During the second half of the 19th century, many political powers - European and Asian alike - had their attention concentrated on a kingdom that was famous for being isolated. Its location and resources were the obvious features that would make it an easy target for invasion. The land of Korea was so secluded from the outside world that it had earned the title of the ‘Hermit Kingdom’. As we focus on the happenings in China and Japan, we can’t leave out the land for which they were fighting. What were the circumstances in Korea while China and Japan had been strategizing to gain authority over her?
If you missed them, you can read Disha’s article on the First Sino-Japanese War here, and how the war may have led to the collapse of the Qing dynasty here.
A depiction of the 1882 Imo Mutiny.
Confucianism and Korean society
The foundations of Korean society were laid over the principles of Confucianism. Violation of any ritual practice was considered a greater offense than breaking a law. It was believed that a ruler who did not carry out the traditional rites in a proper fashion was unfit to rule. (1) Soon, Confucianism gained a societal aspect to it, rather than just a religious one. It came to be regarded as a way of life - a system through which all institutions of society could be run smoothly.
Confucianism idealized a society that was organized into classes. As a result, Korea had been a rigidly hierarchical society since the Koryeo times. The demarcation was done into the yangban and the common people. The yangban were the elite classes at the top. They were scholars of Confucianism and were trained from their childhood to become a part of the government. (2) They were entitled to several liberties that the common folks were not - one of them being tax exemption. (3)
Koreans were pleased with Korea’s identity as ‘little China’ because they believed China was the center of all that was under heaven. (4) China was a cultured land unlike Japan which no longer properly executed the venerable practices of Confucianism. This, along with the adoption of western ways, led Japan to be perceived as an inferior state. Furthermore, the Japanese didn't even conduct civil service examinations, so how could they employ good government officials? (5) In other words, they were no better than the barbarians from the West.
The 1881 Mission to Japan
Korea had remained secluded for centuries, earning the title of ‘Hermit Kingdom’. The Treaty of Kanghwa modified this status, as one of the main conditions of the treaty was allowing free trade to Japanese merchants and opening up three Korean ports. As the kingdom gradually lowered its walls of isolation, Japan’s modernization made an impression on Korea. Although, not all of it was positive.
To study the practices of modernized Japan, King Kojong sent a group of courtiers to Japan in 1881. These courtiers were ardent followers of Confucianism and also from the yangban classes. (6) The kind of Confucianism they witnessed in Japan had them scrunching their noses. No matter how unimpressed they were, they couldn’t help but admire the orderliness and prosperity there. (7)
The older members of the mission were not so keen on having the same reforms made in Korea. Contrary to their thoughts, modernization in Japan had a significant impact on the younger members. Having been exposed to new ideas, the urge to bring about change in the governance of their home state became stronger in these individuals. More than eighty books of reports were made that described various features of Meiji Japan in detail. (8) A special unit was also created under Lieutenant Horimoto Reizo, a Japanese official, to modernize the Korean army. (9)
Imo Mutiny
Around the same time, tensions started rising in the Korean army. The Korean soldiers did not particularly like the new reforms done under the Japanese unit. Moreover, there had been a delay in their payment. Rice was used as currency in those days and they found out that they had been given contaminated rice. As a result, the frustrated soldiers started a revolt against the crown in 1882.
The Imo Mutiny acted as a foothold for the Qing dynasty to reestablish its power in Korea. The incident brought Chinese troops into Korea. The Chinese now exerted their dominance by meddling in Korea’s affairs. The incident led to a visible division of the Korean administration into pro-Japanese and pro-Chinese factions.
The pro-Chinese were the older yangban who valued “Eastern learning” and were mostly from the Min clan. They made up the Sadae party meaning “serving the great”, which in this case was China. Interestingly, the Min clan was partial to the opinion that there was a need to modernize Korea with western weaponry while maintaining its comfort as a Chinese protectorate. On the other hand, the pro-Japanese were led by the younger yangban. These reform-pursuing individuals then formed an organization called the Kaehwa Party (or the Enlightenment Party). (10) Kim Ok-kyun and Hong Yeong-sik were some of the prominent leaders of the Kaehwa party.
