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Until Tsushima became a symbol of exchange during the Joseon Dynasty

When talking about the historical relationship between Tsushima Island and the Korean Peninsula during the Joseon Dynasty, we often talk about ‘peaceful exchanges through the coming and going of Tongsinsa’ or the areas where such peaceful exchanges took place. Anyone who has visited Tsushima Island will know that it is full of things symbolizing peaceful exchange during the Joseon Dynasty, including paintings of Tongsinsa procession seen throughout Izuhara, exhibits related to Tongsinsa at Tsushima Museum, and Arirang Matsuri, an annual local festival.

  However, there does not seem to be much information about when these peaceful exchanges began during the Joseon Dynasty and whether the exchanges were only carried out through Izuhara. Therefore, it is easy to overlook the fact that Tsushima Island was an island of conflict and strife rather than exchange in the early Joseon Dynasty. Conflicts cannot necessarily be viewed negatively because there are positive aspects in which peaceful relationships are sought and exchanges are activated in the process of resolving conflicts and strife.

  In this article, we will look into Tsushima and Joseon before the Izuhara period, a symbolic place of exchange. We will sequentially look at Tsushima, which was in repeated conflict with Joseon, the period when conflict turned into exchange, and the place in charge of exchange until the government office was moved to Izuhara and identify the starting point of peaceful exchange.

Road to Tsushima

  If you want to go directly from Korea to Tsushima without transiting somewhere else, you must use a boat. The current departure point is Busan Port, and the Tsushima Busan Office kindly guides on transportation routes with maps. Tsushima Island is largely divided into two islands, ‘upper island’ and ‘lower island.’ It takes a relatively short time to reach Hitakatsu Port on the upper island, 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. On the other hand, it takes about 2 hours 10 minutes to 2 hours 40 minutes to reach Izuhara Port on the lower island, which is about an hour longer than the route to Hitakatsu. Before the coronavirus outbreak, ships operated at both ports, but ship operations have now resumed only at Hitakatsu port.

  So, what was it like in the past? Was this same route used during the Joseon Dynasty when exchanges with Tsushima Island were most active? The map above is a picture of Tsushima Island included in Shin Suk-ju’s 『Haedong Empire Chronicles』 in the early Joseon Dynasty. First of all, when we look at the shape of Tsushima Island shown on the map, it is so different from what we know today that it is even unfamiliar. Tsushima is depicted as one island, not two islands. This is because, during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), a canal was opened in Aso Bay to deal with the Baltic Fleet, dividing Tsushima into two islands, upper and lower. So, we can see from this map that Tsushima was an island before the Russo-Japanese War.

  What is unique is that Tsushima is not shaped like a north-south elongated shape as we know, but is shaped like a donut curved from east to west. This can be said to emphasize that Aso Bay was the place that had the most active contact with Joseon from the late Goryeo to the early Joseon. What kind of place was Aso Bay that made it stand out like that on the map?

  The part marked with a solid white line on the map inserted in 『Haedong Empire Chronicles』 shows the transportation route at the time. However, if you look closely, one of the destinations is not the current Hitakatsu Port or Izuhara Port, but a port in Aso Bay. This port was an indispensable place on the transportation route leading to Joseon. On the other hand, it was also a base for Japanese pirates who became active after being invaded by the Yeowon Allied Forces during the Goryeo Dynasty. This is because numerous islands dotted the bay, enough to make it a natural fortress. When Lee Jong-mu went to conquer Tsushima Island during the reign of King Sejong, the first place he entered was Aso Bay. The final stop on the road to Tsushima in the early Joseon Dynasty was Aso Bay.

From a base for Japanese pirates to a base for trade

  Due to the moderate policy adopted by Joseon to eradicate Japanese pirates after Lee Jong-mu’s conquest of Tsushima in 1419, Tsushima was incorporated into Joseon’s policy of foreign relations. In the early Joseon Dynasty, Jepo (Naeipo) in Jinhae, Busanpo, and Yeompo in Ulsan were commonly called ‘Sampo.’ Here, there was a constant stream of ‘Hanggeo Japanese’ who formed villages and lived there all the time, ‘Heungri Japanese’ who came and went for commerce, and ‘Sasong Japanese’ who came and went on missions as envoys. They traveled to Tsushima using ‘Sampo’ as their departure and arrival point. There were also Tsushima Islanders who used Geoje Island as a route for fishing activities. They were permitted to engage in fishing activities on ‘Gocho Island’, one of the islands of Joseon, and had to stop by Geoje Island to get a stamp on the ‘munin (文引)’, which was a type of travel certificate. Therefore, Geoje Island was also a stopping point for transit to Tsushima.

