The Korean Empire

Summary

Summary of "The Korean Empire" Episode from In Our Time

In This Episode:
Hosted by Melvyn Bragg, In Our Time delves into the brief yet transformative period of the Korean Empire (1897-1910). Featuring experts Holly Stevens, Derek Kramer, and Nuri Kim, the episode explores Korea's struggle for sovereignty, modernization efforts, internal turmoil, and the eventual downfall leading to Japanese colonization.

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1. Introduction to the Korean Empire

Melvyn Bragg sets the stage by highlighting Korea's declaration of empire in October 1897, a strategic move by the Yi dynasty to assert independence amidst mounting pressures from global powers seeking trade or colonization opportunities. Despite its short 13-year existence, the Korean Empire was a period marked by significant modernization and conflict with enduring repercussions for the region.

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2. The Yi Dynasty's Rule and Strategy for Autonomy

Nuri Kim explains that Korea was under the Yi dynasty's rule for approximately 500 years, showcasing remarkable resilience against foreign invasions, including threats from Japan and the Manchus. This longevity underscored the dynasty's adeptness at maintaining sovereignty through diplomatic skill and strategic flattery, particularly in dealings with the dominant Chinese empire.

"They did so by sending a lot of tributary missions to China, sometimes even more missions than the Chinese even expected." [03:24]

These tributary missions involved sending numerous delegates with valuable tributes to reinforce Korea's image as a loyal vassal, thereby securing a degree of autonomy despite China's overarching influence.

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3. External Pressures: China, Japan, and Western Powers

Holly Stevens discusses the limited interest from Europe and America in Korea until the mid-19th century. Initially, Korea adeptly deflected Western advances by emphasizing its economic limitations and redirecting foreign powers to engage with China instead. However, incidents like the execution of a French missionary and the destruction of an American trading ship in the mid-1800s marked a shift toward more aggressive Western approaches.

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4. Korea’s Reluctant Opening to Japan

The transition begins with Emperor Gojong's reign, who, upon taking full control in 1873, adopts a more moderate stance toward foreign engagement. This change is partly a response to witnessing other nations' fates under foreign influence. When Japan arrives in 1875, Korea, now cautiously prepared, begins the gradual opening of its ports, mirroring America's earlier engagement with Japan.

"There is a growing consensus among at least some Korean and Chinese officials that contact with Western nations is inevitable to some extent." [07:03]

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5. Modernization Efforts in Korea: Government Reforms and Infrastructure

Derek Kramer outlines Korea's multifaceted modernization initiatives, which included:

• Reconstruction of Gyeongbok Palace: Funded by issuing new currency, leading to inflationary pressures.
• Modern Military Development: Establishing a modern military unit with new uniforms, tactics, and training post-Konghwa Treaty (1876).
• Infrastructure Projects: Introduction of telegraph communications, electrification of palaces, and the construction of trams and streetcars in Seoul.
• Economic Shifts: The influx of manufactured goods disrupted traditional rural economies, leading to significant social and economic upheaval.

These reforms aimed to centralize state power and adapt to global standards, albeit straining Korea’s agrarian economy.

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6. Political Turmoil and Internal Conflicts

Between 1880 and 1897, Korea faced significant internal strife:

• Radical Reform Attempts (1884): Early unsuccessful uprisings by young reformers lacked sufficient support, highlighting societal unpreparedness for drastic changes.
• Tonghak Rebellion (1894): A major uprising sparked by millenarian and religious movements, leading to Chinese and Japanese intervention and the ensuing Sino-Japanese War.

Nuri Kim emphasizes the complexity of these conflicts, noting:

"There was a tremendous amount of turmoil. For instance, in 1884, there was this attempt to overthrow the government by radical reformers." [12:47]

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7. Gojong's Declaration of the Korean Empire

In 1897, King Gojong proclaimed himself Emperor, symbolizing Korea's sovereignty and parity with neighboring empires. This act was a definitive break from the traditional vassal relationship with China, marked by symbolic gestures such as adopting yellow robes typically reserved for Chinese emperors.

"So this is an act of, in a way, defiance against the Chinese, because previously it was only the Chinese emperor who was able to communicate with Heaven directly and consider himself the Son of Heaven. But now the Korean king is making the same claim." [17:48]

This move also coincided with significant governmental reforms, establishing a "modern system of government" aimed at strengthening national autonomy.

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8. Economic Challenges in Funding Modernization

Holly Stevens discusses the financial strains of modernization:

• Agrarian Economy Limitations: While Korea had stable finances suitable for famine relief, large-scale modernization was economically taxing.
• Revenue Generation Efforts: Initiatives included land surveys to increase tax registers and customs receipts from burgeoning trade. However, these were insufficient and often hampered by unfavorable treaty terms.
• Foreign Loans: Reliant on Chinese and Japanese loans, which inevitably increased foreign influence and political leverage over Korea.

"Other sources of income also come with problems. So Korea can get loans, and it does get loans chiefly from China and Japan... as Japan does try to leverage more of its interest in Korean politics." [20:54]

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9. Social and Cultural Changes: Forced Haircuts and Resistance

One of the emblematic modernization efforts was the 1895 decree by Gojong requiring Korean males to cut their traditional long hair, symbolizing modernity and efficiency but clashing with Confucian values.

Holly Stevens describes the societal backlash:

"Some people commit suicide, either males or wives, on behalf of their husbands for the shame of having to cut their hair." [28:31]

Initially met with strong resistance, over time, societal norms shifted, especially in urban areas, where shorter hair became a voluntary and encouraged sign of modernity.