The Gapsin Coup
The Treaty of Kanghwa omitted to mention Korea as a Chinese protectorate. To counter this move, the Chinese had begun persuading Korea to sign treaties with the West (11) to prevent any Japanese interference. After the Imo Mutiny, they were fairly certain that it was not so easy to snatch Korea away from them after all. So, when China clashed with the French in 1884, some of the Qing troops stationed in Korea since the mutiny were withdrawn.
The leaders of the Kaehwa Party saw this as an opportunity to liberate Korea from external and internal power plays. Their main objectives were the end of the yangban dominance in the administration and ending Korea’s identity as a Chinese tributary state.
A banquet was organized by Hong Yeong-sik for celebrating the inauguration of the new postal administration. (12) It was held in the presence of King Kojong on December 4, 1884. The event gave way to the king being held captive under the eye of Japanese guards and the killing of many pro-Chinese officials. This was the inception of a three-day coup, called the Gapsin coup, supported by Japan. It was executed under the leadership of Kim Ok-kyun.
Though it was quite ambitious, the coup fell short of fulfilling its purpose. The Chinese troops arrived in Korea at Queen Min’s request and vanquished the Japanese forces. The Li-Ito Convention put a pause to the bloodshed by removing both Chinese and Japanese troops from Joseon territory, albeit temporarily.
The Sino-French War concluded with the Qings having to cede Annam (Vietnam). In addition to the constant anti-dynastic rebellions and an inefficient government, another new problem now posed before the declining Qing dynasty was that of losing tributary states. China had lost Annam to the French and Burma (Myanmar) to the British. (13) It would be an utter disgrace for the Qings to lose suzerainty over another territory as the reputation of the dynasty worsened. This proved to be a grave situation as the focus shifted towards Korea which was still on Japan’s radar.
While the coup was suppressed and China had managed to regain Korea as a tributary, it did not remain so for a long time. The Tonghak Rebellion in 1894 went on to challenge Korean authorities. The situation got so out of hand that as a last resort Korea had to ask for Chinese intervention. The intervention, seen as the violation of the Li-Ito Convention, once again brought China and Japan to the battlefield.
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Bibliography
Chung, Chai-sik. “Changing Korean Perceptions of Japan on the Eve of Modern Transformation: The Case of Neo-Confucian Yangban Intellectuals.” Korean Studies 19 (1995): 39–50. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23719138.
Hahm, Chaihark. “Ritual and Constitutionalism: Disputing the Ruler’s Legitimacy in a Confucian Polity.” The American Journal of Comparative Law 57, no. 1 (2009): 135–203. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20454666.
Huh, Donghyun, and Vladimir Tikhonov. “The Korean Courtiers’ Observation Mission’s Views on Meiji Japan and Projects of Modern State Building.” Korean Studies 29 (2005): 30–54. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23719526.
Hsu, Immanuel C. Y. “Late Ch'ing Foreign Relations, 1866–1905.” Chapter. In The Cambridge History of China, edited by John K. Fairbank and Kwang-Ching Liu, 11:70–141. The Cambridge History of China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980.
Seth, Michael J. A History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2011.
References
1 Chaihark Hahm, ‘Ritual and Constitutionalism: Disputing the Ruler's Legitimacy in a Confucian Polity’, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20454666.
2 Michael J. Seth, A History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present, ‘Choso˘n Society’, 176-177.
3 Ibid, 167.
4 Chai-sik Chung, ‘Changing Korean Perceptions of Japan on the Eve of Modern Transformation: The Case of Neo-Confucian Yangban Intellectuals’, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23719138.
5 Ibid.
6 Donghyun Huh and Vladimir Tikhonov, ‘The Korean Courtiers’ Observation Mission’s Views on Meiji Japan and Projects of Modern State Building’, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23719526.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9 Michael J. Seth, A History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present, ‘Korea in the Age of Imperialism, 1876-1910’, 235-236.
10 Ibid, 238.
11 Immanuel C. Y. Hsu, “Late Ch'ing Foreign Relations, 1866–1905”, The Cambridge History of China Vol. 11, 102.
12 Michael J. Seth, A History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present, ‘Korea in the Age of Imperialism, 1876-1910’, 238-239.
13 Immanuel C. Y. Hsu, “Late Ch'ing Foreign Relations, 1866–1905”, The Cambridge History of China Vol. 11, 101.
