“Korean History Talk” Gathered Korean History Enthusiasts
The aspects of Korea explored by many can be traced back to Hallyu. K-pop, and K-drama are a couple of topics popular among K-fans. However, another riveting part of Korean culture is waiting to be delved into. It’s Korea’s legacy of the future called history.
Han.guk.sa, a micro-blog covering Korea’s history, held a webinar on Japan’s annexation of Korea. Moderated by Afriadi, M.Hum, a Korean teacher at Locca Language, the session uncovered how Korea fell into Japan’s dominance. Rostineu, M.A, a lecturer at the Korean Language and Culture Undergraduate Program at the University of Indonesia and speaker for the session, opened the webinar by explaining how Japan discovered Korea. The story goes back to the 17th century when a VOC (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, a Dutch Trading Company) ship named Sperwer disappeared without any trace during her voyage to Nagasaki, Japan.
Hendrick Hamel, a bookkeeper for VOC who had boarded the ship, had also been considered to have perished by the VOC governors due to the incident. Thirteen years after the event, a chief of a VOC factory in Nagasaki was notified about eight Dutchmen floating in a scow around the Goto archipelago. They were then picked up by the Japanese authorities and brought to Nagasaki. Upon investigation, the Dutchmen, including Hendrick Hamel, were part of a crew of the Sperwer—a ship that had shipwrecked off the coast of a Korean island.
The Dutchmen could not leave Korea because the Korean government planned to keep its existence a secret. They had escaped and entered Japan’s territory. During his detainment, Hendrick Hamel wrote records about Korea. The records then became the first reference about Korea to the world, a book titled “Hamel’s Journal And A Description Of The Kingdom Of Korea 1653-1666”. Japan then acquired knowledge about Korea. It significantly impacted how Japan approached Korea during her colonized days.
“Japan positioned itself as the ‘brother of Korea.’ Not a complete foreigner that the Koreans had been afraid of,” Rostineu pointed out. Japan’s persistent move resulted in the Treaty of Ganghwa Island (1876). The unequal treaty enabled the Japanese to enjoy extraterritoriality in Korea. Moreover, three ports were opened to trade with Japan.
The treaty not only elaborated on the Korea-Japan relations but it also drew a line between Korea and China relations. Japan abandoned Korea’s long-lived traditional tributary relationship with China by stating Korea as “an independent state enjoying the same sovereign rights as Japan.”
Decades later, however, the statement didn’t ring true as Japan fully annexed Korea through the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910. The webinar continued with details on how Korea fell into the Japanese order. “While Japan’s adamant stance on ruling Korea played a significant role, Korea’s conservative rule also hindered Korea from making a prosperous deal with foreign countries, including its neighbors,” Rostineu concluded.
A Q&A session followed after the presentation ended. Students, lecturers, and Korean history enthusiasts are satisfied with their curiosity about Korea-Japan relations. An hour-long webinar concluded with a note that there are more exciting topics to cover in the next talk.
*This article was originally published in Honorary Reporters Korea.net old Website.
