Trends in the Study of the Russo-Japanese War in Korea and Future Tasks : Third-party perspective on the origins of the war
Journal Title: International Journal of Korean History - Year 2005, Vol 7, Issue 1
Abstract
Recent world history has witnessed three wars, the Sino-Japanese War, Russo-Japanese War and the Korean War, that unfolded in and around the Korean peninsula that were ostensibly launched under the premise of preserving the independence of Korea and the freedom of the Korean peninsula. In the end however, all three of these conflicts failed to achieve their declared objective. Exactly one century ago, the Korean peninsula and Manchuria served as the background of the Russo-Japanese War, whose outcome would seal Korea’s fate as a Japanese colony. Giambattista Vico once observed that while God may have created nature, it is humans who are responsible for making history. In this regards, wars are also the responsibility of humans. Therefore, who should bear responsibility for the Russo-Japanese War, Japan or Russia? Or perhaps even the ‘Korean or Manchurian problems?’ The multitude of studies that have been conducted on the topic of the Russo-Japanese War over the last 100 years, and the international conferences held both in Korea and abroad on the subject, have yet toield a satisfactory answer as to the question of who is responsible for the outbreak of the war.
Authors and Affiliations
Won-soo Kim
Keywords
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