Australia and the World Past and Present

The people of the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese islands have had a long history of contact.

During the Three Kingdoms period, the Peninsula states of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla maintained contact with Kyushu.

Buddhism came to Japan via the Korean Peninsula in the mid-6th century. About 552, the kingdom of Baekje sent a gilt bronze Buddha statue, Buddhist scriptures and Buddhist priests to the Yamato court.

Baekje and Gaya would send their princes to the court in order to forge stronger connections and to secure military support.

In 660 the kingdom of Baekje fell after it was attacked by the rival kingdom of Silla and its ally, Tang China.

Baekje and the Yamato court were particularly close. Intermarriage was common among the nobility. Tens of thousands of troops were sent from Japan in response to Silla’s attack, but it was to no avail – the kingdom would fall. In the aftermath, some of the vanquished migrated from the Peninsula to the Japanese islands.

Tang China was becoming more and more powerful in the 7th and 8th centuries. At this time, Japan sought to deal with China directly rather than via Korea.

The Kamakura period saw 2 attempted Mongol invasions of the Japanese islands.

The Mongol presence brought a lot of devastation to the Korean Peninsula.

This allowed wakou pirate activity to flourish. Pirates took advantage of the lull in strong governance on the mainland.

Tsushima became a particularly important location at this time. The island sits between Japan and Korea, some 140 kilometers from Kyushu and 50 kilometers from Korea.

In the 15th century, the lords of Tsushima used 3 trading ports in Korea, called wakan (倭館 / 和館) in Japanese.

Just as the Japanese didn’t want the Dutch in Kyoto, the Koreans didn’t want Japanese in Seoul (then called Hanyang). It was too close to the court and the center of power for their liking.

Previously, foreign ships had been relatively free to enter Korean ports. But in the early 1400s, the wakou pirates had become a real problem. More restrictions were put in place and only 3 ports would be available for trade. These were called miura (三浦) or the “three ports”.

Hideyoshi Toyotomi had his troops invade the Korean peninsula in 1592. The reasons given for his campaign vary. With the unification of Japan under way, there was a surplus of samurai itching for activity. Perhaps this foreign adventure would keep them busy rather than them stirring up trouble at home. Toyotomi also believed that China had not paid him enough respect, and he wished to teach them a lesson.

In light of the Japanese invasion, the Japanese trading enclaves could no longer function.

Later on, another trading post (Chorang waegan) would be established. It functioned from 1678 until 1876 . This center of trade and diplomacy was in present-day Busan. Choryang waegwan was the only legal place for Japan–Korea contact for nearly 200 years. It is worth noting that it was many times the size of the Dutch trading port at Dejima. Japan would bristle at European encroachment into Japan, but it pursued essentially the same policy as the Europeans on the Korean Peninsula.

The Japan-Korea Treaty was inked in 1876. It was essentially an Asian version of a unequal treaty.

Japan was exporting gold, silver and copper while it was importing cotton, ginsing and silk.

For a time, Tsushima dominated the silk trade.

However, over time, people on the Japanese mainland began producing silk and cultivating ginsing themselves. Now they were not dependent upon Korea for these products nor on the Tsushima middlemen.

The Imjin War had an impact. The conflict ran from 1592 to 1598.

Hideyoshi wanted to conquer Ming China, but he had to deal with Korea first.

Japan quickly took control of the Peninsula – in just 3 months.

China hit back and the Korean navy also took a toll on Hideyoshi’s forces. Hideyoshi died in 1598 and the succeeding Council didn’t have the stomach for more conflict. They chose to withdraw.

It was during and after the Imjin War that Korean potters first came to Japan. Around 1600-1610, Korean pottery was introduced to Saga Domain, in northern Kyushu. The domain jealously protected the production methods of pottery within the domain. Porcelain made in karakusa style was sent all over Japan.

The failure of the Imjin War essentially ushered in the sakoku or “closed country” period of Japanese history. Japan had had enough of foreign adventures for the time being.

Japanese piracy declined.

In 1606 at the age of 26, Hidetada officially became the second shogun. Two years later there was a Korean delegation to Japan, marking his ascent. This was the first official Joseon mission to Tokugawa Japan. There were 12 major delegations to Tokugawa Japan – usually to mark the ascension of a new shogun. These tsuushinshi (通信使) embassies typically consisted of around 500 individuals¹ There were no diplomatic missions going in the other direction – from Japan to Korea.

The history of Japan and Korea is one of engagement and disentanglement, invasion and repulsion.

By 1873, the humiliation of the Imin War must of seemed like a distant memory. Because Japan’s Meiji leaders began seriously discussing another invasion of Korea. This is known as the “Argument for the Conquest of Korea”, or seikanron (征韓論). Japan had been unified. Fighting had died down. Samurai were out of work. The new resources available in Korea were tempting. Meiji Japan was modernising and industrialising fast. There was much debate, but in the end it was decided that Japan would not proceed.

1895 saw the First Sino-Japanese War. Japan won and conflict concluded with the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Korea was taken further away from China’s orbit and placed more firmly into Japan’s.

Queen Min was assassinated in 1895 by Japanese, with the help from some Korean collaborators. The young Queen had been popular and her murder outraged the Korean public.

Japan followed up her victory over China with a victory over Russia. It was the first time that an Asian power had ever defeated one from Europe. Japan sought to become a great power – on par with those in Europe. It saw itself as an agent of civilisation. In the eyes of Japanese leaders, there were no people in Asia more cultured and sophisticated. Japan craved recognition from other powers. Japan saw East Asia as it’s own backyard.

The Japan-Korea Treaty of 1905 formally established Korea as a Japanese colony. Still, the preference for Japan was for indirect rule. This would mean that the Japanese would need a lot less boots on the ground. This was very much in line with colonialism in other parts of the world. For example, the British maintained massive colonies in Africa and India with relatively few officials.

However, indirect control in Korea didn’t work. There was too much opposition to the Japanese within Korea. So, Japan strengthened control through the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1907. Itō Hirobumi was Japanese Resident-General at the time. He resigned the post in 1909 and was assassinated just a few months later.

Even stronger control came via the 1910 Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty.

World War II was a particularly difficult time for Koreans.

Many Koreans joined the Japanese Imperial Army. At times this was by choice. In the latter part of the war, conscription was more common.

Korean “comfort women” were sent throughout East Asia to service Japanese troops.

Today, Japan-Korean relations are very different.

Both Japan and South Korea have become economic powerhouses.

When I was living in Japan in the 2000s, Japan was having a love affair with Korean popular culture which included television soap operas, bands and manga.

History still has an impact. Former Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, made annual visits to the Yasukuni Shrine. .

The comfort women issue didn’t totally disappear.

History still has an impact in the Korean psyche. The big events that are remembered are the assassination of Queen Min, the Japanese occupation (1910- 1945), the conscription and mobilsation of Koreans during World War II and the use of Korean comfort women. To a lesser extent, Hideyoshi’s invasion also adds to a sense of injustice and persecution.

1. The Making of Modern Japan, Marius B. Jansen, Harvard University Press, 2002, p. 69 ↩︎