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10. Impact of the Russo-Japanese War and Japan’s Ascendancy

The Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) had profound effects on Korea:

• Consolidation of Japanese Power: Japan emerged victorious, establishing a protectorate over Korea in 1905, severely undermining Korean sovereignty.
• Economic and Infrastructural Advancements: Japan built railroads and other infrastructure but used these developments to cement control.
• Assassination of Queen Min: Japan’s assassination of the Korean queen led King Gojong to seek refuge in the Russian legation, further entangling Korea in international power struggles.

"As the war concludes, the Japanese begin to slow walk annexation, or a series of policies geared towards eventual annexation." [29:57]

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11. The End of the Korean Empire and Japanese Colonization

By 1905, with Korea under Japanese protectorate status, resistance emerged in the form of "righteous armies" fighting against Japanese forces and discontented Korean officials. The official end of the Korean Empire came in 1910 with full annexation by Japan, but signs of this demise were evident as early as 1905.

Nuri Kim notes:

"Korea can no longer represent itself diplomatically to the outside world... righteous armies... rise up against Japanese." [31:20]

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12. Legacy and Historical Interpretations in Modern Korea

Post-annexation, Korean nationalism persisted, primarily among diaspora communities, shaping the eventual division into North and South Korea. The Korean Empire’s legacy is viewed divergently:

• North Korea: Sees the empire as a failed experiment, emphasizing armed resistance and underlining the establishment of a separate communist state.
• South Korea: Regards the era with a nuanced perspective, recognizing the struggles for modernization and sovereignty while integrating reforms into the narrative of national development.

Nuri Kim elaborates:

"There seems to be the emergence of this kind of more sympathetic view of this Korean monarch as this almost like tragic hero." [42:33]

Holly Stevens adds that contemporary scholarship appreciates the period’s complexities, acknowledging both the failings in maintaining sovereignty and the enduring socio-cultural transformations initiated during the empire.

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Notable Quotes

• Nuri Kim on Korea’s diplomatic strategy:

  "They sent a lot of tributary missions to China, sometimes even more missions than the Chinese even expected." [03:24]

• Holly Stevens on societal resistance to forced haircuts:

  "Some people commit suicide... for the shame of having to cut their hair." [28:31]

• Nuri Kim on Emperor Gojong’s symbolic actions:

  "He was very much using the more traditional Chinese symbolisms to assert his own imperial power." [17:48]

• Derek Kramer on the extent of political and social upheaval:

  "What you encounter today pales in comparison to the tumult that individuals living in the early 20th century experienced." [43:34]

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Conclusion

The Korean Empire period was a crucible of transformation, where Korea endeavored to modernize and assert its sovereignty amidst external imperialistic pressures and internal strife. While ultimately succumbing to Japanese colonization, the era laid foundational elements for Korea's modern national identity and socio-political structures, influencing its subsequent division and development into North and South Korea.

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This summary encapsulates the key discussions and insights from the "The Korean Empire" episode of In Our Time, providing a comprehensive overview for those unfamiliar with the original podcast.

Transcript

[Melvin Bragg]

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[BBC Sounds]

BBC Sounds Music.

[Melvin Bragg]

Radio Podcasts this is in our time from BBC Radio 4 and this is one of more than a thousand episodes you can find on BBC Sounds and on our website. If you scroll down the page for this edition, you find a reading list to go with it. I hope you enjoy the program. Hello. In October 1897, the king of Korea declared himself Emperor to match the status of the neighboring Russian, Chinese and Japanese emperors with Korea's peninsula, his empire. This was a bid for independence and sovereignty when the world's major powers, including those in Europe and America, either wanted to open Korea up to trade or to colonize it. The Korean empire lasted only 13 years, yet it was a time of great transformation for this state and the whole region, marked by modernization and wars with lasting consequences. With me to discuss the Korean Empire are Holly Stevens, Lecturer in Japanese and Korean Studies at the University of Edinburgh, Derek Kramer, Lecturer in Korean Studies at the University of Sheffield, and Nuri Kim, Associate professor in Korean Studies at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Woolston College. Start with you, Nuri, who had been ruling Korea up to this point, up to the point where they declared themselves to be an empire.

[Nuri Kim]

So Korea is ruled by the Yi family, the Yi dynasty, which has been ruling Korea for about 500 years.

[Melvin Bragg]

500 years.

[Nuri Kim]

500 years, yes. That's a very long time by any standards, especially compared to, let's say, even Chinese dynasties. The name of Korea is Chosun. That's the name of the dynasty. And again, it is a dynasty that has demonstrated remarkable survival skills. Time and time again they were threatened by various forces, especially large scale foreign invasions. For instance, in the 16th and 17th century, invasions by the Japanese, but also by the Manchus, who were taking over China as well. But time and time again the Koreans managed and dynasty managed to survive. So this attempt to turn Korea into an empire is very much another instance of the dynasty trying to prolong its lifespan, although this time it won't be quite as successful.

[Melvin Bragg]

Its big mountain was China. How did it deal with China?

[Nuri Kim]

That is actually A very important question. How do you survive when you're such a small country located at the doorsteps of this huge behemoth, which is China? And so Koreans had to use a lot of diplomatic finesse. They had to use a lot of flattery, and oftentimes they really had to buy into this role of being this very loyal vassal to China.

[Melvin Bragg]

How did they do that?

[Nuri Kim]

They did so by sending a lot of tributary missions to China, sometimes even more missions than the Chinese even expected.

[Melvin Bragg]

What was a mission?

[Nuri Kim]

A tributary mission is when you send dozens, maybe even hundreds of delegates to China, along with a lot of tributes, actual presents, and, yes, gifts. It can be gold, it can be silver, it can be horses, it can be people, eunuchs, and women.

[Melvin Bragg]

And were there any Were China edging to try to get hold of it?

