HISTORY OF

EAST ASIA
 Time Table
10.04.2024
 Yuan domination, Koryo and early Joseon Periode
 17.04. 2024
 Guest lecture by Dr. Rune Steenberg
(Palacky Univ. Olomouc)
24.04.2024
 Late Joseon Periode, Korean Empire
 15.05. 2024
 Japanese Colonial Rule, Korean War (North Korea)
READINGS
Relevant for Exam on Korea:
• Eckert, C. J. (1990). Korea old and new : a
history. Seoul: Ilchokak.
• Yi, K. (1984). A new history of Korea.
Cambridge, Mass. [u.a.]: Harvard Univ. Press.

Suggested reading:
• Holcombe, C. (2017). A history of East Asia :
from the origins of civilization to the twenty-
first century (Second edition). Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
• Seth, M. J. (2016). A concise history of
premodern Korea. Lanham Boulder New York
London: Rowman & Littlefield.

3
4
In Asia…..China

13th century
 Mongol – Yuan Dynasty

• 1210 Chinggis Khan attacked Jurchen-ruled

Jin Dynasty in northern China and then
Central Asia: conquered Southern Song
• Grandson Khubilai Khan (1215-1294) became
supreme leader of the Mongols (Great Khan)
and started to consolidate a semi-Chinese-
style Yuan Dynasty
• 4 separate territorial bases in Russia, Persia,
Central Asia, and East Asia (divided by
descendants)
In 1279: largest land empire in the history of the
world: in the west Poland and Hungary as far as the
Adriatic Sea, in the south, India, in the Northeast the
submission of Korea.
THE KINGDOM OF KORYŎ
• The capital was attacked first by the
• Khitans in the 11th century (Liao)
• Mongols in the 13th century (Yuan)
• Japanese pirates 13th-14 century (waegu)
• Coup d’etat by General Yi Sŏng-gye
(1392 and the foundation of the new
dynasty)

• King T´aejo had made „castle lords“ heads of

powerful regional clans of Shilla and Later
Baekje as local magistrates.

7
• The founder Wang Kŏn = later King T’aejo established the Kingdom of
Koryŏ which lasted 475 years, and became known in the West as
Corée or Corea. State religion: Buddhism
• Rejected the Bone rank system of Shilla he adopted the bureaucratic
system of T’ang China. Political, legal, and economic institutions
followed the T’ang Chinese imperial model, but became more
Korean.
• After the fall of Tang Dynasty in
907, contact between Korea and
China was interrupted.
• Chinese systems were adapted to
Korean ways.
• Korean celadon porcelain was
finer, and first use of metal
moveable-type writing was
invented in Korea.
Imperial bureaucracy was left in
the hands of local lords, who
controlled their own private
armies.
The old bone-rank system of
Silla gave away, and a new
system in which aristocratic
families were closely identified
with a particular place, where
their lineage was based. The use
of family names spread.
Chinese-style civil service
examinations were established.
The adoption of the Chinese
civil examination exam 958
(kwageo) ended the practice of
appointing government officials
through family connections.
Era of Mongol
Domination (1270-
1356)
Mongol attacks on the Jurchen-ruled Jin Dynasty
had begun in 1210, and Mongol strikes at Korea
began in 1231.
Mongol armies overran and laid waste to
almost the entire peninsula.
The first edition of the Korean Buddhist
Tripitaka was burned.
The Koryŏ government continued to
resist the Mongols from a base on a
small island off the western coast and
continued fighting until 1270
Struggle with the Mongols 1231-1270

Mongol army drove the capital to Kanghwa island

(Mongols were afraid of water)
Resistance to the Mongols who devasted the land and
cultural treasures were lost: it was said that no wooden
structures remained afterward in Koryŏ.
After 9 Mongol invasions peace terms worked out
Koryŏ sent its crown prince to the Dadu to swear
allegiance to the Yuan dynasty
Koryŏ became a semi-autonomous vassal state and
compulsory ally of the Yuan dynasty for about 80
years.

