NORTHEAST ASIAN HISTORY FOUNDATION 05/2023
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Park Jang-bae, a research fellow at NAHF Korea-China Relations History Research Institute
Exploration of Pungdo canceled by a dense fog
The NAHF Korea-China Relations History Research Institute departed on the morning of April 6th to explore the historical site of the Battle of Pungdo in 1894 during the First Sino-Japanese War. After the wait until 1 PM, we had to retrieve from our trip as departures to Pungdo were canceled due to the dense fog. The morning mists were also hovering over the southwest sea of the island at the time of the Battle of Pungdo on July 25, 1894.
The intention of our trip to Pungdo was to take a look at the historical site. Pungdo, located off Asan Bay is within the administrative district of Pungdo-dong, Danwon-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do with a gross area of 1.51 m2 and about 100 residents. The island has gained a reputation as a paradise of wildflowers since 2012 and is visited by many tourists. Above all things, Pungdo is a witness to major historical events for being located on the sea lane.
Solo travel to Pungdo
On a Saturday morning when the trip to Pungdo fell through, I set foot towards Pungdo after seeing photos posted by people who like wildflowers as I felt like I would never get to see the island if I didn’t go. The people of Pungdo were relatively friendly to visitors when I arrived just an hour and 15 minutes from the dock on the Bangameori Beach of Daebudo. Near the dock was a banner “Protect the wildflowers of Pungdo” with photos of representative wildflowers including Pungdo windflowers and Pungdo spurge. The huge “map of Pungdo” marked Bukbae and “the place where the army of the Qing dynasty rests.” It was fortunate that the owner of the guest house I stayed at, Han Gye-dong(born 1942), heard the stories of the First Sino-Japanese War since his childhood and witnessed the Battle of Incheon on September 14, 1950.
“It was known that ‘the Eastern Sea is Dokdo and the Western Sea is Pungdo’ since long ago. Pungdo is famous because sea lanes are on both sides. I’ve heard about the battle between the Qing dynasty and Japan and witnessed the Battle of Incheon when I was in 3rd grade.”
The Battle of Pungdo which triggered the First Sino-Japanese War
I asked for more details as I found the story very amusing. “There is a red rock called Bukbae on the southwestern beach of the island. The Battle of Pungdo took place on the morning of July 25, 1894 on the sea near Bukbae. 100 dead bodies of Qing dynasty soldiers drifted towards Pungdo at the time and were buried on the ridge of Bukbae.”
The Battle of Pungdo was the first battle of the First Sino-Japanese War in which the Japanese Navy attacked the Qing dynasty fleet with rapid fire on the southwest sea of Pungdo off Asan Bay.
Qing dynasty sent the Beiyang Fleet cruiser Jiyuan, gunboat Tsao-kiang, and transport ship Kowshing to support the Joseon government against the Dognhak Peasant Revolution that broke out in January 1894. The battleship of the Qing dynasty was destroyed in just six hours since fleets of both countries faced each other off the coast of Pungdo on the morning of July 25th. Another fleet was severely damaged, the gunboat was captured, and the transport ship was sunk. Kowshing sank with 1,000 elite soldiers from the torpedo attack by cruiser Naniwa under the command of Captain Togo Heihachiro.
The Qing dynasty at the time was implementing policies to reinforce “suzerainty” while Japan was implementing expansion policies. British and Russian Empires were in the midst of the “Great Game” and the British became tense as Russia began the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway(May 1891). The British government signed the “Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation”(July 16, 1894) and condoned Japan’s war against the Qing dynasty. The Japanese army took unauthorized control of the Joseon royal palace on July 23rd. The following day they disconnected the telegraph line with the Qing dynasty and fired at the Qing dynasty warships off the coast of Pungdo on the morning of the 25th. The First Sino-Japanese War was “a global war conscious of the Western rules of war using Western weapons and warships, and the telegraph networks that were monopolized by the British.”
Pungdo in fact witnessed the arrival of 42 US Navy vessels in Incheon on September 8, 1945, and the Battle of Incheon on September 15, 1950. The Pungdo people consider the Battle of Incheon during the Korean War to be special.
“Large ships I have never seen before were lined up in front of Yeongheungdo since the early evening. Warships started firing around three or four in the morning, and there was fire heading towards Incheon.”
The Red Army did not enter Pungdo during the Korean War, and taegeuki (Korean flag) was raised on the island. President Rhee Syng-man was delighted to see the flag during the Battle of Incheon. Mr. Han Gye-dong said that “the ‘OO island’ on the Busan Ilbo was actually Pungdo,” and shared his wish of finding more records about Pungdo.” Hence, Pungdo was where the Battle of Incheon took place.
Dual sentiments evoked by Pungdo where new leaves of painted maple bloom
Pungdo, the small and beautiful island off Asan Bay, embraces the stories of the Battle of Pungdo and the Battle of Incheon. The island seems to urge us to make “desperate efforts” to protect our peace. History does not repeat itself but does give us great emotional resonance and lessons. Japan and the Qing dynasty came in and out of the sea and lands of the Korean peninsula like their own territory and turned them into a battlefield in the midst of the “Great Game” between Britain and Russia in 1894. Joseon at the time was a bystander in the naval battle as they lacked the knowledge of the modern navy and the sea.
With the next year being the 130th anniversary of the First Sino-Japanese War, the roar of waves by the promenade of Pungdo seems to tell us such history should never be repeated.
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