[Nuri Kim]

China, at least in the. During the Joseon Dynasty, there was no attempt to actually take over Korea, because Korea was doing such a good job playing that role of very loyal, very dutiful vassal state. So there was really no need for the Chinese to take over Korea, and this is what allowed Koreans to actually maintain a significant amount of autonomy.

[Melvin Bragg]

Where does the name Korea come from?

[Nuri Kim]

The name Korea actually comes from this ancient kingdom called Goguryeo, which was established in the first century B.C. later on, the name was shortened to Goryeo, and then later on, it was also revived in the 10th century by another Korean dynasty, which is called Goryeo Dynasty. And this is the time when Koreans had some very limited contact with merchants from the Middle east, and they then introduce the term to the west, and Koryo then becomes Korea. And this is, in some ways, it's an anachronistic term. It's referring to Korea by this very old name. And Koreans, of course, no longer use the term, but it's the term that has become the official term here in the West.

[Melvin Bragg]

Holly, how had Europe and America been trying to open up Korea up until.

[Holly Stevens]

The mid 19th century? There's a certain amount of mutual disinterest, honestly, between Europe and America and Kore. On one side, the Koreans, through their regular tribute missions to China, they have a window into seeing the events that are happening in China when the Europeans are getting involved in China and playing more of a role. And so on the Korean side, they see the potential engagement with the west as potentially disruptive, either through trade or through missionary activity. Catholicism is considered quite subversive. So. So on the Korean side, there's a lack of interest in engaging, especially because, as Nuri mentioned, the Koreans are Trying to avoid giving China any excuse to interfere in Korean affairs, Korea really guards its autonomy. And so by deflecting Western engagement, Koreans believe that this will also prevent increased Chinese involvement in their affairs. On the European and American side, there are some attempts to approach Korea, but this is really not a large scale or concerted organised effort. It's really individual ships chancing things, trying to show up and see if they can make any advance. But again, Korea is quite good at presenting itself as poor, lacking resources, and it basically tells them, go back to China and talk to China. We're not allowed to talk to you. This changes somewhat in the mid 19th century. A French missionary actually sneaks into Korea and is discovered and is executed. And also, an American trading ship tries to sail down the Tae Dong river and it is destroyed by the Koreans, including all of the crew. And so from the mid 19th century, France and the United States, they act a little more aggressively toward Korea. They both send punitive missions in 1866 and 1871, but the Korean military is able to rebuff those quite well because they're relatively small scale.

[Melvin Bragg]

So why did it open up to Japan in 1876?

[Holly Stevens]

I think it's important to mention that Korea is still very wary of engagement with external, especially European and American countries. At this time, however, things are changing somewhat. There is a growing consensus among at least some Korean and Chinese officials that contact with Western nations is inevitable to some extent. And so even though there is this wariness, it's considered beneficial if Korea were to defensively engage with foreign powers and so to prevent a larger scale military conflict. And so gradually, there are a small number of Chinese and Korean officials who come to share this understanding, especially looking at the experience of China and Japan and their inability to also prevent this kind of engagement. Another change that we see. So Kojong the King came to the throne in 1864 when he was still a minor. And so for the first decade of his rule, his father, the Daewangun, ruled on his behalf. And the Daewangun was much more conservative in terms of his outlook and willingness to engage with foreign powers. Kojong comes to the throne to rule for himself in 1873. And so he starts then to lean into this more moderate approach, to cautiously engage with foreign powers. And so when Kojong is sending diplomatic missions to China, he's instructing some of those officials to find out more information. And so when the Japanese arrive in 1875, very much emulating how the Americans approached Japan, the Koreans are ready. And so they do Seize this opportunity to gradually open.

[Melvin Bragg]

Thank you, Derek Kramer. So Korea is looking around in the 1880s, seeing what others are doing. How did Korea start to modernize?

[BBC Sounds]

So at the time, there's very few people who are using the language of modernization. Generally, the conversation is about engagement and opening up. And this happens on two registers. Holly already mentioned the types of debates that are happening at the level of elite politics. And we see the robust agency of this individual. We call them the Daewangun. He's a regent, Kojun's father, who is, on the one hand, trying to simply solidify state power, both because he's acting as a regent and that serves him well, but also because of a certain uncertainty or concern about regional shifts and the overall stability of the peninsula. And so the types of reforms that are being pursued at this time at the level of elite politics are usually characterized through state centralization projects. The two big ones would be the reconstruction of Gyeongbok palace in downtown Seoul. And this is if you see a map of Korea or if you tour through Seoul today, this is always like a popular tourist site. It's sort of the center of the city. This was initially constructed when. When Seoul was established as the capital of the dynasty. It was destroyed during those invasions by the Japanese that Nuria had mentioned. It's in the 1860s that Gojong decides he's going to reconstruct the palace. However, he does this by way of issuing currency. So it's the start of decades of inflationary tendencies within the Korean economy. But this is one of the sort of two major interventions by the state at the elite level. The other is the construction of a modern military. The attempt to develop this. This is following the signing of the Konghwa Treaty in 1876. A single unit within the Katrian military is selected for modernization. New uniforms, new tactics, new training. So all this is happening at the level of elite politics. And you have various political factions debating about, like, how do we want to engage with the outside world? What is our policy towards Japan going to be? How do we cooperate the Chinese while maintaining our sovereignty? At the same time, at the level of the everyday and at the level of socioeconomic exchange, Korea is in the midst of an enormous amount of tumult, right? There's the effects of the Colombian exchange, right? For the preceding couple of centuries, you have new crops, new markets emerging, shifts in the demographic composition of the peninsula, and new ideas circulating in.

[Melvin Bragg]

But Korea's still caught up in the competition between its neighbors. How and why did China reassert itself.