12
Mongol domination
Kings were allowed to retain their form of Korean
dynasty.
First under the Mongol commissioners and then by
a Mongol institution “Eastern Expedition Field
Headquarters”.
Mongols dethroned Koryŏs’ kings 7 times, and
Korean Kings´ son married a daughter of Khubilai
Khan.
Koryŏ princes also became regular travelers
between Kaesong and Beijing.
 Son-in-law state
• The heirs to the Koryŏ thrones
nearly all had Mongol mothers
and grew up in Beijing. Koryŏ
became known as “son-in-law”
state. Mongol names, dress and
hairstyles were adopted.
• Mongol overlordship promoted
Neo-Confucian revival in Korea:
in Beijing, visiting Koreans
encountered Neo-Confucianism.
• The Korean Academy was
rebuilt, and the Korean national
shrine to Confucius restored.
• Leading Confucian scholars were
appointed as teachers.
Mongol Yuan Dynasty

• Mongol rule promoted

trade and cultural
exchange. Arab traveler
Battuta and Italian Marco
Polo visited China.
• Due to rebellions against
Yuan, the Red Turbans
proclaimed the Ming (light)
Dynasty in China.
• The Mongols were driven
northward
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty became
established in China. The former
rebel was now the new emperor,
Zhu Yuanzhang (Ming Taizu,
r.1368-1398).
He was paranoid and despotic but
upheld the Confucian ideal of
puritanical austerity and limited
government by mans of moral
example.
Taxes were held low and paid in
kind, physical movement was
restricted (official permissions
needed)
Pro-Ming Policies in Korea

• 1356, King Kongmin (r.1351-1374) broke with the pro-

Mongol faction in Korea
• After the Chinese rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang defeated
the Mongols and founded this new Ming Dynasty in 1368,
King Kongmin adopted pro-Ming policies.
• With the weakening of Mongol power, Koryŏ regained
independence.
Koryŏ decline

• Uppon the decline of Yuan, a powerful brigand force, the Red

Turbans, robbed and attacked Koryŏ twice and Japanese pirates
waegu became extensive after 1350.
• The Japanese pirates randomly attacked Korea over a century and
devasted the land (diplomatic representations to Japan failed)
• Many peasants had fled inland, maritime traffic was paralyzed,
cutting off flow of grain and taxes.
• Kaesŏng faced economic collapse.
Commander Yi Song-gye
• Ch’oe Yong (commander-in-chief) and Yi Song-gye (deputy
commander) rose to prominence because of their repeated success
against the Japanese raiders 倭寇
• They had great influence at the capital.
• The newly established Ming proclaimed its intention to claim the
whole Koryŏ northeastern territory and Ch’oe Yong set out to fight
against Ming.
• However, Yi Song-gye was pro-Ming and opposed the expedition
from the start.
Wihwa-do
retreat
General Yi was ordered to invade
Liaodong Peninsula and push
back the new Ming dynasty
In 1388 Yi arrived at Wihwa Island
(威化岛 = Weihua Island).
However, Yi Seong-gye turned his
army and marched back to
overthrow the Koryŏ king.
 2014: Movie „The Pirates“ (해적: 바다로 간
산적) starts with the Wihwa-do Retreat

 2015-2016: Drama „Six Flying Dragons“

(육룡이 나르샤); 50 Episodes
Founding of the
Joseon/
Chosŏn (Yi)
Dynasty
The land of the morning Calm
Yi Seong-gye (이성계;
李成桂)
Yi Song-gye named his dynasty Joseon, after the
most ancient Korean kingdom, and moved the
capital to Hanyang (Seoul)
King T’aejo remained close relationship with the
M’ing dynasty.

23
Joseon/ Chosŏn 조선
Establishment …

…compared to the Goryeo Dynasty: Goryeo emerged from three kingdoms, while Joseon was the
result of a peaceful internal renewal of the (weakened) Goryeo dynasty.

The military's influence increased - but support from scholars was necessary
Yi as a military was administratively dependent on the neo-Confucian officials; the political system
of the new dynasty therefore rested on 2 pillars [양반 yangban]: educational and military officials

Joseon was named after the first Korean state Go-Joseon (고조선), while Goryeo saw itself as the
successor to the old kingdom of Goguryeo
Joseon/ Chosŏn 조선
Establishment …

Yi Song-gye had taken political, military , and economic power through a land
reform: all existing registers of public and private land were set afire and
destroyed in 1390

The economic foundation of powerful families was destroyed.

