missionaries arrive in Chemulp’o. 1884 – On December 4-6, the Enlightened Party coup was crushed by the Qing troops. 1885 – On April 18, Li Hongzhang and Ito Hirobumi signed the Convention of Tianjin. 1886 – Treaty with France is signed. 1894 – In January, Tonghak armed uprising erupts; Kabo Reforms Initiated. 1894~1895 – Sino-Japanese War 1895 – On October 7, Queen Min is assassinated.

24. Review Chosŏn under King Kojong’s leadership was forced to open its ports in the 1880s. Kojong’s reform initiatives met with opposition from the ruling Neo-Confucian yangban. Two reformist groups inadvertently invited foreign intervention on the Korean peninsula. Tonghak rebellion invites both Chinese and Japanese intervention while the Enlightened Party helps strengthen Japanese influence on Korea through the Kabo reforms.

25. Lesson 7 Modernization Part III: Foreign Influence

26. Study Plan & Contents Study Plan We will study the roles of other powers in the waning days of the Chosun Dynasty as Japan harbors its imperialist ambitions toward Korea. Study Contents  Russian protection of the Korean monarchy  Kwangmu Reforms under Russian influence  The Independence Club and American influence  The Independence Club vs. the Kwangmu Government  Syngman Rhee, a young radical  Timeline of foreign influence (1876-1905)

27. Russian Protection of Korean Monarchy For one year starting in February 1896, the Russian legation provided shelter for King Kojong after Queen Min was assassinated by the Japanese. Under the protection of Russia, King Kojong abolished the political system created by the Kabo Reforms. Kim Hongjip and the cabinet members were arrested but soon killed by an angry mob. At the coronation of Czar Nicholas II in 1896, the Japanese envoy met with Russian foreign minister, and secured the so-called Yamagata-Lobanov Protocol. In the protocol, Russia declined Japan’s suggestion to divide the Korean peninsula along the 38 th parallel in the event that Japanese and Russian troops were to occupy the peninsula.

28. The Kwangmu Reform under Russian Influence After leaving the Russian legation, King Kojong and his pro-Russian officials attempted to pursue modernization while strengthening the monarchy, according to the Russian model. In August 1897, Kojong changed his reign title to Kwangmu and in October of the same year named himself emperor, proclaiming his kingdom the Empire of Great Korea. Unlike the pro-Japanese Kabo Reforms, the Kwangmu Reform seeks to concentrate all legislative, executive, and judicial power in the czar-like emperor, and carry out a conservative modernization.

29. The Independent Club, an American Influence As the monarch and his court officials were eager to safeguard the nation’s independence after experiencing Japanese dominance during the Kabo Reforms, Sŏ Chaep’il, a former Progressive Party member returned from the U.S., and founded the Independence Club under the aegis of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its first act was to demolish the special gate through which Chinese envoys were received. In its stead, a new Independence Arch was constructed. So Chaep’il, a U.S.-educated medical doctor, began to publish the first modern newspaper Tongnip Sinmun (The Independent), both in hangul and English, in1896. It was the first attempt to introduce the Jeffersonian idea of freedom of the press in Korea.

30. The Independence Club vs. Kwangmu Government The Independence Club, advocating the division of power among the three branches of government, objected to the concentrated power of the czar-like emperor. The Independence Club denounced the economic concessions made by the Kwangmu government to foreign capitalist powers in the areas of gold mining, railroad and trolley-line construction, installation of electricity, and waterworks. Sŏ Chaep’il criticized the Kwangmu government policies in his Tongnip Sinmun editorials. Hated by those in power, he was discouraged and returned to the U.S. in May 1898.

31. Syngman Rhee, A Young Radical After Sŏ Chaep’il left Korea, a new generation of leaders, such as Yun Ch’iho and Yi Sangjae, influenced by the ideals of American democracy, emerge in the Independence Club. Yi Sŭngman (Syngman Rhee), a young radical educated by American missionaries, joins the Independence Club. In October 1898, the Joint Meeting of Government and People, a mass assembly of high-level officials and citizens of various backgrounds, is organized by the Independence Club and adopts a 6-point proposal, which aims at the introduction of a constitutional monarchy. In response to such a move, conservative royalists plot the abolishment of the Independence Club. The fledgling pro-democracy movement ends in failure in December 1898 with the royalist group’s crackdown on the Independence Club, whose radical members allegedly plotted a coup to install a constitutional monarchy.

32. Foreign Influence on Korea [1894 – 1904] 1894: In January, Tonghak armed uprising erupts; Beginning of the Kabo Reforms 1894 - 1895: Sino-Japanese War I 1895: On October 7, Queen Min is assassinated. 1896: In February, King Kojong flees to the Russian legation. 1896: On April 7, Sŏ Chaep’il founds the Tongnip Sinmun. 1896: Min Yŏnghwan attends the coronation ceremony of Czar Nicholas II on May 26. 1896: On July 2, the Independence Club is founded.

33. Foreign Influence on Korea [1894 – 1904] Cont’d 1897: In February, King Kojong moves to the Kyŏng’un Palace. 1897: In August, King Kojong changes his reign title to Kwangmu. 1897: In October, Emperor Kojong proclaims the Empire of Great Korea. 1898: High-ranking government officials, such as Yi Wanyong, leave the Independence Club. 1898: In May, Sŏ Chaep’il returns to the United States. 1898: Syngman Rhee joins the Independence Club after graduating from Baejae School. 1898: In October, the Joint Meeting of Government and People is held at Chongno Plaza.

34. Foreign Influence on Korea [1894 – 1904] Cont’d 1898: In November, Emperor Kojong appointed a 50-member Privy Council. 1898: On December 21, Emperor Kojong cracked down on the Independence Club. 1899: In January, Syngman Rhee is imprisoned. 1899: A constitution stipulating a czar-like emperor is adopted on August 17. 1900: In January, international postal service begins. 1904 - 1905: Russo-Japanese War

35. Review King Kojong, seeking foreign support to help secure Korea’s independence from Japanese dominance after the Sino-Japanese War, turns to Russia. Emperor Kojong and his pro-Russian officials promote Kwangmu Reforms, a conservative modernization program with a czar-like emperor. Sŏ Chaep’il, publishing the Tongnip Sinmun, advocated a Jeffersonian concept of press freedom. The Independence Club headed by So criticizes King Kojong’s economic concessions to foreign powers. The fledgling democratic movement led by a new generation of leaders, such as Yun Ch’iho, Yi Sangjae, and Syngman Rhee, ends when Kojong and his court crack down on the Independence Club.