[BBC Sounds]

In the 1880s, the reassertion of Chinese presence on the peninsula goes back to that new army that I mentioned, one of those reforms that characterizes some of the shifts that Gojong is pursuing. These soldiers are paid by gleaning the salaries from the other units in the Korean army that weren't selected for for modernization. And eventually, these neglected units within the Korean military, they rise up in this event called the IMO Gunran or IMO Mutiny. And they basically run amok in Seoul, targeting their perceived political opponents burning down the Japanese consulate. The solution to this instability is the dispatchment of troops from China who move into the peninsula. It's the start of a phase of Chinese political and economic presence on the peninsula. Along the way, there are new trade agreements that are being signed. There's the circulation of traders and businessmen from China throughout the peninsula, and a more robust presence of Chinese forces within the political sphere and economic sphere of the peninsula in the 1880s.

[Melvin Bragg]

Can I follow that up with you, Nuri? How much turmoil was Korea facing in the lead up to 1897? Seems to be pulled in many directions.

[Nuri Kim]

Yes, absolutely. There was a tremendous amount of turmoil. For instance, in 1884, there was this attempt to overthrow the government by radical reformers. They were not successful.

[Melvin Bragg]

Why were they not successful?

[Nuri Kim]

Because they didn't have enough of a support base. They were very young radical reformers, but they were a little bit too far ahead of their times. Korean society didn't have necessarily an appetite for those radical reforms yet. And then, of course, we also have the emergence of new religious movements at this time, and especially millenarian movements. That led to the 1894 Tonghak Rebellion, which was the largest rebellion that the Joseon Dynasty had to face throughout its history. That rebellion then led to the intervention of both China and Japan, which led then to the first Sino Japanese War. And the war is fought on Korean soil over who gets to dominate Korea. Another thing that's taking place is, so, for instance, the Japanese are now trying to assert themselves. As part of that, they actually assassinate the wife of the king, Queen Min. In response to that, the Korean king flees to the Russian legation. So Russia now plays a significant role in the Korean context as well. And the Korean government, the Korean monarch, they begin to side with the Russians, they begin to learn from the Russians. And partially a result of that is then this transformation into the Korean Empire.

[Melvin Bragg]

Thank you, Holly. Holly Stevens, why did Gojong, the king, why did he want to declare an empire and himself Emperor in 1897?

[Holly Stevens]

This addresses several different issues. That have been fomenting in Korean politics for a while. On one hand, this really is the final severance of that traditional relationship that Korea has had with China. China has already lost the Sino Japanese war. And so this really is Korea formally and symbolically announcing itself as equal to China and also independent. And we can see this in some of the symbols that Gojong adopts in declaring the Korean Empire. So traditionally Gojong as king, right, which would be lower than the Chinese emperor. He would wear red robes, and it was the Chinese emperor that wore yellow robes. But after declaring himself an emperor, Gojong sometimes wears the yellow robes, right. To formally symbolize to China that there is this big shift in their relationship. At the same time, as Nuri mentioned, in the midst of the Sino Japanese war, there's some large scale reforms of the Korean government that have taken place. And this really then establishes a quote unquote, modern system of government for Korea.

[Melvin Bragg]

Thank you, Derek. What modernizations were underway? Can we specify those?

[BBC Sounds]

So there are a lot of changes afoot and they're happening across multiple registers. The opening of ports is allowing for the influx of commodities that are transforming the rural economies in really profound ways. Inflation that I mentioned when they rebuilt the palace, this is exasperated by the outflow of rice into regional markets, driving up the price of rice. That's something you eat, but rice is also something you buy with it's currency, right. At the same time, you're having an influx of quality manufactured goods from abroad. So maybe you and your family had major living, I don't know, as leather workers or making straw shoes. And suddenly you're competing with the products of an increasingly industrialized form of capitalism in Asia. So there is a tumult at that level. There's also transformations, though, in the realm of politics. We were at this point focusing on royal politics and elite politics. But with the emergence of the empire, ironically, there's also a new emphasis on the role of the citizen, the Independence Club. Part of their activism is built around working through newspapers and circulating new types of ideas about what a citizen should be and how they should express themselves as Koreans. And that has a lot to do with the language that they're using, the types of scripts they're using, and the ways that they're thinking about China in particular.

[Melvin Bragg]

Thank you, Nuri. There were so many other emperors and empires around the world at that time. What did empire mean to Korea?

[Nuri Kim]

For Koreans, it largely meant an assertion of national sovereignty and obtaining parity with surrounding countries, especially Russia, Japan and China. So it wasn't really about obtaining colonies and launching overseas expeditions. Koreans really couldn't afford these things. They couldn't even think about these things at this time. In fact, it's very telling to look at the first act that the emperor conducted as he was ascending to the imperial throne. The first thing that he did was to actually set up an altar and heaven worship altar. That was heaven worship? Yes, heaven worship altar. That was very much emulating the Chinese version that exists in Beijing. And he would conduct ceremonial offerings at the altar.

[Melvin Bragg]

Why was that so important? Heaven worship opera.

[Nuri Kim]

Because this allowed him then to proclaim himself to be the son of Heaven, which is the emperor. So he was very much using the more traditional Chinese symbolisms to assert his own imperial power. So this is an act of, in a way, defiance against the Chinese, because previously it was only the Chinese emperor who was able to communicate with Heaven directly and consider himself the Son of Heaven. But now the Korean king is making the same claim, so he's achieving parity with China.

[Melvin Bragg]

Thank you, Derek.