The last king of Koryeo was forced to abdicate the throne.

Yi wanted to ensure that Seoul would mirror the prestige of his new kingdom
From this time, Seoul has been the political, economic and cultural center of
Korea
 SINO-
HANJA KOREAN KOREAN

風 바람 풍

水 물 수

1. Century after foundation (1391 – 1494)

• 1395: Yi moved the capital to Hanyang (Seoul). From
Joseon / Chosŏn this time, Seoul was constructed after Geomantic
principles (풍수지리, pung-su ji-ri) it is the best
조선 location, because of the mountains in the North, the
Early Joseon Han river in the South, centered in the middle of the
peninsula it also provided good soil for agriculture.
P‘ungsu : „Wind and Water“
Joseon/ Chosŏn 조선
Early JoseonCulture and Society

● Neo-Confucian principles based on early Chinese Classics

as idealized model
● Confucian family ideal promoted: Korean family according
to Confucian moral, order of patrilineal descent, ancestor
veneration, and fixed mourning obligations.
● In 18th century, Korea had become a thoroughly Confucian
society. Joseon Koreans felt they kept proper Confucian
civilization better than the degenerate Chinese.
● Choseon officials were selected through Chinese-style civil
service examinations conducted in written Chinese.

경복궁 (Gyeongbokgung); Gyeongbok-

Palace, built in 1395 (destroyed and rebuilt)
Joseon/ Chosŏn 조선
Early JoseonCulture and Society

Beneath the aristocratic elite, the majority was commoners, most of them poor peasants, and
beneath these, a relatively large group of hereditary slaves. (30%) They often farmed small plots.

Through the study of Chinese Classics, Korean Neo-Confucians came to adopt ancient China as
an idealized- Confucian ideals: universal truth rather than Chinese influences.

Choseon reforms were written into a series of legal codes

Decline of the status of women: women gradually lost their inheritance rights, after 1402
women were legally forbidden to ride horses.

“Traditional” Korean society: patrilineal families sharing surnames and ancestral seats,
claiming descent from a common male ancestor, main line of descent carried through the
first-born son of the primary wife

Koreans felt the were the “proper” Confucian civilization rather than the “degenerate” Chinese,
who had fallen under foreign Manchu rule.
 Joseon / Chosŏn 조선
Early Joseon Culture
and Society
Buddhism remained influential but were excluded from
official support and tax exemptions.
Expansion of the military, promotion of Confucianism
Attitude towards Buddhism “less desirable faith”
- Buddhism does not respect the social relationships
that hold society together; celibacy is a danger to the
continuation of the line; “universal love” cannot be
combined with Confucianism. … family > friends >
neighbors
Suppression of Buddhism, e.g. under King Taejong (1400-
1418) : 242 Buddhist monasteries, under King Sejong
(1418-1450) only 36
Joseon / Chosŏn 조선
Early Joseon Culture
and Society

• Literatury form Changga (long poem) of the

common people developed out of folk song
tradition

• Medicinal arts, Gundpowder, and ship building

became better and helped to repulsing the
Japanese.
• Cotton was introduced from Yuan China in
1363 and became the major material for clothing
(before hemp)

• Clothes through out the dynasties:

http://contents.history.go.kr/mobile/tz/view.do
?levelId=tz_b18
National Institute of Korean History (NIKH,
국사 편찬 위원회)
http://www.history.go.kr/en/main/main.do

