Joseon’s Politics in the Midst of Power Rivalry between Meiji Japan and Qing Empire: Focusing on the Perception of War and Politics in Yun Chi-ho Diary

Abstract

This paper tries to shed light on the first Sino-Japanese war(1894-1895) from the perspective of hegemonic war. Generally, hegemonic war theories emphasizes differential growth of national power among great powers as one cause of major war. However, some theorists pointed out that foreign policies of middle powers in the midst of great power rivalry can ignite direct confrontation between two powers. Based on this observation, this paper explains what policy did Joseon dynasty take during the power rivalry between Qing Empire and Meiji Japan in the late 19th century. In the face of growing rivalry between Meiji Japan and Qing Empire, politicians in Joseon dynasty began to be divided into pro-Japan faction and pro-Qing faction each other; eventually two factions harshly confronted through Imo military rebellion(壬午軍亂) and Kapsin political upheaval(甲申政變). These internal political clash invited neighboring powers intervention into Joseon’s politics and ignited two powers’ direct confrontation over Korean peninsula’s dominance. Joseon’s younger intellectual Yun Chi- ho’s diary illustrated well how did Joseon’s junior politicians lose the vision of their dynasty’s future and expected advanced foreign countries’ intervention into Joseon’s internal politics.