  However, the final destination in Tsushima was Aso Bay, as seen in 『Haedong Empire Chronicles』. Tsushimaa issues passage certificates to ships using this place and also sets up a sekisho(關所) to manage immigration. In particular, after the Treaty of Agreement was signed n 1443, Tsushima’s authority over trade ships was further increased. Because of this, Saka (佐賀), the central city where Tsushima Island is located, established itself as a prosperous trade city.

‘Funakoshi (越船)’, which passed boats through the pass, and ‘Bailin Temple (梅林寺)’ which managed immigration.

  Traveling by boat from Asso Bay to Saka took a long time because you had to go around to the south. To solve this problem, Tsushima chose to move the ship over a hill. Therefore, there is a place here called ‘Seonwol (船越)’, which means ‘ship crossing’, and the traces of two places, Kofunakoshi [小船越] and Ofunakoshi [大船越], are given as place names. Among these, in the case of Kofunakoshi, in ancient times, ships were anchored and only people went over the pass, but in the 15th century, it is said that logs were laid on the floor to move ships. Meanwhile, as a canal was built in Ofunako City in 1672, Kofunakoshi gradually lost its function. In fact, Kofunakoshi was so famous as a base for Japanese pirates that it was selected as the second target area for subjugation after Osaka during Lee Jong-mu’s conquest of Tsushima Island, but its character changed, and it became a center of exchange.

  Meanwhile, all ships passing through Kofunakoshi had to obtain a passage certificate allowing communication with Joseon. The issuing authority for the travel certificate was Bailin Temple (梅林寺). This small temple in Mitsushima Town near Aso Bay has a long history. It is said to have its origins in 538, during the reign of King Seongmyeong of Bakje, when Buddhist statues and scriptures were brought from Bakeje to build a building, and later a temple was built. In fact, Bailin Temple’s negative image was highlighted due to incidents in 2012 and 2014 when Koreans stole Buddhist statutes and Buddhist scriptures from this temple. It is ironic that Bailin Temple, so talkative and controversial, functioned as a center of exchange during the early Joseon Dynasty. As seen in the map attached to 『Haedong Empire』, the sea route from the Korean Peninsula to Aso Bay was the most common, so it would have been natural to establish a channel for exchange here.

The center of Tsushima was moved to Fuchu (府中)

In 1468, Tsushima lord So Sadakuni (宗貞國) moved the center from Osaka to Fuchu (府中, current Izuhara). However, from this time on, the dispatch of Tongsinsa and trade activities that we think of were not immediately concentrated in Izuhara. This is because the Sampo Invasion(1510), Saryangjin Invasion(1544), and Eulmyo Inavsion(1555) occurred one after another. Even with the outbreak of the Imjin War(1592), Tsushima lost its briefly earned title as a “center of exchange with Joseon.”

  After the war, Tsushima again became an intermediary in the process of restoring diplomatic relations between Joseon and Japan. In 1607, when Joseon’s Diplomatic Missionary to Recover the Diplomatic Relation with Japan was dispatched to the shogunate, Tsushima took charge of diplomatic affairs in Fuchu(Izuhara), the central area where the governor resided. In addition, with the signing of Giyu Treaty in 1609, Tsushima was confirmed as the exclusive port of communication with Joseon, making it the only channel of communication with Joseon.

  Sekisho (關所), which managed immigration, was also established in Waniura (鰐浦). Currently, there is a Korea Observatory installed here because it is a place where you can see Korea up close. However, this place had reefs everywhere and the wind was strong, making it a dangerous place to anchor a boat. For this reason, in 1672, Sekisho was moved to Sasuna (佐須奈), which was indented and had a slightly safer port.

As the center of Tsushima moved to Izuhara, and Sekisho moved to Sasunaura, these areas became centers of diplomacy and trade with Joseon. It established itself as a ‘center of exchange’ that regularly manages and controls the traffic of Tongsinsa, peace envoys of the late Joseon Dynasty, the exchange of trade goods through Waegwan, and the traffic of envoys and trade ships.

  In the end, the exchange took place against the background of conflict, and the place of conflict became an opportunity to find a new place for exchange. Tsushima is also an island where conflict and exchange with Joseon coexist, which is why we must remember both conflict and exchange.