Planned until 2034: Translation of

조선왕조실록 Joseon Wangjo Sillok to english
(Annals of Joseon-Dynastie; 1.890 books)
Joseon/ Chosŏn 조선
…in movies
• The King‘s Letters (Sejong, r. 1418-1450) • The Fatal Encounter (Jeongjo, r. 1776-1800)
• The Face Reader (Munjong, r. 1450-1452) • The Book of Fish (Jeongjo, r. 1776-1800 und Sunjo, r. 1800-1834)
• The King and the Clown (Yeonsangun, r. 1494-1506) • Kundo: Age of the Rampant (Cheoljong, r. 1849-1863)
• War of the Wizards (Jungjong, r. 1506-1544) • The Sword with No Name (Gojong, 1863-1907)
• Hwang Jin-i (Jungjong, r. 1506-1544) • Gabi (Gojong, r. 1863-1907)
• Blades of Blood (Seonjo, r. 1567-1608) • ………
• Masquerade (Gwanghaegun, 1608-1623)  500 years and 27 kings...
• War of the Arrows (Injo, r. 1623-1649)
• The Servant (Sukjong, r. 1674-1720)
• The Accidental Gangster (Gyeongjong, r. 1720-1724)
• The Throne / Sado (Yeongjo, r. 1724-1776)
• The Eternal Empire (Jeongjo, r. 1776-1800)
• Untold Scandal (Jeongjo, r. 1776-1800)
• Portrait of a Beauty (Jeongjo, r. 1776-1800)
/ East Sea
Eight (traditional) provinces

Division took place under King Taejong (1400-

1418) [Sejong's father], the 3rd king of the Joseon
Dynasty, in 1413 Province names are derived from
the first syllables of their two most important cities
(exception: Gyeonggi-do) -도 / -do: “province”

o 함경도 함흥 + 경성
o 평안도 평양 + 안주
o 황해도 황주 + 해주
o 강원도 강릉 + 원주
o 충청도 충주 + 청주
o 경상도 경주 + 상주
o 전라도 전주 + 나주 (라주)
Tiger: symbolizes strength
and courage
“Once upon a time the
tiger still smoked a pipe…”
Folk tales: powerful, but
also gullible (victims of
rabbits…)
Hare:
Fertility, longevity… wisdom
(rabbit as a “sly trickster” who
outwits the tiger)
Also in connection with the
moon (moon hare)
Tiger & Rabbit both often play
a role in folk tales
Chuseok / Ch'usŏk 추석
(traditionally celebrated on the
15th day of the 8th lunar month)

Moon Hare (달토끼, daltokki);

also called “jade hare” (Chinese
mythology); in Japan also “moon
rabbit” (tsuki no usagi)
Full moon: symbol of prosperity
and fertility
Folk tale with rabbit, fox and
monkey and the Great King in
heaven... (Symbolism: rabbit, full
moon, tree bark/cinnamon, rice
cake…)
King Sejong (born 1397—died 1450)
monarch of the Chosŏn (Yi) dynasty during
whose reign (1419–50) cultural
achievements in Korea reached their highest
point.
Sejong is best known for his development of
Hangul (Han’gŭl), the phonetic system for
writing the Korean language that is still in
use.

The creation of an easily learned alphabet

facilitated the achievement of literacy
among the Korean people.
Joseon/ Chosŏn 조선
King Sejong(1418-1450)– and the Korean Alphabet

Created in 1443 with the participation of King Sejong and presented to the
people in 1446 as Hun-min-jeong-eum (훈민정음).

훈민정음: “Right/correct/correct sounds to teach the people “was created as

a writing medium for the common people, as it was previously written in
Chinese (or Chinese-derived writing systems).
The alphabet was initially frowned upon by writers as “children’s or women’s
writing,” but from the 19th century onwards, scholars also started using it
1912: Term “Hangeul / Han’gŭl” first used by linguists.
Joseon / Chosŏn 조선
Hangeul-day

• 1942-1945: suppressed due

to colonial rule and no
longer taught in schools
• From 1946: “Revival” of
Hangeul Hangeul Day (한글
날 / 조선글날) South Korea:
October 9th (on this day
King Sejong is said to have
published the alphabet)
• North Korea: January 15th
1997: Hunminjeongeum is
declared a UNESCO World
Heritage site
“The sounds of our language differ from those of Chinese and are not
easily communicated by using Chinese graphs. Many among the
ignorant, therefore, though they wish to express sentiments in
writing, have been unable to communicate. Considering this situation
with compassion, I have newly devised twenty-eight letters. I wish
only that people will learn them easily and use them conveniently in
their daily life.”
(King Sejong, Preface to Correct Sounds to Instruct the People)

