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 3. International Relations and Cultural
Exchanges
| (1) Pro-Ming and Good Neighbor Policies |
Choson enforced pro-Ming and good neighbor policies when forming the nation
in an effort to maintain peace with surrounding countries. At the same time,
Choson propelled a northward expansion policy to extend the national
territory.
Choson's pro-Ming policy was established in order to stabilize the
state and its royal power, and to pursue economic and cultural interests while
maintaining peace with Ming. In compliance with this policy, Choson regularly
dispatched envoys to Ming.
Through these envoys, cultural exchanges and
economic trade increasingly developed.
With regard to the N zhens, both
appeasement and hard-line policies were promoted to temper justice with mercy. N
zhens who surrendered to the government were provided friendly treatment such as
granting them opportunities for office and land. Along the borders, trading
posts were established to permit N zhens to engage in trade to obtain the
necessities of life.
But at certain times, large expedition forces were
dispatched to subjugate the N zhens. During the reign of King Sejong, Ch'oe
Yun-dok and Kim Chong-so drove the N zhens out and built four counties and six
ports to obtain the land south of the Yalu and Tumen Rivers. |
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A screen painting depicting a
fleet of turtle
ships. | |
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By the end of Koryo, invasions by Japanese pirates had caused much damage,
but the Choson government strengthened its navy to confront them. Under the
reign of King Sejong, Yi Chong-mu led a fleet of 200 ships to Tsushima, a base
for Japanese pirates and conquered them.
Afterwards, Japan requested trade
with Choson. Through the good neighbor policy, Choson granted their request and
opened the ports of Che-p'o, Yom-p'o and Pusan-p'o. Thus, Japan stationed
Waegwans (Japanese Houses) at the three ports and trade activities began inside
a confined area. |
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| (2) Japanese Invasion and Conquest of Aggressions |
Entering the 16th century, a split within the ruling classes, the
impoverishment of many farmers and a weakening of national defense occurred, and
the Choson Dynasty gradually began to experience difficulties. Availing
themselves of this opportunity, the Japanese residing in the three ports waged
war and Japanese invasions and pillages often took place on the southern
coasts.
In Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, after stabilizing the state during this
era of warring nations, made preparations for a large scale invasion of Choson.
However, Choson remained unaware of the Japanese situation and was unprepared to
meet the Japanese aggression.
In 1592, approximately 200,000 Japanese
soldiers invaded Choson and the Waeran (Japanese War) began. At first, the
government armies of Choson sufferred repeated defeats, and the Japanese armies
marched north up to P'yong'an and the Hamgyong provinces.
On the sea, however
the Choson navy under the command of Admiral Yi Sun-sin reaped successive
victories. Throughout the country, loyal volunteer armies formed and fought
against the Japanese together with the government armies of Choson.
Thus, the
Japanese army was driven back southward. For three years afterwards,
negotiations for a ceasefire continued.
After the breakdown of truce talks,
Japan again invaded Choson in 1597. This time, the government, volunteer and
Ming armies checked Japan's advance northward. Following the reappointment of Yi
Sun-sin in the Choson navy, the Japanese Navy was annihilated. Yi Sun-sin
defeated the Japanese fleet during its flee at Noryang. He died in that battle.
With this, the long seven-year Japanese War ended in 1598.
The reason behind
Choson's success was that the whole nation formed an alliance and entered into
war with all its might. Among the great victories of the Japanese war, Yi
Sun-sin's triumph at Hansan Island, Kwon Yul's triumph in Haengju, and Kim
Si-min's battle in the city of Chinju are remembered best and have come to be
known as the Three Great Victories. Among the Generals of the volunteer armies,
Generals Kwak Chae-u, Ko Kyong-myong, Cho Hon, Kim Ch'on-il, and Chong Mun-bu
are known to have played important roles. |
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| (3) Other Invasions and the Movement to Conquer the North |
| After the Japanese War, the situation on the continent changed. Ming's power
weakened and the power of the N zhens increased. The N zhens, who lived
scattered throughout Manchuria, broke away from Ming domination and founded the
nation of Hugum (Later Jin). |
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Namhansan-song : Located in Kwangju, Kyonggi
province.
Historic site No. 57. | |
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Thirty years after the end of the Japanese war, Choson was invaded by Later
Jin in 1627. But peace was soon restored and the Later Jin army was driven out
of Choson.
Soon after, Later Jin became even more powerful. They changed the
name of its country to Qing and demanded that Choson submit to becoming its
subject. When Choson rejected the demand Qing again invaded Choson in
1636.
Choson, upon being invaded by Qing, resisted in the Namhansansong
Fortress for 45 days, but finally accepted Qing's demand and obtained peace. The
two repeated invasions by the N zhen are called the Horan (War of the
Barbarians). Under the reign of King Hyojong, Song Si-yol and Yi Wan led a
movement to send an expedition north and made preparations for war. However,
Qing had destroyed Ming and had become a great empire which dominated all of
China, thus the northward expedition movement failed before it began. |
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| (4) Propagation of Choson Culture to Japan |
Due to the seven-year-long Japanese War, Choson suffered tremendous losses.
Many people were killed or wounded, and homes and property were destroyed. The
farmlands were abandoned and the people wandered. Through arson and plunder,
many cultural assets were lost.
At the same time, approximately 100,000
Choson citizens were taken to Japan. The majority of them became slaves, and
some scholars and technicians were forced to provide scholarly works and
technology to the Japanese.
Kang Hang taught Songrihak or Neo-confucianism in
Japan and Hujihara Seika, one of his students became a pioneering scholar in
Japanese Songrihak or Neo-confucianism. The development of the Japanese printing
culture and printing technology was also influenced by the Choson
culture.
During the Koryo Dynasty, Japan desired the Taejanggyong and
valuable books and carried them out of Choson. During the Hideyoshi invasions,
they stole many books and kidnapped type technicians. The Japanese printing
culture developed as a result of these activities.
The technology of
developing ceramics in Japan also developed as a result of Choson artisans being
kidnapped during the Japanese War. These workers were scattered throughout Japan
and were forced to make ceramic wares on the demand of lords. Thereafter,
manufacturing of ceramic ware made great advancement in Japan.
In addition,
Choson paintings, Buddhist statues and bells from Choson influenced the
development of Japanese culture. |
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