[BBC Sounds]

I also need to note, though, that that intellectual movement, these reformers who are producing newspapers and trying to basically mobilize the citizenry of the peninsula to embrace global norms of civil and enlightenment, they often do not articulate a robust critique of empire. So in particular, the Independence Club, their newspaper, the Independent, would often celebrate the British Empire for being so successful. And they would use that as a criticism of Koreans and of their own political position. This becomes a point of tension and irony once they themselves find themselves exposed to the interventions of a regional imperial power.

[Holly Stevens]

If I could jump in, I think one of the ways that we see Korea try and maintain its sovereignty, it kind of follows that the pattern that you already mentioned, Nuri of Korea trying to use its diplomacy. And so at this point, Korea really is trying to play other countries off one another. And so when the Chinese start to overstep and intervene too much in Korean affairs, Korea tries to then rely on the Americans. And when the Japanese overstep and they're bounds, Korea then tries to use interest from the Russians to counterbalance some of the demands from other powers. And so this, it worked for a while, but ultimately it doesn't really prevent what happens later.

[BBC Sounds]

And then also they're mobilizing new ideas as well. Right. So we've been talking about basically nationalism a lot, but this is also the era where we're seeing new ideas about racial solidarity and Pan Asianism and how different powers, different polities in Asia in particular, should collaborate and work together is a point of discussion. And dissent in at this time.

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[Melvin Bragg]

Can I come back to you for a moment? Holly States need money, of course. Where did the new empire get its money's wealth from to modernize?

[Holly Stevens]

This is also one of the challenges that the Korean Empire is facing at this time. Joseon is an agrarian economy and so even though for several hundred years it's had relatively stable finances, even to the point of being able to mobilize funds to support famine relief. When it comes to modernization projects, a lot of these are very expensive.

[Melvin Bragg]

What projects are there before you tell us how expensive they were?

[Holly Stevens]

Improving the military, upgrading some of the military, but also introducing new infrastructure like telegraph communications, importing new technologies, electrifying some of the palaces and introducing electricity. It's hard to finance them from the existing sources of finance. The land tax provides the majority of the Joseon state's income at this time. However, there's only so far you can raise that before you start to then provide frustration and prompt sources of rebellion and revolt in the countryside. One of the first projects that the Korean Empire does engage in is a large scale land survey trying to get more land onto the tax registers and increase tax receipts in that way. But this is a slow process and again, there's a limit to how high you can raise your income from the land tax. Other sources of finance there's some new revenue coming from customs receipts for the new trade that is taking place in the port cities. However, there are limits just based on the volume of trade that is taking place as well as some of the terms of the treaties are unfavorable. Some of these treaties that Korea has signed, they do mimic some of the unequal treaties in a way that we see in China and Japan, and so it's not quite as favorable to Korea as it could be. Other sources of income also come with problems. So Korea can get loans, and it does get loans chiefly from China and Japan. However, some of this comes with strings attached, especially when China and Japan are both trying to increase their political influence in Korea. And indeed, eventually, when Japan does try to leverage more of its interest in Korean politics, it uses these loans as a justification to have a greater sway in Korean politics, actively mimicking what Britain was doing in Egypt, using the loans as a pretext for further involvement in Korean politics.

[Melvin Bragg]

Thank you, Derek Kramer. Can you talk about the kind of backing. Can we specify more that the changes we're getting inside Korea?

[BBC Sounds]

So one of the issues is that it's difficult to reach a consensus about what type of change is necessary. There's a broad understanding at this time that there are global standards and global norms that have to be reached that, that have to be entrenched within Korea. But no one is on the same page about what that might be. So if you're a missionary or a Christian convert, you might think that becoming, becoming a Protestant is conditional for establishing both oneself and the nation as autonomous and enlightened and civilized. It might be cutting your hair. It might be buying a certain product. The discussion at this time about civilization and enlightenment, about modernization in general, is playing out in a variety of ways. But generally the case study that's referenced as being successful is Japan amongst a variety of individuals and a variety of views. So just to cite one, conservative Confucians at this time are worried about all the changes that are being presented. Movement away from a traditional examination system, for example, that's based off of the Confucian classics. And the argument that they would mobilize individuals who were sympathetic for the continuity of using a Confucian based education system was occasionally that they would cite the Japanese and say, look, the Japanese as the success story of modernization, have retained these traditions, retained this curriculum in a new way. There's similar debates underway about the use of language and about gender and class roles. So there is a consensus at the time that Korea is in a very difficult position. There's a lot of parallels being made between what's happening in Korea and what's happening in Egypt and what's happening in Korea to Vietnam or the Philippines. But there's a lack of consensus about what should be done or indeed what could be done.

[Melvin Bragg]

Thank you, Nuri Kim. What signs were there that Koreans themselves were developing in ideas of what it meant to be part of this new nation, this new world?

[Nuri Kim]

In a way, yes, there were many, many signs. So for instance, there were new ways of writing Korean history emerging at this time. And history begins to be Written in a way that emphasizes Korea's autonomy from China, Korean mythology is being rediscovered and reinterpreted to give Koreans a new, useful past. We also see a re evaluation of the Korean vernacular writing system, which had existed for a couple of hundred years by this point. But within government circles, and especially among the elite, it was still classical Chinese. That was the lingua franca. So now you see intellectuals emerging who are publishing entirely in vernacular Korean writing system. At the same time, as Derek mentioned, there were still a lot of divisions. Koreans are not all in agreement about what the new Korean nation should look like. Some people want to have more political participation. They want to have a parliament. They want to check the king's power. Of course, this leads to conflict with the government. But there are also other Koreans who envision Korea's future as part of this kind of Pan Asian community, with Japan as the leader. And those people then would ironically begin to support the Japanese takeover of Korea. So you see, you have these widely diverging visions of what Korea should look like. And again, maybe this is also one of the reasons why there was actually so much resistance against the Korean empire, even domestically, from within Korea.