„[…] With these twenty-eight letters, infinite turns and changes can be
explained; they are simple and yet contain all the essence; they are
refined and yet easily communicable. Therefore, a clever man can
learn them in one morning, though a dull man may take ten days
to study them. If we use these letters to explain books, it will be
easier to comprehend their meanings. […] They can be used whatever
and wherever the occasion may be.”
(Jeong Inji/Chŏng Inji, Postscript to Correct Sounds to Instruct the People)
Joseon / Chosŏn 조선
King Sejong (1418-1450)
• Jib-hyeon-jeon / Chiphyŏnjŏn (“Hall of the Gathered
Honorable”), 집현전 (Eng. “Jade Hall”) Launched at the beginning
of Sejong's reign, it was actually an advisory activity
• Played a big role in putting together Hun-min-jeong-eum
• King Sejong was a promoter of science, technology and art
Development of the first rain gauge (1442, 측우기 cheuguki)
• “Royal Observatory” (1432-1438) was built with the aim of
creating a manual for calendar calculations
• Water clock (자격루, jagyeongnu)
• Sundial (앙부일구, angbuilgi) …
− Developed by Jang Yeong-sil in 1434 during the reign of
Sejong Preserved in Changgyeong Palace (창경궁). “self-
striking water clock”
Joseon/ Chosŏn 조선
King Sejong(1418-1450)

− Scriptures (selection):
− 농사 직설 (nongsa jikseol), 1429 – “Straight Talk on Farming” (An agricultural handbook) 태종실
록 (taejong sillok), 1431 – “Truthful Records of King Taejong” (compiled at the end of the reign) 팔
도지리지 (paldo jiriji), 1431 – “Geographical Description of the Eight Provinces” 1443: Under
Sejong's direction, the compilation Uibang yuchwi 의방유취 ("Classified Collection of Medical
Recipes") began, which was completed in 1445 with 365 volumes but was not published until
1477. 고려사 (goryeosa), 1450 - History of Goryeo
HOMEWORK

Read Eckert 1990: Chapters 8 & 9

RECAP
• Talk to your partner about what you
heard/learned today.
• What was the Mongol dynasty called?
• Which dynasty came after that one in
China?
• Why was Koryo dynasty referred to as
son-in-law state?
• Which king had the hunminjeongeum
invented? What is the modern name?
• What inventions do you remember?
• What does Korea “look” like?

49
Early modern East Asia….. 16t century onwards
 • Late Ming 16th century, Qing 17-20th
Century
• Officially authorized trade between Ming
and Japan was initated in 1401, but very
limited in scale.
Early • Foreign trade was viewed with suspicion,
much traffic was outside of law (smuggling
modern East and piracy-waegu)
Asia • Portuguese presence in Macao (European
Age of Exploration)
• The Dutch attempted trade (chinaware) –
outpost in Taiwan and Jafa (Indonesia)
 • Telescope (1618)
• European-style world map by the Italian Catholic
Influence missionary Matteo Ricci (1552-1610)
• Matteo Ricci, Jesuit, produced some of the best-
from Europe educated minds in the 17th century Europe (9
year education in mathematics, astronomy,
classical philosophy, art,humanities, theology)
• He was the first European Christian missionary allowed to
reside in Beijing, and to speak the Chinese language
proficiently.
• Ideas of China influenced European thinkers Leibniz and
Voltaire
A Map of the Myriad Countries of the World), believed to have been first created by Matteo Ricci and Li Zhizao
during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), is kept at the China National Archives of Publications and Culture in
Beijing.
 • The Manchu, Qing „Gunpowder Empire“ 1644-1912
Manchu • The Manchus developed out of older Jurchen tribes
that inhabitated the region (Manchuria)
Conquest of • In Chinese, the Manchus were referred to as the
Late Ming Banner People (qiren).
• The Manchus began constructing a native Manchu dynasty
(Qing which means pure or clear, and the Chinese title
„emperor“ Huangdi.
• Intermarriage with the Mongol nobility, Manchu writing
system was adapted from Mongol . The capture of the
Mongol Great Seal in 1635 allowed the Manchu emperors to
make the potent claim that they were the legitimate
successors to Chinggis Khan.
 • The Qing Dynasty was vast, but they kept
separate from Han Chinese- they were forbidden
to intermarry, and ethnic Chinese were
forbidden to move to Manchuria.
Qing Dynasty • 3 official languages: Manchu, Mongol, Chinese
but the Banner people made up only 1% of the
total population of their empire. Today Manchu
is nearly extinct as a distinct living language.
•
• The Manchu hairstylee (queue) was
strictly imposed an all male subjects
• Little formal diplomatic contact
between China and major Western
European countries, and trade was
limited to one port: Canton (British)
 The hermit kingdom:
Joseon Korea 1392-1910
Joseon/ Chosŏn 조선
Hideyoshi invasions - Imjin War
(1592-1598)
• Successor of Oda Nobunaga: Toyotomi
Hideyoshi (1536-1598) - reaped the fruits
of the unification process
brought an end to internal disorder and
unified the country. He then directed
forces to the Ming empire.
• Hideyoshi sent envoys to Joseon
(unhindered passage to China was
"requested")
Joseon/ Chosŏn 조선
Hideyoshi invasions - Imjin War (1592-1598)

