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19세기 동서양의 충돌과 한중 종주권 문제
East-West Conflict in the 19th Century and the Suzerainty Issue between Korea and China “Suzerainty” issue to the fore "The Outline of Chinese and Foreign History," the Chinese high school history textbook designated by the government since 2019, states China’s relations with Joseon and other peripheral countries after the time of the Ming and Qing dynasties as the following:
Lee Dong-wook, research fellow at NAHF Research Institute for Korea-China Relations
국제법상 제국주의 국가의 영토 확장에 대한 이해와 화자(話者)의 전환
Understanding on Territorial Expansion of Imperialist States under International Law and Change of Speaker Japan–Korea Treaty in relation to the interests of imperialist states The second Japan–Korea Treaty (also known as the Eulsa Treaty) in relation to the deprivation of diplomatic sovereignty of Korea led to Korea losing power of representation. Consequently, despite the fact that the Korean Empire was a sovereign state, Japan exercised the power to open or close the existing treaties of Korea. Other Western powers also made similar treaties in similar periods with Joseon. However, instead of fulfilling the treaties until the end, they approved, yielded, and compromised with mutual interests, allowing Japan to take control of Korea. The formats of the treaties were documents created upon agreement, but the actual content dealt with physical conquest. It was not unusual for an imperialist country to cooperate with interested parties to secure its own interests when establishing new colonies elsewhere. The Western powers, China, and Japan pressured Joseon through a series of treaties. Joseon (or the Korean Empire) was restricted from exercising sovereignty over its internal affairs, diplomacy, and customs until it lost its authority after being forced to enter into the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty in 1910. The terms “semi-sovereignty and vassal state” were used to explain the situation of Joseon keeping hold of its sovereignty but having limitations on exercising sovereign rights.
Lee Seok-woo, professor at Inha Law School, Inha University
지도 위의 세계사
World History on the Map What motivated me to write this book I studied historical geography to become a geographer. Among the various branches of historical geography, I studied urban historical geography on Seoul during the Japanese Occupation for my graduate course. Since I joined the Northeast Asian History Foundation, I have been in charge of duties in relation to marking the East Sea and Dokdo on old maps of the East and West. As I familiarized myself with countless old maps, I found myself developing into an old map researcher. Along the way, I began to think more deeply about the historical context of old maps, going beyond the mere task of making markings. During my career as a college lecturer for cartography, I questioned myself, ‘How have old maps developed over time?’, ‘What is the historical context of the production of maps?’, and ‘How were maps used?’, but I did not have the time to put them in writing.
Kim Jong-geun, researcher at NAHF Dokdo Research Institute
시안(西安) 1945, 광복군 국내 진공이 무르익다
The Korean Liberation Army Advances to Korea in Xi’an (1945) Xi’an and Korean history Xi’an is closely related to Korean history. The city, previously known as Chang’an, was the old capital of of the Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang dynasties. It was the starting point of the Silk Road that availed exchanges between the East and West, blooming open and convergent cultures. The Tang dynasty ruled the most flourishing cultural period in the Chinese history. Ancient Xi’an was where countless scholars, monks, and merchants of the Korean peninsula came and went. It preserves the traces of our ancestors from the Three Kingdoms period, including Gao Xianzhi, Hyecho, Choe Chiwon, and Woncheuk. In a nearby valley in the Zhongnan Mountains lies the Xingjiao Temple which is closely related to Silla. The Xingjiao Temple enshrines the stupa of Woncheuk, one of the star pupils of Xuanzang. Xi’an was also where China’s First United Front against the invasion of Japanese imperialism in the 20th century took place. The Xi'an Incident occurred in 1936 when Zhang Xueliang confined Chiang Kai-shek (also known as Jiang Jieshi) to request that internal conflicts between the Nationalist Party and Communist Party of China be resolved and that troops be gathered to fight against Japan. This incident that completely changed the fate of China greatly affected the development of capabilities for anti-Japanese struggles in the Korean independence movement base in China.
Kim Gwang-jae, researcher at the National Institute of Korean History
일본 근대 개항장, 니가타(新潟)를 가다
In Niigata, a Port City that Opened Japan to the World The natural geographical location of Niigata and the history of port opening in the 19th century The city of Niigata that opened Japan to the world in the 19th century is located north-northwest of Tokyo. It takes about two hours by the Joetsu Shinkansen. The Tokugawa shogunate designated Niigata as the shipping base of western Japan in 1843, incorporating the city into the shogunate territory. The shogunate established the Sado Magistrate's Office (Sado Bugyosho), a governmental post in Niigata, and installed defense facilities in the coast to watch foreign ships. Niigata Port opened in 1858 along with the ports of Hakodate, Yokohama, Kobe, and Nagasaki, through the the Treaty of Amity and Commerce made by the shogunate, the U.S., and Britain. Niigata Port was scheduled for opening on January 1, 1860, but the actual opening was in 1869. Western countries designated Ebisu Port on Sado Island near Niigata as a secondary port in 1867 and decided to settle foreigners in Niigata Port. Niigata Port, which is the only one of the five open ports located at the mouth of the Shinano River on the coast of western Japan, was in an unfavorable location where large ships could not enter due the steep river slope and low water depth. The Port then underwent developments by expanding port facilities capable of accommodating large ships to take on the appearance of an open port.
Kim Hyeon-cheol, research fellow at NAHF Korea-Japan Historical Issues Research Institute
레퀴엠- 한민족 유민사, 신 니콜라이
Nikolai Shin's Requiem: Korean History of Migration Nikolai Shin as the Picasso of Asia Nikolai Shin, a Goryeoin painter of Uzbekistan, is nicknamed the “Picasso of Asia.” Even those who do not have the slightest interest in arts must have heard about Pablo Picasso. The fact that this Goryeoin painter who is less well known among Koreans is compared to Picasso, who has world-class reputation, can be quite surprising. Could this be another example of the hyperbole that is often used to promote exhibitions and sales? Of course, Shin’s reputation does not match that of Picasso, whose use of Cubism has created a huge wave in the history of arts. Cubism was a dramatic and revolutionary attempt back in the time that involved dismantling, analyzing, and reassembling objects. What about the works of Shin? Could they rival Picasso's innovative and dramatic works? Does he really deserve to be called the Picasso of Asia? To answer these questions, we should first go over the history of Goryeoin diaspora, of which the artist is a part, and the situation of the artistic world of the Soviet Union since the 1950s.
Lee Hoon-seok, exhibition planner, Ph.D. in Russian Art History
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