[Melvin Bragg]

Holly, if you were to look around the streets of Seoul, say, what changes would you be seeing?

[Holly Stevens]

There are some infrastructural changes. Seoul gets a tram, a streetcar, there's electricity, and the electric company actually introduces films, movies, as they're trying to just raise more money because not enough people are buying the tram tickets. I think, though, like Derek mentioned earlier, haircuts. And I think this points to some of the bigger, deeper changes that are taking place. Right, because there is a rural urban divide still, a lot of the changes in Seoul, they're limited to Seoul. But we can see this broader consensus forming around the need to reform. So in 1895, this is when Gojong announces a decree requiring Korean males to cut their hair. So traditionally, Koreans had long hair. It was believed under Confucian thought that you receive your body from your parents, and so you should not harm your body in any way. And that extends to cutting your hair. So Korean males, especially elites, in order to prove their adherence to Confucian norms, which was one of the ways that they proved themselves as an elite in society, they maintained long hair, and especially the elites as well, they would form it in a top knot. And this also then grew to have a lot of symbolism, adulthood, masculinity in society. So when Kojong requires males to cut their hair, this is incredibly controversial. In 1895, the justification from Kojong is That this is more efficient, more economic, it's more hygienic, it's a symbol of modernity. And yet it goes against a lot of the long standing ideas that a lot of people had about their country and their place in the country. So there's quite widespread resistance to this.

[Melvin Bragg]

How successful was the resistance?

[Holly Stevens]

Really quite successful. So initially Kojong required people to cut their hair and this gets walked back. It's become encouraged for people to cut their hair. Also you see quite extreme levels of resistance. Some people commit suicide, either males or wives, on behalf of their husbands for the shame of having to cut their hair. There are other people who close some of their shops in Seoul because they don't want to comply with the order. So they basically retreat from public life. So this is quite disruptive in 1895, however, throughout the following decade of the Korean Empire period, gradually more and more groups come to support this idea that, you know, you should prove your commitment to modernity by cutting your hair. So we see, I think Nuri mentioned the Tonghak rebels earlier. They had quite or wrapped up in some of the initial complaints of the Tonghak uprising were more antipathy against some of the reforms. However, after the the rebellion is put down, they split into some of these different groups and these subsequent groups actually come out on the side of cutting one's hair and advocating for haircutting. There's still a rural urban divide by the early 20th century in the port cities and cities you're more likely to find though people with short hair. And this becomes voluntary and encouraged for a variety of different reasons.

[Melvin Bragg]

Thank you, Derek. In 1905, the Japanese and Russian empires were at war and Japan won. How did that affect Korea?

[BBC Sounds]

This affected Korea profoundly. The war itself had its origins in the Sino Japanese War and the feeling on the part of the Japanese that their claims over Manchuria were frustrated by Russian, German and French intervention at the end of that war. After the Boxer Rebellion in China at the start of the century, war again breaks out on the peninsula between the Russians and the Japanese. This is initially viewed through the lens of race. This is the great race war of the 20th century, certainly was viewed in Europe as a war between white European civilization versus Asia. But also in East Asia. This is less well known, but it's also viewed through this lens. And so there is initially the hope amongst many reformers that there would be a type of regional solidarity or a type of federation. Sometimes people would make analogies to the Austro Hungarian Empire that whatever came out of this war would result in sovereignty, cooperation and continued modernization between the great powers of East Asia. In fact, what happened was the consolidation of Japanese imperial power over the peninsula. Over the course of this conflict, they built a railroad from Busan all the way up the peninsula to Manchuria. Eventually, the Japanese, upon the conflict conclusion of the war, begin to slow walk annexation, or a series of policies geared towards eventual annexation. This most profoundly takes form through the establishment of a protectorate in 1907.

[Melvin Bragg]

How did the Koreans recognize when their empire was over?

[Nuri Kim]

NURI So I think they already knew it by 1905. And this is when Korea becomes a Japanese protectorate, which means that Korea can no longer represent itself diplomatically to the outside world. And at this time, you have the emergence of righteous armies, people who are rising up against this.

[Melvin Bragg]

What did a righteous army do? Why were they righteous?

[Nuri Kim]

This is a term that Koreans were using. These are, in a way, guerrilla fighters who are fighting against the Japanese at this time. Sometimes they also fight against Korean government forces, people who are disgruntled and dissatisfied with the political changes that are taking place at this time. You also have people committing suicide in 1905 once they hear about this protectorate treaty. So I believe that many people already knew that that was the end. Although, of course, the official end of the Korean Empire is going to be 1910. But by 1905, they already knew what was coming.

[Melvin Bragg]

Do you want to add anything more.

[BBC Sounds]

These days, the type of irony or not, maybe irony, but the type of conundrum that the question of modernization and modernity forces upon individuals who are trying to avoid colonization. So the. The individuals that I was focusing on, the intellectuals who stay in the city and are publishing these newspapers and circulating ideas about civilization and enlightenment, they're often pointing to Japan as a success case to say, this is what we need. We need a railroad, we need hospitals, we need more hygiene, we need to cut our hair, a new education system. We need different types of political reform, constantly referring to either figments of European political culture or reforms done in Japan. What happens after 1905 is that the Japanese colonial state arrives and says, hey, you want those things? We'll give them to you. Right? We'll build you a railroad, we're going to build you a hospital. We're going to implement educational reform. And it becomes very difficult for intellectuals who are pursuing, pursuing a type of nationalist politics to find traction when their goals of modernization are articulated through the language of empire.

[Melvin Bragg]

How did Koreans build a sense of nationhood while under Japanese control?