• Japanese troops landed on an unguarded coast in 1592 (Blitzkrieg

and marched to the state capital
• Japanese were well trained during their Warring States period and
possessed firearms.
• Japan-Portugal trade contacts (firearms to Japan: musket) [1545;
oldest mention of Japan in Portuguese sources from 1515]
Joseon/ Chosŏn 조선
Hideyoshi invasions - Imjin War (1592-1598)

• Korea appealed for help to the Ming Empire

Ming sent troops, Japanese samurai were pushed back

• Peace negotiations btw. Japan & Ming (Japan demanded southern part of the
peninsula) Ming China refused to give in to the demands - Japan invaded again
in 1597
Joseon/ Chosŏn 조선

Hideyoshi invasions - Imjin War (1592-1598)

• National hero Admiral Yi Sun-sin 이순신 (1545-1598) -

Victories at sea on the south coast
• Guerrilla fighters fought at land

• Tactical, local knowledge and turtle ships (geobukseon /

kŏbuksŏn, 거북선)

• Fought over 23 battles against the Japanese, mostly with

fewer ships. The battle of Myeongnyang was most famous
victory

• Dies in battle in 1598

Joseon/ Chosŏn 조선
Hideyoshi invasions - Imjin War (1592-1598)
Losses on the Korean side:

• destroyed villages, destroyed crops, demoralised population (“burnt soil")

• Looting (religious sculptures, portraits, books...)

• Craftsmen brought to Japan as prisoners of war (ceramic crafts flourished in

Japan, while they were in decline in Korea) [estimates: between 50,000 and
200,000 deported].

• Ming China was also decisively weakened - threat from the north (Jurchen)
Arita ware

Satsuma ware
Joseon/ Chosŏn 조선
Relatioship with China

• Early Manchu demanded Joseon support, but Korea had a long-

standing tributary relationship with the Ming Dynasty, and gratitude
for repelling the Japanese.
• The Manchus invaded Korea in 1627 and 1637 and reduced Joseon
Korea to a tributary of the Manchu Qing Dynsasty, even before the
Manchus took Beijjing and assumed the Mandate of Heaven in
China in 1644. Koreans looked down on the Manchu rulers of the
Qing (barbarians) and continued to use the Ming calender (wear
Ming clothes and hairstyles)
• Koreans began to see their own land as the sole
remaining, isolated outpost of proper Confucian
civilization.
• „The Central Plains (China) exude the stenches of
barbarians and our Green Hills (Korea) are alone“ (King
Yeongjo 1724-1776)
Joseon/ Chosŏn 조선 • Saint Kim
Taegon
Foreign influence Andrea
• First
Koreanborn
• Introduction of Chili peppers, which
transformed Korean cuisine, European Catholic
telescope and clock brought from China priest
around 1631 • Patron
• 1748, one Korean returned from an saint of
embassy to Beijing as a baptized Catholic Korea.
Christian, as a result a number of Koreans
converted themselves to Catholicism
through Christian texts written in Chinese.
The Catholic Church had forbidden the performance of Confucian
ancestral rites
A Korean Christian burned who burned his family's ancestral tablets
was executed and started the persecutions of Christians in Korea
Many canonized Catholics saints (martyrs) from Korea
Joseon/ Chosŏn 조선
Foreign influence

