Establishing the Rules of Engagement : American Protestant Missionaries, the U.S. Legation, and the Chosŏn State, 1884-1900

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Establishing the Rules of Engagement : American Protestant Missionaries, the U.S. Legation, and the Chosŏn State, 1884-1900

Journal Title: International Journal of Korean History - Year 2012, Vol 17, Issue 1

Abstract

This article revisits the issues of extraterritoriality and unequal treaties during the “open ports” period. These two concepts typically conjure images of coercion and of separation between the Chosŏn government and foreigners like missionaries. While not denying the existence of coercion, this article directs focus to how American Protestant missionaries, the U.S. legation, and the Chosŏn state engaged in a contest to define the terms of their relationships during the “open ports” period. To begin with, missionaries were unlike most other groups of foreigners coming to the country during the late nineteenth century. Unlike merchants and traders, missionaries aimed to settle down in Chosŏn Korea as many spent years if not decades in the country. They traversed the countryside, created complex networks of relations, and became integral parts of many local communities. Furthermore, missionaries specifically attempted to spread a religion that the Chosŏn government had banned since the start of the nineteenth century. For these reasons, missionaries often became embroiled in conflicts with local officials and these conflicts often involved unequal treaties and extraterritoriality. The conventional wisdom holds that missionaries, disgruntled over the lack of religious freedom, called on unequal treaties and extraterritoriality to have the U.S. legation intercede on their behalf to win from the Chosŏn state the right to proselytize. This interpretation, however, simplifies a complex relationship between American missionaries, the U.S. legation, and the Chosŏn state. First, while they may have shared some common interests, missionaries and U.S. officials represented two distinct groups possessing two distinct sets of objectives. To convince the U.S. legation to intercede on their behalf, missionaries needed to base their claims on specific laws rather than abstract notions of religious freedom. Secondly, the significance of unequal treaties and extraterritoriality was that they allowed the U.S. legation to play a role in mediating disputes between missionaries and the Chosŏn government and “teaching” the latter how a “civilized” and “modern” government operated. In this manner, rather than simple separation, extraterritoriality and unequal treaties played an important role in determining the rules of engagement between foreigners like missionaries and the Chosŏn state. To demonstrate this process and dynamic, this article examines two disputes: the P’yŏngyang Persecution (1894) and the Taegu Incident (1900). Taken together, these two disputes played an important role in securing the “right” of missionaries to reside outside of treaty ports. The conventional interpretations of these two events has been that they proved the power of Christianity to the Korean populace and was one major reason why so many in the P’yŏngyang area converted after 1894. This article demonstrates, in contrast, that the significance of the P’yŏngyang Persecution and the Taegu Incident extends beyond the issue of demonstrating the power of Christianity. These contests between missionaries and the Korean state represented a struggle to define the grounds on which their relationships would proceed. As the term “contest” suggests, this article will demonstrate that missionaries and the U.S. legation were not as powerful nor the Chosŏn government as weak as is commonly believed.

Authors and Affiliations

Paul S. Cha

Keywords

extraterritoriality unequal treaties American Protestant missionaries Chosŏn government P’yŏngyang Persecution Taegu Incident state-making Kabo and Kwangmu Reforms

EP ID EP26371
DOI -
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