1875 battle between Japan and Korea
This article is about the Japanese military expedition of 1875. For the American expedition of 1871, see
Battle of Ganghwa
.
Foreign interventions in Korea (1800s)
|
---|
|
The
Ganghwa Island incident
or the Japanese
Battle of Ganghwa
(
Korean
:
운요호 事件 [雲揚號事件]
Unyo-ho sageon
meaning "
Un'y?
incident";
Japanese
:
江華島
事件
K?ka-t? jiken
) was an armed clash between the
Joseon dynasty of Korea
and Japan which occurred in the vicinity of
Ganghwa Island
on September 20, 1875.
Background
[
edit
]
In the second half of the 19th century, the Korean Peninsula was the scene of a power struggle between several imperial powers, including the
Russians
and the
French
, as well as the Chinese and the Japanese.
The
Meiji Restoration
of 1868 ended the 265-year-old feudalistic
Tokugawa shogunate
in
Japan
. The new government of
Japan
sent a messenger holding a letter with the sovereign's message which informed of the founding of a new administration of
Japan
to the government of Korea
Joseon
dynasty on December 19, 1868.
However, the Koreans refused to receive the letter because it contained the
Chinese characters
皇
("royal, imperial") and
勅
("imperial decree").
According to the political system of the day, only the
Chinese emperor
was allowed to use those characters, as they signified the imperial authority of
China
.
Hence, their use by a Japanese sovereign was considered unacceptable to the Koreans by implying that he was an equal of the emperor of
China
.
The Chinese suggested to the Koreans to receive the sovereign letter from
Japan
because
China
knew the power of
Japan
at that moment.
[3]
Despite government-level negotiations held in 1875 at
Pusan
, no substantial progress was made. Instead, tension grew as the Koreans continued to refuse to recognize Japan's claims of equality with China.
Engagement at Ganghwa Island
[
edit
]
Ganghwa Island
had been a site of violent confrontations between Korean forces and foreign forces over the previous decade. In 1866, the island was briefly occupied during the
French expedition against Korea
, and in 1871 the site of an
American expedition
.
On the morning of September 20, 1875, the
Un'y?
under the command of
Inoue Yoshika
was dispatched to survey Korean coastal waters. While surveying the Western coast of Korea, the Japanese put ashore a party on Ganghwa Island to request water and provisions.
When the shore batteries of the Korean forts fired on the
Un'y?
, the Japanese response was swift and severe.
After bombarding the Korean fortifications, the Japanese landed a shore party that torched several houses on the island and engaged Korean troops. Armed with modern rifles, they made quick work of the Koreans who carried matchlock muskets; consequently, thirty-five Korean soldiers were killed.
News of the incident did not reach Tokyo until September 28, but the following day the
Daj?kan
decided to dispatch gun boats to Pusan to protect Japanese residents there. It also began deliberating whether or not to send a mission to Korea to settle the incident.
Aftermath
[
edit
]
The number of casualties of the incident was recorded at 35 in the Joseon Dynasty with two Japanese soldiers wounded. In addition, 16 Korean naval personnel were captured by Japan. Many weapons were also looted. After the incident, the
Imperial Japanese Navy
blockaded the immediate area and requested an official apology from the Joseon government, which was concluded with the dispatch of the
Kuroda
mission and the signing of the
Treaty of Ganghwa
on February 27, 1876, which opened the Korean Peninsula to Japanese and foreign trade.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
OH, Bonnie.
Sino-Japanese Rivalry in Korea
. p. 43
Sources
[
edit
]