• In 1866, a U.S. merchant schooner called General

Sherman sailed up the Taedong River toward P’yongyang
to force trade - The ship was mobbed and burned, all of
the crew was killed.
• A punitive expedition of seven French warships was
dispatched as reaction to the execution of 9 French
missionaries, and a detachment of French soldiers in
Kanghwa Island. Large Korean forces were mobilized
against the French and they withdrew.
• In 1871, five U.S. warships arrived in response to the
burning of the General Sherman, bombarding the city of
Kanghwa and destroyed Korean fortifications.
• Long after British naval had compelled Qing China to
open new ports for Western trade (1842), and the U.S.
Navy, under Commodore Perry, had opened Japan (in
1854), Joseon still had hopes of being able to keep
unwelcome foreigners out.
Status of women during the Joseon periode

− Women of the yangban class could receive education within

the family (Lady Hyegyeong)
− Men could refer to the "seven sins" 칠거지악 and divorce: 1)
disobedience to in-laws, 2) cannot bear a son, 3) adultery, 4)
jealousy, 5) hereditary disease, 6) loquacity and 7) theft

− Practically "nameless" until the end of the Joseon period -

addressed by the name of the husband or children (wife of XYZ,
mother of XYZ...)
Shin Saimdang
Shin Saimdang (1504-1551) - mother of Yi
I (Yulgok) - "Confucian ideal„
−Nickname "eojin eomeoni" 어 진 어 머 니 ("wise
mother")
−Received an education in literature and poetry;
also calligraphy, embroidery and painting; very
talented at writing
The 19 century
Encounter of Civilizations
 • In 1800, China (1/3 of world
population) was probably still the
richest country in the world.
• Globalization: modern transportation
East Asia and communication technologies
(steamship, railway, telegraph) By
1900, China’s share of world
production had fallen to only 6% and
China became marginalized and
impoverished, surrounded by
dynamically expanding new empires.
• Military superiority: Ironclad steam warships and
machine guns over non-industrialized peoples.
• Western style fashion: in 1870 the Samurai cut
their topknots, adopting western-style suit and hat
by 1900.
• By 1890 Japan had a modern Western-style
constitution and an elected legislature
 • Between 1876 and 1915 a quarter of
the world was colonized by
industrialized nations
Rapid • Burma was ceded to Britain, Nepal became
a British protectorate, France acquired
transformati Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, Japan
claimed Ryukyu islands, pulled Korea into
on Japanese orbit and acquired Taiwan as an
outright colony.
• China adopted a formal constitution
and held elections for provincial
assemblies.
Opium Wars
• Opium, a narcotic drug was a “product” which sold well in
China and helped to reduce the trade deficit of Britain. China
outlawed the practice in 1792. The British, refused to sign an
oath, on penalty of death, never to bring opium into China
again.
• In early 1849, a British fleet arrived to enforce British
interests. The British fleet managed to sail up the Yangzi
River and cut the Grand Canal, which transported tax grain.
• The Qing Dynasty was compelled to agree to terms, signing
the Treaty of Nanjing 1842, which opened 5 ports to British
trade (including Shanghai) and the island of Hong Kong.
• The treaty port system, opened formal diplomatic
treaties, that ended the first Opium War in 1842.
• During the second Opium war, the imperial Summer Palace was
burned, and the emperor fled to Manchuria, where he died and a 5-
year-old, (Tongzhi Emperor r. 1862-74) ascended the throne.
• Korea’s only foreign contacts were with Qing Dynsty and Tokugawa
Japan. Koreans called this “serving the great” (sadae), while still
retaining loyalty to the previous Chinese Ming Dynasty. There was no
border trade, except for annual official tributes. Korea was entirely
autonomous in both its domestic and foreign affairs.
• Answer to British trade proposal: “Korea can not be opened to trade
by China, for it was not part of China, “ and it also “could not open
itself to trade, for it was not independent”.
Joseon/ Chosŏn 조선
Growing influence of Japan
• The King’s regent Taewongun attempted to promote reforms, by
reducing corruption, inefficiency and yangban privileges.
• When in Japan the Tokugawa Shogunate, was dissolved, the Koreans
refused to acknowledge the position of the Japanese emperor.
• When the Japanese landed troops in Korea in 1876, Korea signed a
modern Western-style treaty (The Treaty of Kanghwa) with Japan
which formally declared Korea as an independent country.
 A movement to oppose the alien
ideas of the West, founded 1860
by Ch‘oe Che-u.
The Tonghak movement arose as
Tonghak a reaction to seohak (lit. '"Western
(Eastern learning"'), and called for a return
Learning) to the "Way of Heaven".
1860
The most massive rebellion in
recorded Korean history swept the
Korean peninsula in 1894, fueled
by heavy taxes and high interest
rates.
The Korean king asked China for military assistance. And
Japaned deployed a much larger force on ist own which
remained in the country and expelled the Chinese troops from
Korea.
A Japanese infantry regiment siezed the Korean palace and
war was declared between Japan and China.
The Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) was won by Japan.
• The resulting Treaty of Shimonoseki ended the war, and China was
forced to transfer Taiwan to Japan. Additionally, China formally
acknowledged the independence of Korea.
• Japan moved to construct railways on the peninsula and to provide
advisors for Korean domestic affairs.
• Pro-Japanese Korean officials reorganized the government,
introducing modernizing reforms (Kabo reforms).
Joseon/ Chosŏn 조선

