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

(9) The Threat of Imperialist Nations

The Japanese minister to Korea, Hanabusa Yoshimoto, forced the Korean government to introduce the Japanese army training system, and a separate training command was established for this purpose. Implementation of army reorganization and training was, in itself, an effective springboard for aggression.

By 1876, Japan monopolized the Korean market, and two years later, and encouraged Japanese merchants to infiltrate Korea en masse. Japanese merchants could purchase rice, soy beans, cattle hides and alluvial gold at incredibly low prices, reaping exorbitant profits at home. Korea, in the meantime, struggled to devise some means of protecting its national economy.

Discriminatory treatment within the armed forces sparked resentment against the Japanese. At the height of the opposition movement, soldiers undergoing Japanese training in special units enjoyed conspicuously better salaries and conditions than ordinary troops in training.

Infuriated regular soldiers rose in revolt. They attacked the Japanese legation, forcing the Japanese minister and his party to flee to Incheon in the middle of the night. The state administration once again turned to the Daewongun in hopes that he could correct the situation.

The palace was also under attack, and Queen Min and her followers barely escaped the rioting army. She asked China for a contingent of troops to help suppress the uprising, and the Chinese responded by sending four warships and 3,000 troops to Korea.

They also seized the Daewongun and took him to Beijing. Minister Hanabusa, who had managed to escape to Japan, returned to Seoul on August 12, bringing 1,500 troops aboard four warships. Storming into the capital, Hanabusa pressed the Korean government: first, to pay for damages and second, to agree to the stationing of Japanese troops in Korea.

Those demands were laid out in the Jemulpo Treaty drawn up by the Japanese. Korea agreed to Japan's demands, which included a guaranteed payment in reparations and permission to station Japanese troops in the capital to defend the Japanese legation. The treaty further broadened the scope of Japan's aggressive activities at such ports as Busan, Incheon and Wonsan.

Meanwhile, the Chinese continued their interference in Korea's internal affairs, and unilaterally set out to reorganize the Korean government system, specifically by reappointing members of the deposed Min clique to important posts. China sent its emissaries, P.G. Moellendorff and Ma Chien-chung, to Korea to carry out the task of reorganizing Korea's diplomatic corps, and Yuan Shihkai of Qing took command of the Korean army, providing it with Chinese-style training.

Meanwhile Korea was pressured into treaty after treaty with more powerful nations. Aiming to gain more control than Japan, China advised Korea to conclude a series of commercial treaties with European powers and America. The Korea-U.S. treaty of commerce was concluded on May 22 and signed on June 6, 1882, and Korea signed unfair treaties with Great Britain, Russia and Germany in series.