[Nuri Kim]

From 1910 onward, when Japan formally annexes Korea, any kind of political expression becomes very, very difficult within Korea, however, there were still a lot of Koreans. Outside of Korea, you have a very significant population of Koreans in Manchuria, in China, in Japan, as well as in the United States. And those people are the ones who continue to develop ideas about Korean nationhood and Korean nationalism. Now, because Koreans are scattered across the world, they all imbibe influence from different sources. And because of that, they also develop very different ideas of what the future of Korea should look like. Some people would support a democratic system, that Korea should look more like a western democratic country, Whereas other people, they now look toward, for instance, Soviet Russia, and they take inspiration from Soviet Russia, and they believe that Korea's future lies with communism. So, again, you have very widely diverging views of what Korea should look like. And these views then all in some ways begin to be reflected later on, after 1945, in north and South Korea, and especially the competition between north and South Korea.

[Melvin Bragg]

Derek, would you like to come in?

[BBC Sounds]

Yeah. This is a really important point that connects to the character of the peninsula today. Most of our conversation, we've been focusing on intellectuals in the city, trying to work out what civilization and enlightenment, what modernization means for them, and navigating the politics connected to that. But throughout this period, starting in the. In the 1890s and continuing on afterwards, there's just armed resistance in the countryside. It reaches a climax around the time of the Russo Japanese War, and eventually, individuals who are fighting against the colonization of the peninsula are pushed out of the peninsula into Manchuria. But it stands as the germ for two tracks of nationalist resistance. One that tends to be a bit more urban, intellectual, gradual and moderate, and one that tends to be a bit more violent, direct action oriented, and that's unfolding outside of the peninsula. By the 1930s, the second of those two seems completely implausible. But by 1945, if you're someone like Kim Il Sung walking out of Manchuria, walking out of that tradition of armed resistance, you have an enormous amount of political capital and domestic authenticity and authority that roots the establishment of the North Korean state.

[Melvin Bragg]

How did it go from one to the other?

[Nuri Kim]

Yes. So in 1943, the Allied Powers decide that, for instance, Korea will no longer be part of. Of Japan once the war is over. And then gradually, they developed this idea that, especially toward the end of World War II, that Korea should be divided into two for convenience sake. The north should be occupied by the Soviet forces, the south should be occupied by American forces. But that was initially meant to be a temporary measure to disarm the Japanese however, after 1945, once the cold War sets in, of course, Americans and the Soviets, they're unable to agree on anything. They're unable to bring the two Koreas back together. And this then leads to this kind of perpetuation of the division between north and South Korea.

[Melvin Bragg]

Derek, can you talk about this development from 1910 to 1945? It seems to be remarkable.

[BBC Sounds]

1910 to 1945 period. Those are the two years that get booked in for Japanese colonization of the Korean peninsula. I think, as we've already discussed, it's a much more complicated story than that. But those are the two dates that will appear on a high school test, certainly. And then that period is broken up into three chunks. Conventionally, the first is a phase of intensive military rule. The second is a period that is characterized by a period known as cultural rule, that is characterized by a form of greater cultural expression and productivity. And then a final phase of wartime mobilization. The main pivot points in that broader story is 1919, where there is a vast outpouring of political protest, popular protest on the Korean peninsula connected to the March 1st movement. The second pivot point is in the 1930s with the outbreak of the Second Sino Japanese War and the establishment of total warfare mobilization culture on the Korean peninsula as the empire itself is pulled into these massive configurations with first the Chinese and later the Americans and British empires.

[Melvin Bragg]

Holly, what were the longer term implications of this period for Korea and the regions?

[Holly Stevens]

That's a good question because on one hand, it's a very short period of time, and it becomes even shorter when you start to factor in the increasing Japanese involvement. Japan declares Korea a protectorate in 1905, and so this starts to then limit some of the actions of the Korean government. However, I think we've already talked about some of the longer standing legacies that do come out of this period. Nuri already mentioned the nationalism, right. Some of these symbols of nationalism and the narratives that Koreans are telling themselves about their country and their history, a lot of these carry forward into subsequent ways that Koreans view themselves. We can also see changes in some of the institutions, constitutional basis of the government. So, you know, the idea that the government is trying to get involved in the economy to try and strengthen industry for Korea's own benefit. This continues into the colonial period. The colonial government, it changes the direction of some of this intervention, but it continues to build on some of these new mechanisms that the government has already established to like, try and intervene with the population and the economy. We also see the beginnings of some of the modern education movement. Especially in the growth of private schools that just expand further once we get into the colonial period as well as then some of these logics that will inform the independence movement into the colonial period. The idea that Koreans should strengthen themselves against foreign aggression, this then gets transformed into the idea that Koreans need to strengthen themselves to overthrow their imperial mass. There's quite some continuities that carry forward.

[Melvin Bragg]

Thank you. Derek, Can I come back to you now? Are we approaching the time when we have a North and south divide in Korea? And if so, how did it come about and what did it mean in.

[BBC Sounds]

Terms of a reflection on the empire of Korea? There is a pretty stark division. You can imagine in the north how all of this might be viewed. Okay, we have like an emperor who's decided that they're going to guide the way into the future through expressively non democratic, but also not really informed by class, like any awareness or concern about class. And so in the north, the evaluation is that this is broadly a failed experiment. In the South, I think there's a bit more sympathy for the ideas and for the attempts by not just Gojong, but by the kind of variety of political actors at the start of the 20th century who are trying to basically, basically find their way out of what seems to be of what was indeed just a very difficult political set of circumstances. Not only that, but in, in the south in general, this period of time is brought into a larger story about the origins of political citizenship and broader ideas of equity and democratic structures, formation of governance. So it is a notable difference between the North's and the South's evaluation of this period.

