Korean Politics (1) Gojoseon: the First Nation of Korea

(7) Response to Imperialistic Encroachment

During the late 19th century, Britain, Russia and other European countries made persistent demands for commercial relations with Joseon. The Prussian merchant Ernest J. Oppert in 1866 twice knocked on Korea's door and requested trade, but was refused. In the same year the American ship General Sherman made its memorable sortie into Korean waters aimed at forcing the Korean government to enter into commercial relations.

The vessel reached the Daedong River in northern Korea with a cargo of European merchandise and proceeded toward Pyeongyang. Their forceful and unseemly manner toward soldiers and civilians infuriated the Koreans, who attacked the ship and set it afire.

In 1866, the French, who had already established beachheads in Indochina, moved aggressively against Korea in response to the then king’s father, Daewongun's massacre of Catholics. Admiral Pierre G. Roze, commander of France's Indochina fleet, led his fleet to Korean waters on October 13, 1866. After demands for compensation were refused, a task force went ashore and destroyed public property. The French then sailed toward Seoul, but were repulsed by Korean forces and forced to withdraw.

Japan took its first step of aggression toward the peninsula in 1868, pressing Korea to start negotiations aimed at revising traditional relations. From the American standpoint, such revision was also highly desirable. The General Sherman incident only intensified US efforts to force Korea to open its ports, and in 1871 Washington directed its Asian fleet to invade Ganghwa Island. The American troops were repulsed by the Korean garrison and their fleet retreated from Korean waters.

Korea's natural resources and abundant rice production were important reasons for Japan's aggressive designs, and in pursuit of that objective, the Japanese fabricated a number of incidents. They sent warships to raid points on the Korean coast, creating an atmosphere just short of actual war. In fact, the Japanese delegation that landed at Gapgot, Ganghwa Island on January 16, 1876, came escorted by 400 troops fully equipped for combat.