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Kim Ok-gyun was appointed as Development Commissioner for the Southern Islands before the Gapsin Coup. It is not well known what specific activities he has done to develop resources in Ulleungdo, due to the lack of historical sources related to this. To supplement this, I would like to introduce a source left by Kai Gunji, who assisted Kim Ok-gyun.

The tombstones of Kim Ok-gyun and Kai Gunji in Shinjoji Temple(眞淨寺)

The Gapsin Coup ended in three days after it broke out on December 4, 1884. Kim Ok-kyun, who led the Gapsin Coup, defected to Japan; his exile lasted for 10 years. In March 1894, he moved to Shanghai and tried to meet Li Hongzhang. However, Kim Ok-gyun was shot by Hong Jong-woo and died on the spot. His body was taken over to the Joseon government and moved to Yanghwajin. And his limbs and neck were severed. And then there was a man who took some of his bodies back to Japan - the man Kai Gunji.

Kai Gunji is a Japanese from Nagasaki Prefecture who started to associate with Kim Ok-gyun in the early 1880s. He is known to have built a career in photography in Joseon. Kai Gunji enshrined Kim Ok-gyun's hair in Shinjoji Temple and made a monument with the name 'the tomb of Kim Ok-gyun of Joseon Dynasty'. Kai Gunji died in August 1908. According to his will, he was buried near Kim Ok-gyun's tomb. This shows that Kai Gunji thought Kim Ok-gyun as a special person.

Kim Ok-kyun, appointed as Development Commissioner for the Southern Islands and Development of Ulleungdo

The relationship between Kim Ok-gyun and Kai Gunji began when Kim Ok-kyun visited Japan in the early 1880s. At that time, Japan was growing stronger after the Meiji Restoration. He thought that Joseon should pursue plan of civilization like Japan. It took financial resources to achieve the wealthier nation. Kim Ok-gyun was appointed as the development commissioner for the southern islands on April 22, 1883. The southern islands refer to various islands in the coastal area including Ulleungdo and Dokdo in the East Sea. 「Joseonyeojido(朝鮮輿地圖)」(1894) is the same map that Kim Ok-kyun carried when he visited Japan. It shows the images of the whole Joseon including the coastal and island, and the information about the distance from Hanseong to each area. The appointment of the development commissioner for the southern islands expressed the government's willingness to actively develop and manage the islands in the East Sea. Since the opening of the port, there have been many Japanese who go to Ulleungdo without permission, cut wood, and collect seafood. The Joseon government could not neglect their illegal navigation and exploitation of resources. Shim Soon-taek sent an official letter to Japanese Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru, saying, The Japanese are catching fish and logging trees in Ulleungdo without permission; evict them." The Japanese government replied, "We will strictly prohibit our citizens from sailing to Ulleungdo without permission and logging there in the future." The Joseon government tried to strengthen the management of the island area by establishing a new office. The interest of Joseon in fishing is well expressed in the management of the Whaling which was active at the time.

The members of the Development Commissioner were Baek Chun-bae, Tak Jung-sik and Kai Gunji. At the end of 1883, Kim hired Kai Gunji to develop Ulleungdo to handle the management of Japanese ships and the employment of workers. Originally, the aide to the Development Commissioner was Tak Jung-sik. However, he suffered from acute pneumonia and died on February 9, 1884, in Kobe. So Baek Chun-bae took on the job of Tak Jung-sik. In order to smoothly promote the work related to Ulleungdo timber, Baek Chun-bae entrusted Kai Gunji with the work of negotiating with the Japanese provincial government office. Kai Gunji charged the Joseon government for his activities. There are letter of appointment and letter of attorney received from Kim Ok-gyun and Baek Chun-bae in the documents submitted by Kai Gunji.

The 『甲斐軍治索債案件』 is a collection of this document and is housed in the Kyujangak Institute for Korean Studies. The research on the activities of the Development Commission for the Southern Islands has been focused mainly on Kim Ok-gyun. However, Gapsin Coup failed and Kim Ok-gyun and other officials flocked to Japan. The source related to this was destroyed by the Joseon government or disappeared in the midst of confusion with the Gapsin Coup. Likewise, the source associated with the Development Commissioner for the Southern Islands has disappeared. Therefore, the previous studies were limited to the diplomatic documents officially published in Korea and Japan, which discussed Kim Ok-gyun. The 『甲斐軍治索債案件』 contains a number of documents that can specifically understand the development of Ulleungdo resources promoted by the Development Commissioner for the Southern Islands. This is a historical source to note in that regard.

The Contents of the Documents in the 『甲斐軍治索債案件』

Kai Gunji was commissioned by Kim Ok-kyun and Baek Chun-bae. He worked by hiring Japanese workers, renting ships, and making six round trips from Japan to Ulleungdo, and the details are included in the 『甲斐軍治索債案件』. Kai Gunji recorded the labor costs, fares, accommodation costs, and their reimbursement related to logging and transportation of Ulleungdo timber. He carefully recorded the details to claim the cost of performing his duties to the Joseon government. And he also received a confirmation letter from Baek Chun-bae that the related documents are no different from the facts. The name of the ship that has traveled to Ulleungdo six times, the quantity of wood taken out to Japan, freight rates by ship, and the cost of consumable goods are detailed in the 「Calculation Table of Ulleungdo Office Work」, 「Transport of Wood」 and 「Supplies」. In addition, Kai Gunji has also written down the details of negotiations with the Joseon government several times to settle the debt while performing tasks related to Ulleungdo. The 『甲斐軍治索債案件』 shows the activities of a Japanese worker employed by the Development Commissioner to go to Ulleungdo to work on logging, and to sell the timber to Japan to raise funds. Due to the failure of the Gapsin Coup, the development project of Ulleungdo, which Kim Ok-gyun envisioned and promoted, was stopped. It is regrettable that it could not be used as a source to promote plan of civilization.