[Melvin Bragg]

So, Nuri, coming to you first. How does this period in Korea now look to Koreans?

[Nuri Kim]

So Koreans are very much divided on this. The scholarship is also divided on this. I think you have some scholars who view this period more negatively, who blame the monarch for the loss of sovereignty. And of course, even back at the time, during the time, there was a lot of criticism of the monarch that maybe he's not doing enough, maybe he's not making the right choices. Maybe he is still too much caught in the old ways because he was still consulting shamans and things like that. At the same time, there also seems to be a reevaluation taking place. On the one hand, it seems to be just a very, very difficult situation to be in for the Korean monarch at the time. The question is, what could he have done to really avert Korea's fate? And the question is maybe not much. Maybe he did the best that he could do, considering that Most countries or many countries at the time were colonized. To assume that Korea could have somehow averted that fate would assign too much uniqueness onto Korea. And that seems to be another scholarly perspective. So there seems to be also the emergence of this kind of more sympathetic view of this Korean monarch as this almost like tragic heroes.

[Holly Stevens]

Yeah, I would just add to that. I think one of the big changes has been for a lot of the previous history about this period, the big question was like, why did Korea not maintain its sovereignty? And is it a success or a failure based on its ability to maintain its sovereignty? However, in more recent years, people have taken a much more expansive and holistic view of this period, trying to look for some of these longer changes that we've been talking about, looking at the nationalism, the birth of the publishing industry, broader social changes. And so when we look at the Korean empire in these terms, it does change our perspective.

[Melvin Bragg]

Thank you very much to Nury Kim, to Holly Stevens and Gary Kramer. Next week, the physicist Lisa Meitner, widely recognized now for her crucial role in discovering nuclear fission. Thanks very much for listening.

[Holly Stevens]

And the In Our Time podcast gets some extra time now with a few.

[BBC Sounds]

Minutes of bonus material from Melvin and his guests.

[Melvin Bragg]

I will start with you, Derek. What did you not get time to say that you would like to have said?

[BBC Sounds]

I think what I didn't get across was the degree of tumult that defined this period and that the breakdown of not just sort of the types of economic or social conditions, but epistemic formations that have been so important for people just to live their everyday lives. When you switch calendars, you are transforming how people are interfacing with everyday life, which was one of the reforms. When you get rid of an examination system and change how individuals, intellectuals, advance their ways, advance their careers, you're completely upending how knowledge is disseminated and circulated. When you go ahead and change national scripts and say that basically Chinese characters are anachronistic and backwards, you're challenging how knowledge is structured, what a canon even means. I think often we feel like we're living in a time of change and rapid transformation, but I think in many ways what we encounter today pales in comparison to the tumult that individuals living in the early 20th century pales in the comparison, the tumult that characterize their life.

[Melvin Bragg]

Do you want to say anything for me?

[Nuri Kim]

I think one of the things that I would like to re emphasize is the importance of religion and the importance and the prominence of religious movements. You have the emergence of native Korean new religious movements. But there's also, of course, the influx of Protestant Christianity, which is seeing a tremendous amount of success, even to the surprise of the missionaries themselves. And these forces all. They play a significant role in shaping some of the political events. They shape a significant. They play a significant role in shaping the direction of modernization and sources of modernization, because Protestant Christianity also becomes a source of modernization in Korea at this time. So again, and this kind of, again, adds to this idea of Korea being torn into many different directions. You have native religion, you have foreign religion, you have foreign political powers, but also foreign religions as a source, not just necessarily of oppression, but also of some sort of positive development. And a lot of people wonder why Protestant Christianity was so successful in Korea. And this can be partially explained with reference to this period, that Protestant Christianity did offer something to the Koreans at this point, and it was not necessarily connected to an imperial power, at least from the Korean perspective.

[Melvin Bragg]

And what about you, Holly?

[Holly Stevens]

I mean, we've focused a lot on Korea and issues taking place in Korea, and rightly so. But I think one thing we really also need to be aware of is that the scale of the international, if not hostility, but antipathy or indifference to Korean sovereignty at this time. After the Sino Japanese War, Japan actually tries to stake a claim on the Liaodong Peninsula, which is a part of China just to the northwest of Korea. And this is rebuffed. France, Germany and Russia, they intervene, known as the Triple Intervention, to basically deny their claim on the behalf of Japan. But what happens during the Korean Empire period, We start to see Japan making more and more agreements with other powers, in particular the Anglo Japanese alliance of 1902 and the Taft Katsura Treaty with the United States in 1905, where Britain and the United States essentially recognize Japanese interests in Korea. And so when Japan starts to then more aggressively intervene in Korean politics and declare it a protectorate and start undermining some of the autonomy of the Korean government. Korea and Kojong, they try to appeal to other countries. They send an emissary to the Hague to try and drum up support against Japan. But, you know, a lot of the countries just turn a blind eye. And so this as well, I think it is one of the reasons why, you know, we shouldn't look or we shouldn't judge the Korean Empire on its success to stave off foreign imperialism, because to some extent, this was out of Korean hands.

[Melvin Bragg]

Well, thank you very much. Thank you.

[Nuri Kim]

Thank you so much.

[BBC Sounds]

Oh, my goodness.

[Melvin Bragg]

Other than Derek, who's in Korea, I'll have some tea. Yes, please.

[Holly Stevens]

Yeah, tea please.

[BBC Sounds]

Three teas.

[Nuri Kim]

Thank you. Thank you very much, Derek.

[BBC Sounds]

Yeah.

[Melvin Bragg]

In Our Time with Melvin Bragg is produced by Simon Tillotson and it's a BBC Studios audio production.

[BBC News]

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