Kabo reforms 갑오개혁

In response to the Donghak Uprising 1894

Reforms passed between 1894 and 1896:

• National sovereignty (formal termination of the tribute
relationship with China; symbolised, among other things, by
calendar reform  1896: Gregorian calendar
• Centralisation of government structures (efficiency and
transparency desired)
• Reorganisation of the social structure most significant,
as (1) differences between yangban and common
people were levelled and (2) slave status was abolished
• In addition: modern schools were introduced, civil
service examination abolished (= equal access for all
classes)
• Abolition of torture and clan detention; remarriage of
widows was now permitted, child marriages prohibited
 ŏn 조선
Joseon / Chos

Queen Min
• From 1873 to her assassination in
1895 she oversaw economic, military
and governmental modernization in
Korea.
• The queen began to align Korea with
the Russian Empire to offset
Japanese influence, and sent envois
to the US to discuss Japanese
growing influence.
• In October 1895, a Japanese-backed coup
assassinated the Korean Queen Min and restored pro-
Japanese officials to power.
• The assassination is highly contentious in Korea, where
it is remembered as a symbol of Japan's historical
atrocities on the peninsula
Joseon/ Chosŏn 조선

• 1897: King Kojong returned after a year

of isolation in Russia

• Gojong declared himself emperor and

Korea an "independent empire"
(대한제국, daehan jeguk)he issued the
first Korean constitution (the emperor
alone had all political rights)also:
strengthening of the military was
announced.
• Modern army units were organized, postage
stamps issued, streetcars and electric lights
introduced.

• In 1902 the newly renamed Korean Empire

acquired a Western-style national anthem
and education began exerting a profound
effect on the people
• The Independence Club was the first to be
published entirely in the Korean alphabet
(Han’gul), without any Chinese characters.
• Meanwhile, Russia’s primary interests lay in
Manchuria, while Japan’s lay in Korea. Neither
power was willing to renounce its wider
ambitions to reach an accommodation. War
was declared in 1904.
• Russia ceded its concessions in southern
Manchuria to Japan and renounced Russian
interest in Korea.
• Japanese domination was now irreversible.
To be continued…
Yu Gwan-sun
Yu became known as "Korea's Joan of Arc".